Pausanias_Travel_Writing_in_Ancient Greece [Maria_Pretzler]

Pausanias: Travel Writing in Ancient Greece
ethnography were naturally dependent on information about far-flung
places, and ever since Herodotos historiographers were almost expected to
depend on material gathered by travelling. Stories about the customs of
barbarians in distant lands became a matter of discussion for philosophers,
and accounts of plants and animals offered comparisons for flora
and fauna at home as well as material for ethical debates. 5 There was a
long and varied tradition which provided models for literary encounters
with a historical landscape while also requiring an author to bear in mind
readers’ prejudices and expectations. I shall return to Pausanias’ Periegesis
at the end of this chapter to assess how it relates to general aspects
of Greek travel writing. The following chapters will introduce further
Greek texts which offer comparisons to Pausanias’ handling of geography
and landscapes, history, city topographies and works of art.
As Lucian suggests in the passage that introduces this chapter, the
tradition of ancient Greek travellers’ accounts starts with Odysseus. 6 As
the only surviving eyewitness, the hero relates much of his own journey
from Troy to Scheria 7 where the poem ‘listens in’ on his dramatic report to
Alkinoos and the Phaiakians. Lucian may criticise these stories as unbelievable,
but the Odyssey presents them as the true account of actual
events. 8 Odysseus himself, however, makes clear that he cannot always be
trusted: his own story shows how he cunningly concealed his true identity
from Polyphemos. 9 Later, after his return to Ithaka, Odysseus’ credentials
as a man who ‘tells lies as if they were the truth’ are demonstrated even
more clearly. 10 The first person he meets is Athena in disguise, and he
introduces himself as a Cretan fugitive. The goddess responds by showing
him up as a habitual liar:
Anyone who would outdo you in all kinds of trickery would have to be
cunning and crafty indeed, even if it were a god who met you. You are bold,
full of various wiles and always out for deceit. Although you are now in your
own land it does not look as if you are going to stop lying or inventing artful
stories which you love from the bottom of your heart. 11 (Hom. Od. 13.291-5)
More such elaborate ‘Cretan tales’, all well adapted to purpose, audience
and circumstances, are presented to Eumaios, Penelope and
Laertes. 12 Penelope in particular shows some scepticism about travellers’
stories: she tests Odysseus’ false account, but his tale is constructed to
stand up to her scrutiny, demonstrating how fiction can be made to
resemble fact. Most worryingly, these ‘Cretan tales’ seem much more
realistic than the ‘actual’ events which attracted Lucian’s complaints
about stories of monsters and miracles. Odysseus’ ‘Cretan’ personas do not
talk about marvellous adventures: their comfortable lives were disrupted
by events such as family strife, aristocratic rivalry, war and ordinary
shipwrecks, all quite plausible at least at the time when the epic was
written down. The audience is almost invited to ask why these stories
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