273 An “Ancient” Landscape Journal of Modern Greek Studies, Volume 20, 2002. 273 An “Ancient” Landscape: European Ideals, Archaeology, and Nation Building in Early Modern Greece Effie F. Athanassopoulou Abstract The role of archaeology in the creation of modern Greek national identity is a question that has drawn increasing attention in recent years. The most powerful national symbol may well be the Acropolis, an archaeological topos that was “constructed” in the course of the nineteenth century. This paper explores the early phase of the Acropolis purification program in the first decades of the nineteenth century. European approaches to classical antiquities were very influential during this formative stage. Of particular interest here is the interaction between foreign visitors and Athenian notables, especially the debates and discussions that accompanied the creation of the modern version of the archaeological landscape of the Acropolis. Accounts of Western travelers along with documents concerning the activities of the Greek-based Philomousos society offer a glimpse into the events and key players who set the process in motion. Recent archaeological discussions of landscape and site development in general provide the theoretical framework for this discussion. It is undoubtedly significant that as an archaeologist I became interested in this topic quite by accident. While working on my dissertation I began reading early modern travelers to Greece in an attempt to learn more about antiquities in the area of Nemea in the northeastern part of the Peloponnesos. The archaeological project with which I was affiliated involved the intensive surface survey of the Nemea valley, along with ethnographic studies and the excavation of a prehistoric site (Wright et al. 1990). While looking at the account of Dodwell (1819), an Englishman who visited Greece at the beginning of the nineteenth century, I came across some drawings (Figures 1 and 2). They depict the Acropolis of Athens in the early 1800s, a village for the Turkish garrison with a mix of houses and ancient buildings forming the living space. I was frankly stunned. As a resident of Athens, I grew up seeing the Acropolis and its monuments in a very different state: purified, brought