From the Renaissance to the present-day the cultural West has repeatedly confessed its Hellenist affinity – its approbation of ancient Greek culture and intellect. While by nature this implies a favourable image of Greece, these expressions often more accurately reflect a Neoclassical, idealized version of antiquity disseminated during the Enlightenment that has ties to colonial and cultural imperialism. This major research paper thus examines how continuations of Hellenism function today, specifically in their relation to the pluralistic ideologies of the art world in a global-turn. This will be performed through an observation of how Greek antiquity was enacted throughout the internationally recognized German exhibition documenta 14: “Learning from Athens” (2017), by expressly engaging the curatorial decisions to host with Athens, and the inclusion of artist team Prinz Gholam as models of study. It argues that documenta 14’s “naïve” integrations of Hellenism within their pluralistic frame, signify an enduring privileging of Western cultural and affective positions over their global equivalents – including those of Greece itself.

Keywords
Classics; Neoclassicism; Hellenism; Enlightenment; Western; Identity; Affect; Pluralism; Exhibition; Naïveté