The images of the fathers of the Greek national state and the events of the Greek Revolution are everywhere. They illustrate our historical imagination, give color and form to our collective pride, and forge our identity certainties.

We consider them so familiar and intimate that we neglect to ask them; to learn their small and big secrets, to discover the world in which they were born and lived – as well as the many lives they later lived and continue to live today.

However, the images do not only have a history. They also have historicity. The author approaches the artistic works of the 19th century by posing fundamental questions, such as: How did the Greeks see themselves in history? What influence did the perspective of foreigners have on their self-image? What role did they believe they would play in the new era? How did they want to be remembered by future generations of the nation?

He analyzes paintings, murals, drawings, and engravings, seeks their sources, illuminates the circumstances of their creation, examines their audience, investigates their overt and latent ideological messages, and discusses the impact they had on collective perception and memory.

In order to trace the projections of historical consciousness and culture in the social field, he wanders through the necropolis of Athens, which he perceives as a historical utopia where the modern present idealistically meets the ancestral past, manifesting an uninterrupted eternity.

Finally, he constructs a modern pedagogical framework for approaching historical images and presents ideas for their utilization in formal education and museums.