The Image of the National "Other" in Greek Schoolbooks at the Turn of the 19th Century

An examination of school history textbooks in Greece focuses on the images of the "Other" Balkan peoples. Textbook characterization of the Turks & the Bulgarians are built on the predominant ethnocentrism & the importance of the Greeks in history. Opposition to the Turks grew following the fall of the Ottoman Empire, in which they were demonized for their barbarism & heterodoxy. Tha pan-Slavic Bulgarians, considered national secular enemies after 1880, were labeled anti-Hellenists. The Greek attitude toward other Balkan groups (Romanians & Albanians) is also discussed. J. Sadler