Introduction:

The introductory chapter sets out to explain the concept of ‘Hellenomania’ as it is used in this volume, comparing it with the other ‘manias’ explored in the series and more familiar notions of Hellenism, philhellenism, and ‘Greekness’ from antiquity to contemporary times. Setting out from Martin Bernal’s famous employment of ‘Hellenomania’ to describe the romantic and racist overtones of the nineteenth-century northern European obsession for things Greek, we argue that it can profitably be used with a broader meaning, to encompass a longer and more variegated history of enthusiasms. We cast a spotlight on Hellenomania’s legacy within contemporary perceptions of Greece, among both Greeks and non-Greeks, up to and including the resurgence of neocolonial discourses during the recent Euro-crisis. We also locate Hellenomania in the context of the wider ‘material turn’ in the sciences and humanities.