An era, a protagonist, an idea: in the 19th century, Andreas Rigopoulos supported the idea of a Europe of nations.

In 1852, he appeared in Broadway, New York, wearing a kilt, to speak about the then Greek and European reality. He was one of the first "public intellectuals"; he systematically cultivated his image and was mythologized by his circle of friends and students. His suicide, somewhere in the Aegean Sea, contributed even more to his mythologization. Eccentric and independent, he was called by Victor Hugo "the leader of the democrats of Athens". A cosmopolitan, he was knowledgeable about all the movements of his time and corresponded with the personalities who shaped 19th century Europe.

His public discourse, embedded in the context of the Great Idea - whose origin, we must not forget, is European - aimed at the national integration of Greece, from the Ionian Islands to Constantinople, the creation of a modern liberal state, and the pursuit of the "United States of Europe", where Greece would participate as an equal member.

Nikos Bakounakis' essay reconstructs, in a fascinating way and utilizing unpublished sources, the life of Andreas Rigopoulos (1821-1889), focusing primarily on his public discourse about Europe. Along with Rigopoulos' life, an entire era is presented, so crucial for the "archaeology" of Europe, with its conflicts, contradictions, ideas, books, newspapers, and even its geography.

The essay also highlights the timely issue, even in our days, of constructing the public image of a person, which may include invented or distorted elements.