Constructing the Image of the ‘Good’ Archaeologist: The Case of Evans and Schliemann in Greek School History Textbooks (1982–2025)

Arthur Evans and Heinrich Schliemann are two of the most famous excavators who worked in Greece, associated with the archaeological sites of Knossos and Mycenae, respectively. They are considered great researchers with significant contributions to the science of archaeology, although this does not fully reflect reality. This prevailing view is logical, considering that it is what we have been taught since our school years. The attitudes and perceptions, even the knowledge we bring as adults regarding archaeology, archaeologists, and the past are structured to a certain extent in childhood and adolescence. It has been proven that school textbooks, the main means of teaching, not only serve cognitive goals, but, at the same time, transmit the views of their authors, contributing to the formation of beliefs in students and the reproduction of specific meanings. The paper studies the way Evans and Schliemann are presented in Greek history textbooks used in primary and secondary education from 1982 onwards, as well as the role textbooks play in the construction of the image of the ‘good’ archaeologist.