Pausanias: Travel Writing in Ancient Greece

This book combines a thorough introduction to Pausanias with new perspectives. It considers the influences that shaped the Periegesis, and its literary and cultural context. Pausanias text records contemporary interpretations of monuments and traditions, and is concerned with the identity and history of Greece. Parallels with various texts of the period offer insights into Pausanias attitudes as well as illustrating aspects of Second Sophistic culture. A discussion of Greek texts that deal with fictional or actual travel provides a background for a detailed study of the Periegesis as travel literature. Pausanias treatment of geography and his descriptions of landscapes, cities and artworks are considered, as are his methods as a historian. The final chapters deal with Pausanias impact on modern approaches to Greece and ancient Greek culture.