Pausanias_Travel_Writing_in_Ancient Greece [Maria_Pretzler]

Pausanias: Travel Writing in Ancient Greece
describe, and the historical or mythical accounts that would need to be
included in a particular passage. Pausanias’ systematic adherence to his
plan is remarkable, considering that the composition of the Periegesis took
fifteen to twenty years, and perhaps more, from the early 160s at the very
latest to about AD 180. 25
Book X ends abruptly, and, although a case can be made that Pausanias
may have intended it that way, 26
it is possible that the last book is not
finished, or that a few chapters at its end were lost. The whole pace of Book
X, however, is not as we have come to expect from Pausanias. Compared
with the exhaustive treatment of Olympia which fills about one and a half
books, the twenty-seven chapters dealing with Delphi seem short. 27 The
description of the sanctuary starts with a statement about the victor statues:
I will note those monuments that seemed to me most worth writing about.
The athletes and participants in musical competitions which are neglected
by most people I do not consider worth the effort, and those athletes who
have left some fame behind I have presented in my description of Elis (en
logôi tôi … es Êleious). 28 (Paus. 10.9.1-2)
This is a surprising statement, coming from a man who meticulously fills
eighteen chapters with the description of almost two hundred victor
statues at Olympia, and who carefully reads inscriptions even on empty
statue bases to record more monuments in his work. The description of
Phokis is generally less detailed than we might expect on Pausanias’ past
record. 29
Finally, the treatment of Lokris is definitely unusual: Ozolian
Lokris, the area west of Phokis, is quickly dealt with in one long chapter
(10.38), while Opountian Lokris, a region northeast of Boiotia, is not
included at all. It seems that while writing Book IX Pausanias still had a
more lengthy treatment of Lokris in mind, because he promises to discuss
a particular mythical genealogy in his Lokrian logos, a subject which is not
raised in the one extant chapter dealing with this region. 30 This is the only
cross-reference that does not match up with an appropriate passage. It
seems possible, therefore, that Book X was rushed for some reason, with
less time for the full consideration of even small towns and less famous
monuments that we see elsewhere in his work.
The routes described in the Periegesis are a complex literary construct
which gives the text a well-defined structure. They do not represent an
account of an actual journey, although it is clear that the author has
personally seen most of the places he describes. 31 The regions covered in
the ten books are further divided into territories of individual cities, and,
after some experimentation with the format of city descriptions in Book I,
Pausanias follows a set pattern as he moves from one polis to the next. He
usually approaches on a main route, and after crossing the boundaries he
proceeds to the urban centre. At some point, usually when the town has
been reached, there is a summary of the highlights of local history,
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