Societies construct narratives of their past to make sense of their present and to project visions of their future. Such narratives, functioning as temporal maps, provide a framework within which individuals and communities locate themselves in history. This chapter examines how these narratives are created, maintained, and contested across a range of cultural and institutional settings. It explores the mechanisms through which textbooks, museums, stage performances, film, and digital media mediate collective understandings of the past. Attention is given to the ways these platforms shape public memory, frame national identity, and serve as arenas for political and cultural conflict. By analyzing examples from different contexts, the chapter highlights the dynamic nature of historical storytelling and its capacity to both unify and divide societies. It underscores the idea that narratives about the past are never static: they are continually revised, challenged, and repurposed, reflecting the shifting values, tensions, and aspirations of the communities that produce and consume them.