The Greek Case By this point in time it should be becoming more apparent that elites within a society have a critical amount of control over historical memory, which leads to a sense of collective memory. Paschalis M. Kitromilides’ essay furthers this position, as well as adds how this can create nationalism within a society. Kitromilides goes about this by enlightening his audience to the power of Paparrigopoulos’ novel History of the Greek Nation. Essentially what this novel did was create a connection to Kolettis’ Great Idea to the dominant Byzantine Empire of the time. The two important concepts to recognize before grasping an understanding of the power of Paparrigopoulos novel are The Great Idea and the power that The Byzantine Empire …show more content…
Common misconceptions within societies seem to be downplayed and myths glorified as fact in order to keep the status quo, as in the case of the way the American’s view over the legacy of George Washington have adapted throughout history. It has been shown through Schwartz’s essay that collective memories do not necessarily need to be replaced, however can be overlapped in order to be in accordance with what certain societies wish to deem important. Correspondingly to societies disregarding fact from legend, it has been proved that historical memory can be shaped from outright lies, as in the case of the Scottish identity. Although the kilt in the modern time period is seen as Scottish tradition, it in fact holds its roots in the factory of an English Quaker. But as in the case of Washington’s legacy, with the use of powerful elites and print capitalism, the factual evidence of history is regarded with less respect than the social wants and needs of society. Finally, the way in which a country views itself is clearly outlined in the case study of Greece. Greece exemplified a strong sense of nationalism through of a connection to the Byzantium Empire that was questionable at best. However, because of the strength