Explosions and Expulsions in Ottoman Athens: A Heritage Perspective on the Temple of Olympian Zeus

Abstract

Abstract The recent increased interest in Ottoman studies has resulted in new research groups, publications, conferences, and exhibitions. Nevertheless, the perception and management of imperial legacies and memories in post-Ottoman societies continues to be a problematic process, in no small part because of the lack of dialogue between Ottoman studies (particularly in regards to material culture) and more traditional areas such as regional history, classical studies, and archaeology. This article attempts to bridge these divides by examining how inherited cultural landscapes were imagined and reconstructed in Islamic societies. Here, the example will be Athens, a city that has a long history of being identified primarily by its ‘glorious’ antiquities. By exploring diverse ways of experiencing and perceiving the many-layered memories of this iconic city, this article highlights the need for a reassessment of how Islamic societies imagined the past. It also illustrates that the very model of how we understand cultural heritage studies needs to be redefined.