The Metaxas Myth: Dictatorship and Propaganda in Greece

Why did the propaganda efforts that succeeded so thoroughly in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany fail so drastically in Greece? The Metaxas Myth is the first detailed account of General Ioannis Metaxas's attempts to mimic the fascist models of Mussolini, Hitler, and Franco by portraying himself as the 'saviour' of the Greek nation in an effort to build his power base as dictator. Following the dissolution of parliament in 1936 up to his death in 1941, Metaxas used every media outlet available to promote his great myth: newspapers, periodicals, cinema, theatre and radio. Marina Petrakis analyses the nature of Metaxas's shortcomings: the errors made and the policies that eventually bred not loyalty, but at best apathy and at worst hostility towards his would-be autocracy.