Often, as much in the mass media as in scientific circles, one resorts to the categories of "East" and "West," which are usually recited in a series of variations (for instance 'western values,' 'western civilisation,' 'western democracy,' etc.), that are used to indicate different, if not opposed visions of life, politics or culture.
The article shows how from the start, in Greek and Roman political thought and historiography, an ideologically oriented reading of one's own past developed; these dynamics then were taken up again and accentuated, especially in the modern era, often to justify and legitimise processes of conquest and domination.