The Long Century of the Enlightenment and the Revival of Greek Theater

The eighteenth century was "long" because the maturation of the ideals of the Enlightenment in Greek culture was a slow, protracted process. The quest for innovation led to fundamental ruptures with existing traditions, but, at the same time, it turned to the ancient Greek heritage for inspiration. A number of key methodological issues, including the precise nature of the quest for renewal (especially in drama during the Greek Enlightenment), merit closer inspection. Therefore, in this paper I focus on continuity and discontinuity in modern Greek theater and on the major landmarks in its development during the Greek Enlightenment.