The inter-war period was a period of pursuits and speculations, a period in which domestic growth, reclassifications and the circulation of new ideas favoured the formation of a multifaceted dialogue. Various theoretical trends such as neo-Kantianism, Freudism, Marxism, Existentialism and Bergsonism had an impact on Greek intellectuals. The essay flourished as a privileged genre, bringing together social concerns with philosophical thought. The dialogue about aesthetics and these concerns resulted in a constant probing of the concept of Greekness. In the field of art many and varied forms of expression emerged. New trends originating in Western Europe were introduced into Greece. One of them, Surrealism, founded on psychoanalysis and revolutionary expression, found significant representatives while at the same time provoking strong reactions. The Surrealist idiom, both subversive and imaginative, led to a wide-ranging and fertile flood of creativity in later years. Finally, the demand for a return to one's roots, a trend that goes back to European Romanticism, found expression in Greece through an interest in folk tradition and took concrete form in the study of folklore.