Sacred scholars, profane advocates intellectuals molding national consciousness in Greece

Central to the multifaceted process of nation‐building are the cultural politics involved in the construction of national ideology. This paper examines the role of academics and intellectuals in shaping public discourse and popular national consciousness on the Macedonian issue in contemporary Greece. It explores how those holding institutionalized positions of power in government, academic circles, and the media have constructed and projected an often teleological nationalistic interpretation of history and contemporary politics that defends so‐called national interests by stifling public political debate and dissenting interpretations of historical evidence. It addresses how such individuals, as protectors of a “sacred” truth of national history, applied their powerful social capital to attack and de‐legitimize a group of cultural critics who recently challenged the dominant national consensus of knowledge and historical understanding surrounding the Macedonian controversy.