«Πολύφωνη αρμονία»; : Προς μια επισκόπηση της εκδοτικής παραγωγής του Μεσοπολέμου για την ιστορία του Νέου Ελληνισμού (1922-1936)

Abstract

How did publishing activity in interwar Greece contribute to shaping historical consciousness regarding the late medieval and early modern periods of the national past? Drawing on a corpus of 357 independent publications produced between 1922 and 1936 that focus on the period from late Byzantium to the Revolution of 1821, this study offers a quantitative analysis based on bibliographical features and authorial roles, as well as a categorization based on their themes, genres and chronological references. Within a pluralistic publishing space, characterized by diverse professional background of authors and a historiographical production dispersed across numerous publishing and printing houses, the key role of academic historiography is made evident, alongside the prominence of locality as an element in a wide range of works. Special attention is given to the role of institutional publishers, such as the “Association for the Promotion of Useful Books” [Syllogos pros diadosin Ofelimon Vivlion] and the Academy of Athens, in conjunction with the dynamics of the Centenary of the 1821 Revolution as well as the contribution of individuals such as Konstantinos Amantos to the organization and development of the field. In this context, history emerges not only as a discourse on the past, but also as an instrument for the cultural unification of the national space, particularly in the aftermath of the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the territorial expansion of the Greek state.