National identity, the auteur and the Greek world on film

Increased interest in filmic adaptations of ancient Greece has re-ignited academic interest in the ways films based on antiquity connect with modern concerns. But the various approaches that have thus far been made to address these connections have offered limited scope particularly on distinctive socio-historical and political themes. The purpose of this thesis is to consider the manner in which ancient Greece on film provides a discourse on significant contemporary issues. The methodology adopted is in historicism and mainly incorporates the theme of national identity and nationalism across a select group of films based on Greek antiquity. As historicism takes into account personal, cultural, social and historical factors that have influenced the filmmaker, consideration is given to the filmmaker’s role as an auteur and the way these factors have affected the interpretations of each film. This is not specifically a comparative analysis but rather a multi-faceted examination that acknowledges the filmmaker as an interpreter of Greece, translating the ancient material to meet socio-historical objectives.