DIOGENES IN SINOP CITY TODAY: FOLKLORE AND SEMIOTIC APPROACHES
Keywords:
monuments, semiotics of culture, post folklore, cultural memory, DiogenesAbstract
Along with myths and historical events, Greek travellers to the Black Sea region of Turkey are also on a quest for familiar figures such as Diogenes. The cynical philosophy of Diogenes, who was expelled from Sinop and went to Athens, is transformed into a common narrative shared by the two nations of Greece and Turkey. The Turks reproduce his narratives, create and adapt stories to the present, and live a kind of social life that accepts the cultural heritage related to Diogenes as part of the modern cultural identity of the city. Greek visitors, who know the words of Diogenes from written sources, recall them and maintain the historical identity that connects them with Diogenes.
Through the narratives of the two nations, and with qualitative research methods, the relationship of this cultural memory with the city of Sinop is detected, as well as emblematic points in the city that testify to its heritage, statues, naming of hotels, restaurants, etc. The theoretical approach of this paper is based on a folklore analysis of society, extending to a post folklore situation as observed in the social practices of the city today. The interpretive approach combines both folklore and semiotic methods.
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