Living Ruins, Value Conflicts

Using the classical Greek legacy of monuments and ruins by way of illustration, this book examines the symbolic, ideological, geographical and aesthetic importance of Greek classical iconography for the Western world. It describes the historic process of monument restoration and enhancement as an expression of complexity and analyses the changing perceptions and aesthetic visions over the past two centuries.The book examines how classical Greek monuments are simultaneously perceived as sublime national symbols and as a mythological and archetypal reference against which modern Western modernism is measured, investigating the dialogue this double identity leads to, as well as frequent clashes, between ancient monuments and their modern urban or regional environment.Constant themes running through the book are the ways in which archaeology and monumentality affect modern life, the modern aesthetic, our notions of nationhood, of place, of self and the limits and possibilities for national development imposed by the need to ensure ruins are kept 'alive'.