ABSTRACT
Greece entered the post–Second World War Western world at a different time and in a more violent way than its allies. The ideologies of the Cold War, in combination with inter-war internal political problems, created an explosive situation that affected all aspects of life. The Greek Civil War ended in 1949 leaving the country financially and morally devastated. In a most crucial sense Greece entered its post-war period in the 1950s, and did so as a ‘Free World’ country. The modern Greek ‘art world’ developed in the 20th century: political and state interventions in the inter-war period launched it and, during the Westernisation of the 1950s and 1960s, it grew steadily. In the 1960s, the same Philosophy School that included art history as a distinct subject in the inter-war period changed the title of its still pending chair. The British Council and the Institut Francais continued their cultural activities in Athens during the Civil War.
