Pausanias_Travel_Writing_in_Ancient Greece [Maria_Pretzler]

Pausanias: Travel Writing in Ancient Greece
Not far from the market-place is a theatre, and nearby are pedestals of
bronze statues, but the statues themselves are no longer there. On one
pedestal is an elegiac inscription which states that the statue was that of
Philopoemen. 51 (Paus. 8.49.1)
Here we see Pausanias walking around the centre of Tegea, looking at a
number of empty statue bases until he discovers a description of historical
significance, and he made similar discoveries in other places, too. 52
It is
anyone’s guess how many inscriptions he investigated for any one recorded
in the Periegesis. Many inscriptions were worn with age or damaged, and
Pausanias learned to cope with archaic scripts and dialects. 53
Pausanias was also keen to collect local, oral tradition, and, as we have
already seen, it was probably not difficult to find informants on most sites.
He assessed local stories in the light of the literary tradition or alternative
evidence, and he was not always satisfied with what he heard, engaging
in discussion with his informants. 54 In some places Pausanias looked for
alternative information, for example by talking to the oldest inhabitants
who might remember details that were otherwise forgotten. 55 Comments
on questions the locals could not answer to his satisfaction highlight main
areas of enquiry. Local history prompted questions about genealogies,
eponymous heroes or founders and aitia, stories that explained particular
aspects of local culture. 56 When faced with a monument Pausanias asked
about artists and dedicators, the meaning of images or sculptures and the
history of the monument. 57 He was also specially interested in minute
details of cult practice and the historical background of any unusual
features of local religion. 58
Pausanias’ personal knowledge of Greek sites is no longer a matter of
dispute, but his original research is still questioned in many areas, for
example recently the issue of written sources for his many details on
mythical traditions has been raised again. 59 Did Pausanias use specialised
handbooks as sources for his accounts of myths, foundation stories or
information about local cults? There is no doubt that such material was
collected and published in antiquity, and since Pausanias complemented
his research by consulting many literary sources it seems likely that he
also consulted appropriate reference books. In fact, there are many parallels
between particular details in the Periegesis and the information found
in fragments of ancient mythographical works, but it is still possible that
he could have heard the same information on site. Educated élites everywhere
in the Greek world would have been very aware of the traditions
circulating about their city, and their own versions of the local past could
take literary sources into account: a certain uniformity of Greek myths
would therefore not be surprising. The consistency of Pausanias’ focus on
particular themes and questions has also been presented as evidence for
his use of specific reference books as a main source. Again, however, this
feature of the Periegesis (which is, incidentally, easily exaggerated) could
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