Pausanias_Travel_Writing_in_Ancient Greece [Maria_Pretzler]

Pausanias: Travel Writing in Ancient Greece
needed an excuse for publishing yet another travel book about Greece. 25
These major travel accounts of the early nineteenth century did, however,
make an important contribution to the understanding of Greek historical
topography, because they attempted to approach the landscape and the
relevant ancient texts with scholarly rigour. As Wagstaff has shown,
Leake’s research is particularly noteworthy in this respect, since he combined
a thorough scrutiny of Pausanias’ text with exact measurements
and a particularly detailed and methodical approach to the topography
and the ancient remains. 26 His discussions of Greek topography 27 mark the
transition to the systematic archaeological investigation of Greece which
began in earnest in the second half of the nineteenth century. Leake was
fully aware of how much there was still to do:
‘The more I see of the Peloponnesus, and the more I read its description by
Pausanias, so much the more do I regret the shortness of the time that I have
it in my power to bestow upon its geography; …Of perseverance, it must with
gratitude be admitted, that we have an excellent example in our guide
Pausanias, even without omitting the consideration, that, instead of exploring
unknown and deserted sites, he was travelling in an ordinary manner,
over the roads of a civilised country, from one celebrated place to another, in
each of which he found an exegete to assist him in all his researches. So
complete, however, were these researches, and so ardent his curiosity, that
it requires the most detailed inspection of the country to be assured that one
has not overlooked some still existing proof of his accuracy …. I have every
day occasion to remark instances in which it is impossible correctly to
understand him, or to translate his words, without actually following him
through the country, and examining the spots described, and it is not always
that a single visit to a place is sufficient. (Leake (1830) II.288-90)
For Leake, Pausanias and the Greek landscape are so closely connected
that neither can be fully understood without the other. He saw similarities
between his own research and Pausanias’ investigations: at some points
in his book he conveys a sense of familiarity, as between colleagues who
essentially do the same work, and his experience informs his interpretation
of the Periegesis. 28 This close connection between modern travellers
and Pausanias’ description deserves further investigation. From the beginning,
the Periegesis influenced perceptions of Greece, but its impact
was so great exactly because it answered to so many of the modern
antiquarian’s concerns and preoccupations.
The landscape itself represents the most tangible connection between
Pausanias and his travelling readers in a later age. One has to assess texts
outside the regions he covers to understand how the Periegesis enhanced
the experience of travelling through central and southern Greece. Cyriac
of Ancona used Strabo to provide geographical information and some
background while other ancient texts could add a special meaning to
particular sites. He shows that even before Pausanias was rediscovered
mainland Greece was particularly rich in such historical associations and
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