Describing Greece: Landscape and Literature in the Periegesis of Pausanias

The Periegesis Hellados (Description of Greece) by Pausanias is the most important example of non-fictional travel literature in ancient Greek. With this work Professor Hutton provides the first book-length literary study of the Periegesis Hellados in nearly one hundred years. He examines Pausanias’ arrangement and expression of his material and evaluates his authorial choices in light of the contemporary literary currents of the day and in light of the cultural milieu of the Roman empire in the time of Hadrian and the Antonines. The descriptions offered in the Periegesis Hellados are also examined in the context of the archaeological evidence available for the places Pausanias visited. This study reveals Pausanias to be a surprisingly sophisticated literary craftsman and a unique witness to Greek identity at a time when that identity was never more conflicted.