Digital museum diplomacy in Greece: The case of the Virtual Museum Alexander the Great

Digital cultural diplomacy emerges as a new form of cultural policy, offering new directions in cultural heritage management, international relations and global cultural exchanges. Using the cultural diplomacy model of four components – agent, agenda, vehicle, target audience – the paper examines the role of an online virtual museum space in Greece dedicated to the legacy of Alexander the Great, who largely shaped the modern worldview as a diplomatic agent and cultural ambassador. The research does not aim to measure the effectiveness of the particular digital museum initiative; rather, it seeks to interpret its symbolic, political, and social dimensions within the Greek and international cultural policy context, aiming to contribute to the theoretical understanding of digital museum diplomacy and to underscore the potential of the virtual museum to serve digital cultural diplomacy purposes as a dynamic and forward-looking institution that adapts to the new realities of the digital era. The analysis shows that this virtual museum operates as a digital diplomatic instrument democratizing access to culture and mediating between collective memory, cultural heritage, educational resources and legitimacy. Its function takes place in a digital and interpretive environment that connects archaeology, history, heritage narratives, and digital storytelling, while it fosters the international visibility of Hellenistic culture and expands the influence of Greece and of the virtual museum itself beyond borders.