The Contribution of Early Travel Narratives to Historical Geography of Greece

The ‘long’ eighteenth century (1685-1830) can be seen as a golden age of travel writing. Gentlemen scholars made their way to Greece, through Europe, and recorded their journeys in the form of prose journals or letters. These personal accounts were of course composed by men whose education had been based on Classical learning, but ‘Greece’ at that time was no more than a geographical expression, being as it was subsumed into the Ottoman Empire. These early travel narratives, then were important in bringing back to life some of the lost glory of ancient Greece in popular culture, and even served as important reference tools for early nineteenth century geographers. Wagstaff looks at the impact of these narratives but reminds us to be cautious in relying on such sources, which should be seen within their historical context.