1. Pausanias: Explorations
Throughout the Ancient
Greek World
Presentation by Greg Pace
CLCV 232: Ancient Greek Sanctuaries

2. Introduction
Pausanias is a very important figure
in our studies of ancient Greek
sanctuaries because he provides his
own personal accounts of his travels
throughout Greece in mid-second
century AD.

3. Background
• Born in 110AD, died 180AD
• He was a Roman writer and geographer who came from Asia Minor
who traveled extensively to places like Antioch, Joppa, Jerusalem
and the banks of the River Jordan, Egypt, Ammon, Pindar, and
Macedonia.
• Most famous for his writing The Description of Greece which is an
extensive ten book guidebook in which he describes the cities and
sanctuaries, monuments and objects he observed during his
travels throughout Greece most nobility focusing on Athens (1),
Sparta (3), Delphi (10), Olympus and the Olympian Games (5-6).

4. Background cont.
• Pedley accuses him of relying on second hand sources and that he
misses crucial information like not mentioning the Parthenon
frieze at all
• Throughout the textbook Sanctuaries and the Sacred in the
Ancient Greek he gives examples whether other archeological
evidence supports or disproves his writings.
• What makes him so special vs other geographers is because not
only does he provide geographical context, he also gives
cultural and religious context as well as myths and political
events.

5. Description of Greece: Book 1
• An interesting aspect of his writing is
that he treats the reader similarly to
a tour guide in Greece today.
• An example would be in book one in
which he covers the region of Attica,
he depicts entering the city of Athens
through the main gates and gives
descriptions of the geography and
highlights the points of interest
around the area. Throughout the book
he focuses on Athens and the
Acropolis. Among many other topics
around the region he covers some
relevant places to those learned
throughout the year are his
descriptions of Marathon and its epic
battle and sacred places like Eleusis.

6. Book 2: Argolis
• Throughout book II,
Pausanians covers the
region of Argolis.

7. Book 3: Laconia
• In book III, he covers the region
of Laconia most notably talking
about Sparta. Pedley points out
an interesting ritual in the book
that explains that Spartan boys
were whipped in public to see
who could endure the pain
longest and his reasoning other
than social and physical
competition was to please
Artemis with human blood.

8. Book 4: Messenia
• In book IV, Pausanias
covers the region of
Messenia.

9. Books 5 and 6: Elis
• In books V and VIm he covers
the region of Elis and tell
stories about the ancient
quadrennial Panhellenic games
at Olympus, held in honor of
Zeus. It is said that these books
are some of his best work. An
interesting fact is that he
believed Herakles founded the
games rather than Pelops.

10. Book 7: Achaea
• In book VII, Pausanias covers
the region of Achaea.

11. Book 8: Arcadia
• In book VIII, Pausanias covers
the region of Arcadia.

12. Book 9: Boeotia
• In book IX, Pausanias covers
the region of Arcadia.

13. Book 10: Phocis
• In book X, Pausanias covers the
region of Phocis where Delphi is
located. He describes how Delphi
is steep and difficult for the
walker, tells stories of about
Delphi, and goes into detail
about the oracle of Apollo. He
talks about the Pythian Games
and their history as well as the
Amphityonic League. When he is
describing Delphi he also talks
about the offerings that took
place there.

14. Concluding
• We have a lot of thank Pausanias for because without him we
would not know nearly as much as we do know about the history
of ancient Greece’s geography, culture, religion, and much more
at the time.
• His method of writing is not only informative but provides readers
insight to how people lived there lives.
• Archeologist continue to refer to his writings to prove if their
findings match up with his writing or to disprove his writing.
Pausanias is truly an amazing resource to us today and his travels
will never be forgotten.

15. Bibliography
• Atsma, Aaron. "Pausanias, Description of Greece." Theoi E-Texts
Library. http://www.theoi.com/Text/Pausanias1A.html
(accessed April 26, 2014).
• Habicht, Christian. Pausanias' Guide to Ancient Greece. Vol. 50.
University of California Press, 1998.
• Jones, W. H. S., and R. E. Wycherley. "Pausanias' Description of
Greece, Loeb Classical Library, Vol." 170.

16. Worksheet Answers
When was Pausanias born: _________ (110AD)
What made him not just a standard geographer?: ______ (he also
gives cultural and religious context as well as myths and political
events)
What is he most famous works?: ________ (The Description of
Greece)
Who did he believe founded the Olympic games?: _____________
(Herakles)
Why is he important to archeology? _______ (archeologist try to find
similarities and continuity with his writings.