Pausanias_Travel_Writing_in_Ancient Greece [Maria_Pretzler]

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Pausanias: Travel Writing in Ancient Greece Many modern visitors came to Greece already expecting to find a landscape where much was lost, and the ancient authors provided a template for their response. The decline, which was traditionally associated with Roman rule, could be easily compared with the development of the region under the Ottomans, only now the decline seemed even more pronounced, since the Greeks themselves appeared to have forgotten their great heritage. 42 Pausanias plays a double role in this discourse between ancient and modern: on the one hand, his work offered a detailed view of a glorious lost world which could serve as a contrast to the sad present state of the landscape, and on the other hand he himself was confronted with signs of decline, so that his observations often seemed to parallel the experiences of later travellers. References to ruins, lost cities and missing artefacts are an integral part of Pausanias’ project. After all, only a notion that traditions and physical remains are likely to disappear can inspire such a colossal effort of recording monuments and traditions. There needs to be a sense of distance and loss that separates the past from the present, and references to monuments that have disappeared or stories that have (almost) been forgotten add to a sense of complex layers in the memorial landscape. 43 Pausanias demonstrates a nuanced attitude to the lost heritage of Greece, and it is important not to overemphasise his sense of separation from a lost past. The Periegesis has often been called a nostalgic text which focuses on the decline of Greek culture under Roman rule, and, as so often in Pausanias, there is no lack of passages to support this impression. 44 This is, however, not the whole picture: Pausanias does not present an image of a deserted Greece; on the contrary, the emphasis is on monuments that are intact, traditions that are remembered and rituals that are still carried out faithfully. In fact, the Periegesis often offers a valuable alternative to ancient authors who suggest that Greece was almost completely deserted and in ruins. 45 It was probably easy to dismiss the whole region from a distance, or with the knowledge of a few poignant places. A ruin one encounters in the landscape is, however, always ambiguous: it is a testimony to the loss of a site, but at the same time it serves as a powerful memorial which keeps the ancient meaning of a place from being completely forgotten. Pausanias reacts to this ambiguity by adopting different modes of dealing with abandoned sites. Many ruins are just mentioned matter-of-factly to fill gaps in the memorial landscape. Where he decides to comment on the fact that a site is ruined Pausanias does sometimes reflect on the loss of a monument or site, but in other cases he emphasises the fact that some remains still survived in his own time, and he clearly appreciates the value of unimpressive remains in comparison to those sad places where he could not even discover ruins. 46 Nostalgia is sometimes implicit in the Periegesis, particularly when great events in the past are juxtaposed with modest contemporary remains. There are a few instances where Pausanias comments on the fact 144
10. Discovering Greece with Pausanias that the heyday of Greece was well in the past, particularly in historical accounts that deal with the loss of Greek freedom. 47 In spite of his great patience with very modest sites and monuments he registers disappointment about the state of some Greek cities, most notably in his dismissive description of Panopeus. 48 The description of Megalopolis leads him to ponder the rise and decline of great cities: Megalopolis was founded by the Arkadians with great enthusiasm and it inspired the highest hopes of the Greeks, but it has lost all its splendour and ancient prosperity, and in our day it is mostly in ruins. I am not surprised because I know that heaven always wants to bring about something new, and also that all things, strong or weak, growing or perishing, are being changed by fortune, and she drives them with inevitable force according to her whim. 49 (Paus. 8.33.1) This passage comes after Pausanias has already passed through a part of the countryside around Megalopolis with many settlements that had been abandoned when the new city was founded. The grand name would also have emphasised the less than impressive state of the town. For early modern travellers the contrast between the great classical past as they imagined it and the state of the landscape they found was much greater, and they were often vocal about their feelings of nostalgia and disappointment. The almost invisible remains of Delphi induced Spon to ponder the fall of the sanctuary that was once so famous: What I found most strange is that the most famous place on earth has seen such a reversal of fortune, so that we had to look for Delphi at the site of Delphi itself and to ask where the temple had been although we stood on its foundations. (Spon (1678) II.58) Spon and Wheler were in fact the first to investigate the site of ancient Delphi and they were quite successful in identifying some of its main features. Spon’s comments on these few unimpressive ruins echo Pausanias’ thoughts on Megalopolis: both could draw on the same long tradition of thoughts about the rise and fall of great cities. 50 Spon leaves the site with another poignant comment: We had to leave the site and to content ourselves with what the books can convey about the riches and ornaments of that place, because there is no longer anything but misery there and all its splendour has passed like a dream. (Spon (1678) II.66) In fact, the texts that describe the splendour of ancient Delphi are also the cause of Spon’s nostalgia. The rich tradition that is tied in with the landscape makes a trip to Greece worthwhile, and it turns every visit to ancient remains into a quintessentially romantic encounter between a vanished past and resurrected memories. 51 Pausanias’ Periegesis usually 145
Page 2 and 3:
PAUSANIAS Travel Writing in Ancient
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CLASSICAL LITERATURE AND SOCIETY Pa
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Contents Editor’s Foreword Prefac
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Editor’s Foreword The aim of this
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Preface ‘And what do you do?’
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Robert Porod, Barbara Porod and Ala
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List of Illustrations Fig. 1. Greec
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1 Approaching Pausanias’ Perieges
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1. Approaching Pausanias’ Periege
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2. Pausanias: the Man and his Time
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3. The Importance of Travelling Bro
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3. The Importance of Travelling poi
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3. The Importance of Travelling ler
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3. The Importance of Travelling had
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3. The Importance of Travelling als
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3. The Importance of Travelling ver
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4. Greek Travel Writing: Between Re
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5 A Sense of Space: Landscape and G
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5. A Sense of Space: Landscape and
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6 A Sense of Time: Pausanias as His
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6. A Sense of Time: Pausanias as Hi
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7 Describing a City From Chaironeia
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7. Describing a City special festiv
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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
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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
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Bibliography Dugas, C., Beuchmans,
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Bibliography Gedoyn, N. (1731-3), P
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Bibliography Holleaux, M. (1938),
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Bibliography Kowalzig, B. (2005),
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Bibliography Arcadia, held at the N
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Bibliography Polignac, F. de (1995)
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Bibliography hauer (eds), Beschreib
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Bibliography la propaganda imperial
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Index Locorum Passages that appear
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Index Locorum 1.39.4-6: 77n17, 1.41
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Index Locorum 23n34, 6.24.9: 40n55,
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Index Locorum 109n26, 10.5.1: 39n48
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General Index Achaia, 5, 59, 77, 15
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General Index decline, 28, 91-3, 12
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General Index Kalydonian boar hunt,
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General Index pepaideumenos, 25-7,
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General Index travelogues, 49, 51 T
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