Pausanias_Travel_Writing_in_Ancient Greece [Maria_Pretzler]

More documents

Recommendations

Info

6. A Sense of Time: Pausanias as Historian Where an explanation is offered, it can remain rather vague. Pausanias is rarely concerned with long-term political developments or complex historical factors, preferring to show how particular actions of individuals or states influence history. For example, Pausanias’ history of the Achaian League in the Hellenistic period and during the Roman conquest of Greece is among his most elaborate historical narratives. 80 Nevertheless, most of the developments presented in this account are influenced by the personal interests and initiatives of a few flawed individuals. Ultimately the main cause of the Roman victory over the Achaian League appears to be the treachery and ineptitude of three Greek politicians combined with the ambition and bias of a few Roman notables. Pausanias’ references to the political situation scarcely give an impression of the complex interactions between Rome, Macedonia, the Achaians and numerous other states that shaped Greek history in the first half of the second century AD. As we have already seen in Pausanias’ comments on Philip II, he considered divine retribution as a plausible explanation for historical developments. He is not thinking of particular gods exacting personal revenge, but there is a clear notion that impious actions can have a negative influence on the fate of the perpetrator and his family or associates. Divine retribution features as a factor in many historical events, even down to relatively recent times, for example when Sulla’s harsh treatment of Greece is connected to his fatal illness, or when he hints at a connection between the fate of Caligula and Nero and their orders to remove the statue of Eros from its temple at Thespiai. 81 Pausanias’ preferred mode of historical writing emphasises a continuity of the Greek past from a remote antiquity to his own time. Herodotos may be seen as the ‘Father of History’, but Thucydides’ adaptation of the original formula had a lasting influence on the genre. He introduced a new form of authoritative account that combined an unambiguous narrative with in-depth political analysis and a precise chronology. Recent history could be treated in this way, but Thucydides consigns earlier periods to a short introduction because of a lack of precise information. 82 Few ancient historians lived up to Thucydides’ exacting standards, but many at least professed to share his aims. 83 Pausanias, too, is influenced by this cautious approach to source criticism, and, as we have seen, some passages in the Periegesis echo Thucydides’ style and historiographical technique. 84 Pausanias has a notion of an early heroic age about which little can be known, but this refers to a period which is much more remote than Thucydides’ ‘prehistory’. 85 It was easier to adapt Herodotos’ less rigid mode of reporting the past to Pausanias’ project because it includes contradictory traditions and does not require a clear distinction between vague mythical accounts and later events that were documented more precisely. As we have seen, Pausanias also prefers a chronological framework that can accommodate all eras, from the earliest heroic age to the Roman empire. He leaves room for the divine and the miraculous in his accounts, 89
Pausanias: Travel Writing in Ancient Greece particularly when making divine retribution a crucial factor in historical events, and when he presents oracles that correctly predicted events even in the Hellenistic and Roman period. Sometimes he is even ready to admit that heroes or gods could be actively involved in history. 86 At the same time, information about all ages is scrutinised with the same critical attitude, suggesting that stories about remote antiquity are to be taken just as seriously as the sources for more recent events. Pausanias’ historical method therefore helps to emphasise the notion that Greece had a continuous history with direct, tangible links between past and present – a land where the remote past was never far away. 87 Pausanias’ historical accounts show his great versatility as a writer and as a collector of diverse examples of tradition and historical evidence. His stories are sometimes inaccurate, but close attention to their context can often lead to a better understanding of how they have come about. It is important to remember that Pausanias’ histories have a purpose beyond providing information to the reader. They give meaning to the landscape, both for Pausanias and his readers, and their value in this context does not always depend on historical accuracy. References to the past explain why it was worthwhile to visit all those remote places in mainland Greece, and they can imbue the most inconspicuous monuments with great significance. There is no long, uninterrupted narrative, but the many small details add up to a grand picture of the Greek past, more than just a linear progression, but a complex set of individuals, events and developments which are connected in many different ways, through stories, memories, rituals, places and monuments. Ultimately, Pausanias the historian can be fully appreciated only in connection with the Greek memorial landscape. 90
Page 2 and 3:
PAUSANIAS Travel Writing in Ancient
Page 4 and 5:
CLASSICAL LITERATURE AND SOCIETY Pa
Page 6 and 7:
Contents Editor’s Foreword Prefac
Page 8 and 9:
Editor’s Foreword The aim of this
Page 10 and 11:
Preface ‘And what do you do?’
Page 12 and 13:
Robert Porod, Barbara Porod and Ala
Page 14 and 15:
List of Illustrations Fig. 1. Greec
Page 17 and 18:
1 Approaching Pausanias’ Perieges
Page 19 and 20:
1. Approaching Pausanias’ Periege
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
2. Pausanias: the Man and his Time
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
3. The Importance of Travelling Bro
Page 51 and 52:
3. The Importance of Travelling poi
Page 53 and 54:
3. The Importance of Travelling ler
Page 55 and 56: 3. The Importance of Travelling had
Page 57 and 58: 3. The Importance of Travelling als
Page 59 and 60: 3. The Importance of Travelling ver
Page 61 and 62: 4. Greek Travel Writing: Between Re
Page 73 and 74: 5 A Sense of Space: Landscape and G
Page 75 and 76: 5. A Sense of Space: Landscape and
Page 90 and 91: 6 A Sense of Time: Pausanias as His
Page 92 and 93: 6. A Sense of Time: Pausanias as Hi
Page 108 and 109: 7 Describing a City From Chaironeia
Page 110 and 111: 7. Describing a City special festiv
Page 112 and 113: 7. Describing a City can be a matte
Page 114 and 115: 7. Describing a City nese, the Tege
Page 116 and 117: 7. Describing a City of Herodotos
Page 118 and 119: 7. Describing a City scholarly comm
Page 120 and 121: 7. Describing a City relationship w
Page 122 and 123: 8 Considering Works of Art As you e
Page 124 and 125: 8. Considering Works of Art Pausani
Page 126 and 127: 8. Considering Works of Art though
Page 128 and 129: 8. Considering Works of Art scene.
Page 130 and 131: 8. Considering Works of Art ‘anci
Page 132 and 133: 8. Considering Works of Art artisti
Page 134 and 135: 8. Considering Works of Art classic
Page 136 and 137: 9. Pausanias and his Readers book.
Page 138 and 139: 9. Pausanias and his Readers is ess
Page 140 and 141: 9. Pausanias and his Readers mann i
Page 142 and 143: 9. Pausanias and his Readers strong
Page 144 and 145: 9. Pausanias and his Readers reache
Page 146 and 147: 9. Pausanias and his Readers than j
Page 148 and 149: 10. Discovering Greece with Pausani
Page 157 and 158:
10. Discovering Greece with Pausani
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 168 and 169:
Page 170 and 171:
Epilogue: ‘Solid Instruction and
Page 172 and 173:
Epilogue: ‘Solid Instruction and
Page 174 and 175:
Notes 1. Approaching Pausanias’ P
Page 176 and 177:
Notes to pages 11-17 42. With the p
Page 178 and 179:
Notes to pages 20-23 7.24.6-7, 7.25
Page 180 and 181:
Notes to pages 26-28 60. On Atticis
Page 182 and 183:
Notes to pages 32-35 |kousa d5 |dh
Page 184 and 185:
Notes to pages 38-40 42. E.g. the A
Page 186 and 187:
Notes to pages 46-52 1n sÍ per 1ë
Page 188 and 189:
Notes to pages 55-62 61. Esp. Arria
Page 190 and 191:
Notes to pages 68-75 makrologe√n
Page 192 and 193:
Notes to pages 80-84 30. Paus. 8.49
Page 194 and 195:
Notes to pages 87-91 73. See Bowie
Page 196 and 197:
Notes to pages 97-102 tos£de 1j d
Page 198 and 199:
Notes to pages 108-111 18. Paus. 7.
Page 200 and 201:
Notes to pages 115-121 67. Stuart-J
Page 202 and 203:
Notes to pages 127-136 58. Beard (2
Page 204 and 205:
Notes to pages 146-149 53. Cyriac o
Page 206 and 207:
Bibliography Ackerman, R. (1987), J
Page 208 and 209:
Bibliography Bearzot, C. (1995) ‘
Page 210 and 211:
Bibliography Cartledge, P. and Spaw
Page 212 and 213:
Bibliography Dugas, C., Beuchmans,
Page 214 and 215:
Bibliography Gedoyn, N. (1731-3), P
Page 216 and 217:
Bibliography Holleaux, M. (1938),
Page 218 and 219:
Bibliography Kowalzig, B. (2005),
Page 220 and 221:
Bibliography Arcadia, held at the N
Page 222 and 223:
Bibliography Polignac, F. de (1995)
Page 224 and 225:
Bibliography hauer (eds), Beschreib
Page 226 and 227:
Bibliography la propaganda imperial
Page 228 and 229:
Index Locorum Passages that appear
Page 230 and 231:
Index Locorum 1.39.4-6: 77n17, 1.41
Page 232 and 233:
Index Locorum 23n34, 6.24.9: 40n55,
Page 234 and 235:
Index Locorum 109n26, 10.5.1: 39n48
Page 236 and 237:
General Index Achaia, 5, 59, 77, 15
Page 238 and 239:
General Index decline, 28, 91-3, 12
Page 240 and 241:
General Index Kalydonian boar hunt,
Page 242 and 243:
General Index pepaideumenos, 25-7,
Page 244:
General Index travelogues, 49, 51 T
show all

Pausanias_Travel_Writing_in_Ancient Greece [Maria_Pretzler]

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?