Pausanias_Travel_Writing_in_Ancient Greece [Maria_Pretzler]

2. Pausanias: the Man and his Time
able traditions can be dismissed, rationalised or re-interpreted to find a
deeper meaning, and this way of dealing with problematic material is
reminiscent of Herodotos. 29 The evaluation of such information depends on
the author’s personal judgement, and Pausanias sometimes feels
prompted to reveal something about his own views, although such comments
remain the exception rather than the rule. Nevertheless, he leaves
no doubt that an encounter with Greece is not just an enquiry into history
and culture: it also encourages travellers or readers to revisit their attitudes
to ancestral myths, rituals and gods.
The Periegesis may offer a lot of material to piece together a profile of
Pausanias’ literary persona, but it does not provide much concrete historical
information about the man behind the book. There is little that can be
said for certain: everyone has to cite the same few relevant passages, and
much is left to conjecture. Pausanias does not mention his own name, and
small hints have to suffice to identify his native city.
Even today there remain signs that Pelops and Tantalos once lived in our
[my] region: there is a lake called after Tantalos and a conspicuous grave;
moreover, there is a throne of Pelops on a peak of Mount Sipylos, beyond the
sanctuary of Meter Plastene, and across the river Hermon, at Temnos, is an
image of Aphrodite which is made of a living myrtle-tree. We have a tradition
that it was dedicated by Pelops to propitiate the goddess and to pray that
Hippodameia might become his bride. 30 (Paus. 5.13.7)
This is the only time in the Periegesis when Pausanias identifies with a
particular place, namely Magnesia on Sipylos, a city on the river Hermos
in western Asia Minor (Fig. 5, cf. Fig. 1). 31 Pausanias knows a number of
notable sites on Mount Sipylos and he is well acquainted with the region
and its local traditions. A thorough knowledge of a particular area might
not say much in the context of Pausanias’ meticulous descriptions of so
many sites, but he has seen swarms of locusts destroyed on Mount Sipylos
three times. This is a rare event, unlikely to be witnessed repeatedly by
someone who has not actually lived in the region for some time. 32 Other
places of origin have been suggested, but all such theories rely on an
identification with roughly contemporary namesakes known from ancient
sources. 33 None of these individuals, however, fits the profile of Pausanias
the Periegete: as far as we can tell, the only trace he left in the ancient
record is his own literary work.
Magnesia on Sipylos lies in Lydia, a part of the Roman province of Asia
which was one of the most prosperous parts of the Roman empire. Smyrna,
Ephesos and Pergamon were all not very far away, three of the most
splendid cities of the Roman empire and centres of intellectual activities
with the best possible facilities. Pausanias knew all three cities well, and
they are often used as examples that come to mind easily. He refers to the
history of Pergamon and knows various details about the sanctuary of
Asklepios there, in Smyrna the recently constructed Asklepieion seems to
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