In early twentieth-century Greece, newspapers were some of the main vehicles for the circulation of ideas about science and technology. Although the country has never been in the forefront of scientific and technological research, the vast amount of newspaper articles on science and technology as well as references to science and technology in other kind of articles, i.e. news items, chronicles, editorials or even advertisements, illustrate how such discussions became part of daily life in order to serve various agendas. Moreover, the study of ‘newspaper knowledge’ adds to our understanding of the role science and technology played in the formation of modern societies, and of the values and ideas attached to them and communicated to a broad and diverse public. Greek newspapers, in particular, developed a discourse that incorporated the values and ideas associated with the immediate prospects of Greek society.

In this paper we would like to present the results of a study on the return of Halley’s comet in 1910 as seen from the Greek generalist press. On May 18, 1910 Halley’s Comet was due to make its periodic passage near the Earth. Spectroscopic analysis had shown that the tail of the comet consisted of poisonous gases and extensive news coverage in the daily press spread panic around the world. Newspapers published various kinds of articles ranging from news items about the orbit of the comet from various observatories around the world, historical articles on Halley’s previous passages, popular science articles as well as interviews with local astronomers, reports of public events etc. The information offered was often contradictory, as in some cases journalists encouraged ’end-of-the world’ scenarios while at the same time they were critical about them. Some blamed foreign astronomers for the dissemination of ‘false information’ and questioned the scientific status of astronomy, while others promoted local astronomers who reassured the public about the possible dangers. The paper will focus in particular on the the public image of the (local) scientific communities and institutions, the role of journalists as mediators between the science and the public and the use of the daily press by local scientists.