ABSTRACT
Newlyindependentcountriesneedtodefinethemselves.Problemsofselfdefinitionarelinkedtoperceptionsofthepast,andthoseperceptionsaffect, andareaffectedby,historicalwriting.InGreeceduringthesecondandthird quartersofthenineteenthcenturyquestionsofself-definitionwerefraught withdifficultybecauseasenseofcontinuitywithByzantiumandwithancientGreecewaspartoftheprocessofnationaldefinition.Thesenseof continuityremainsvividtothisday,butintheearlieryearsofthestatethe difficultiesarisingfromitwerepersistentandacute.
