International audience By studying the relationship between history and archeology during the period of the formation of the nation-state of modern Greece, this article focuses on the role that archaeological heritage has played in the construction of Greece’s national identity. While by definition a national narrative is supposed to provide the criteria for belonging to a nation, in the case of Greece the situation turns out to be more complex. This narrative went through two distinct phases. At first, it was adapted to the Enlightenment ideology and the ideal of Antiquity. Then it ended up rejecting the neoclassical movement in favor of the romantic approach and the hellenic-christian tradition. The first attempt to form the Greek national narrative invests on the notion of space using ancient heritage and Greek territory as the common denominator between ancient and modern periods while the second chooses to answer the question of the temporal continuity of Greek history by the recognition of its Byzantine heritage. The relationship between history and archeology, historiographical approaches and archaeological projects throughout this transition period, shows the synergy between