ABSTRACT
Through the study of Greek primary education textbooks, covering a full century, from the 1870s to 1970s, this chapter seeks to trace the ways in which ingenuity has been standardised as a national characteristic or charisma, and disseminated to generations of Greek schoolboys and girls. Three categories of textbooks were used: primers, history textbooks and geography textbooks for third to sixth grade primary school pupils. The common theme seems to be the perennial conflict between the ‘studious’, ‘ingenious’, ‘risky’ and ‘patriotic’ Greeks (in ancient, medieval and modern times) and ‘uneducated’, ‘uncivilised’ and ‘barbaric’ foes (Persians, Romans, Ottomans and Turks). Four dominant types of ‘genius’ emerge from the source material: economic, political, military and intellectual. Greek children, inspired by the glorious deeds of ancestors, representing the different types of ingenuity, are encouraged to exploit this natural potential which all Greeks share for the benefit of their nation.
