Raisins and Nationalism: Revisiting the Greek Vision of Modernization through World's Fairs (1893–1915)

Abstract:

World's fairs organized at the turn of the twentieth century offered glimpses into humanity's aspirations for the future. Since they were primarily a place to promote progress and industrialization, one would expect Greek participation in these exhibitions to follow a similar approach. But the country's presence in the international exhibitions in Chicago (1893), Paris (1900), Brussels (1910), and San Francisco (1915) proves that the groups of prominent academics, technocrats, and business leaders who undertook the organization of Greek participation viewed world's fairs less as platforms to demonstrate industrial advancements and more as sites to promote and reinforce their nationalistic ideals. By exhibiting ancient Greek and Byzantine artifacts, Greece's pavilions sought to connect the modern state with its glorious past and reaffirm its European identity. The organizers' alternative viewpoint on what can represent modernity challenges our understanding of the Greek interpretation of modernization. Contrary to the prevailing notions in Greek historiography that linked modernity exclusively with industrialization, the exhibits displayed by the country abroad prompt a reconsideration of our interpretation of Greek progress, highlighting the influence of the irredentist concept of the Great Idea.