The glorious, classical legacy of Greece is universally revered. But this legacy has come at a price. How will Greece ever move beyond its ties with the past? Is there such a thing as modern Greece? This book is the first to present an alternative cultural history of Greece. Beginning with the growth of Greece as a nation-state through to the present, it shows how modern Greece has long been undervalued and neglected. From the compositional process of the first National Poet to the first feminist text, the first sustained Marxist treatise of Greek society to the Athens subway system, this groundbreaking book brings together a fascinating mix of literary texts, maps and aspects of material culture to uncover the identity of modern Greece. In considering these rich cultural landmarks, Calotychos argues that a new relationship with the past must be forged if Greek literature, culture and society are to be truly part of the present and meet the challenges of modernity.Modern Greece: A Cultural Poetics fills a major gap. Its refreshing approach provides an original insight into the everyday, lived experience of Greece. The intriguing range of case studies, the historical depth, and the engagement with cultural and literary theory will be of great value to literature students, cultural theorists, anthropologists, philologists and historians alike.