ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the work of Christos Tsountas, the first and most eminent Greek prehistorian. It also focuses on Tsountas' contribution to the assimilation of the prehistoric, pre-Hellenic past into a narrative about Greek ethnic origins and national identity. The chapter argues that the connection between archaeology and nationalism is more complex than has often been assumed, precisely because archaeological practice, attitudes to the past, the definition of Greek identity and the orientation of nationalism underwent considerable transformations already within the 19th century. The chapter discusses how Tsountas defined the Greek character of the Mycenaean civilization. It examines Tsountas' arguments against the developments in the archaeological discipline between approximately 1880 and 1910. The chapter analyses the two strands of the argument, the historical and the epistemological analysis are drawn together. Tsountas assigns Greek character to the Mycenaean culture by tracing Classical forms to prehistoric archetypes, and by tracing Mycenaean features to the pre-Greek Cycladic and Neolithic culture.
