Publication Details

Abstract

My article will revolve around the following questions: First, who uses and defines the concept of ideology in the field of classical studies and how? Second, is the use of ideology preceded by discussion about this concept? Third and last, is this concept useful for the classics or can we do without it when talking about Athenian democracy, society, and drama? I conclude that not all scholars pay particular attention to discussion about ideology. We can find quite different attitudes to the use of ideology from the ’eighties to the’ nineties, from the negative (Loraux, Goldhill) to the mixed uses of the term (Croally). The word ideology usually served classical scholars as a substitute for a mental map or structure of social thought. From this point of view we can very often do without ideology in the field of classical studies.