The Past and Present Society

Pausanias: A Greek Pilgrim in the Roman World

Author(s): John Elsner
Source: Past & Present, No. 135 (May, 1992), pp. 3-29
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Past and Present Society
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 A GREEKPILGRIMIN THE
PAUSANIAS:
ROMANWORLD*
The mereactofenumeration
hasa powerofenchantment
all itsown.'
Thisis an articleaboutcultural
identity.I examine howa single
Greek, livingundertheRomanempire, usedmyths oftheancient
Greekpastand thesacredassociations of pilgrimage to shield
himself fromthefullimplications ofbeinga subject.Pausanias'
DescriptionofGreecerevealshowoneperson sawhimself, howhe
established his identity,personal,collective and in
cultural,
Greece inthesecondcentury A.D.2A textwhich has beenregarded
as a pedanticandantiquariantouristguidecanbe interpreted to
showhowGreekscopedwiththeburden ofa distinguishedpast
weighing ontheircultural withthecontemporary
identity, politics
ofGreece'sstatusas a Romanprovince, andwiththeprofound
senseofthesacredwithwhichso muchofantiqueculture was
imbued. In thecaseofPausanias,
wecanseetherelative signific-
anceoftheseaspects ofthecultureintheir impact onthewriter's
viewofhimself andhisproject.By comparing Pausaniaswith
travel-writersoftheearlyChristianperiod, we can graspnotonly
somesurprising continuities
between paganandChristian culture,
butalsosomeprofound inhowtheholywasperceived
differences
andexperienced.
For aboutthirty years,between A.D.150and 180,Pausanias
travelled through mainland Greecedescribing themonuments

* Anearlyversionofthisarticle
wasreadatthe"Loxbridge" conference
ofancient
in 1988at thesessionchairedbyFergusMillar.I amgrateful
historians to him,to
all whotookpart,andtoMaryBeard,JohnHenderson, RogerLing,RobinOsborne
and Anthony Snodgrasswhohavecommented on morerecentdrafts.My special
thanksforhisadviceandencouragement aredueto KeithHopkins.
I M. Foucault, The Orderof Things(London, 1970), p. xvi.
2
ofGreece
Pausanias'Description is mostreadilyavailableinEnglishinthetransla-
tionbyPeterLevi(Harmondsworth, 1971).However, readers shouldbe waryofthis
version,sinceit restructures
thetextso as to turnit intoa modern guidebookto
Greece,andthuslosestheoriginal
structurewhichI shallargueis veryimportantto
understandingPausanias.
The mostdistinguished
version is thatbySirJames Frazer
in the firstvolume of his commentary,
Pausanias's Description
of Greece,6 vols.
(London,1898).On thetext,itsauthorandthemanuscript see A. Diller,
tradition,
Studiesin GreekManuscriptTradition(Amsterdam,1983), pp. 137-82.

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4 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 135

whichhe foundofinterest.3 He recordedhisimpressions ofthose

monuments togetherwith a greatmanyvignettes, mythsand
anecdotesin a periegesis (description)of ten books. With the
notableexceptionof Paul Veyne,4criticshave tendedto see
Pausaniasas a bitofa pedant- an accurate, ifplodding,observer
of monuments, who cluttered his textwith"irrelevant"digres-
sionsintomythandhistory.5 The historicalaccuracyofhisdiscus-
sionshasbeenfrequently attacked, whiletheirarchaeologicaland
topographical accuracy has been much lauded and usedas a basis
forfurther research.6Archaeologists have culledPausaniasfor
descriptions evokingwhat siteswere like in thesecondcentury.7
Historiansof religionhave also foundmuchof anthropological
interestin thestoriesPausaniasrecorded.8 Suchapproacheshave
tendedtofocuson particular storiesormonuments whichPausan-
ias discussed.Theyare interested notin hismannerofapproach
or meansof viewing,but in the objectshe viewed.Those few
attempts to presentan overviewofthewholetexthaveexamined
thepersonality ofPausanias,thefactthathe was a traveller, and
the historical and archaeologicaltrustworthiness of his
observations.9
3 For the date, see Frazer, Pausanias'sDescription of Greece,i, pp. xvi-xviii;C.
Habicht,Pausanias' Guideto AncientGreece(Berkeley,1985), pp. 8-11, summarizes
earlierliterature.For summariesof Pausanias' lifeand workwithbibliography, see
O. Regenbogen,"Pausanias", in G. Wissowa,W. Kroll and K. Mittelhaus(eds.),
Paulys Realencyclopaedie der classischen Supplementbandviii
Altertumswissenschaft,
(Stuttgart,1956), pp. 1008-97; E. Pernice and W. H. Gross, "Der Periegesedes
Pausanias", in U. Hausmann(ed.), Allgemeine Grundlagen derArchaeologie (Munich,
1969), pp. 402-8.
4 P. Veyne,Did the GreeksBelievein theirMyths?,trans.P. Wissing(Chicago,

1988), p. 3.
5Some have thoughtthe digressionsto be the chiefinterestof Pausanias' work,
and even doubtedthathe saw themonuments he describes.See, in particular,U. von
Willamowitz-Moellendorf, "Die Thukidideslegende", Hermes,xii (1877), pp. 326-67,
esp. pp. 344-7; C. Robert,Pausaniasals Schriftsteller (Berlin,1909); H. L. Ebeling,
"Pausanias as an Historian",Classical Weekly,vii (1913), pp. 138-41, 146-50; the
argumentis reviewedby Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,pp. 164-75.
6 See Habicht, Pausanias' Guide,appendix 1, pp. 164-75, for a summaryof the
attackon Pausanias.Habichthimself(esp. ibid.,ch. 2, pp. 28-63) leads the defence.
On his reliability, see also R. E. Wycherley,"Pausanias and Praxiteles",Hesperia,
suppl. no. 20 (1982), pp. 182-3, 188 f.
7 See, forexample,G. Daux, Pausaniasa Delphes(Paris, 1936); G. Roux, Pausanias
enCorinthie (Paris, 1958). For a bibliography ofotherexamples,see M. Jost,"Pausan-
ias en Megalopolitide",Revuedesitudesanciennes, lxxv (1973), nn. 1, 2.
8 See, in particular,M. G. Verraland J. E. Harrison,Mythology and Monuments of
AncientAthens(London, 1890); Frazer,Pausanias'sDescription.
9 See Frazer,Pausanias'sDescription, i, introd.;J.Heer, La personnalitide Pausanias
(Paris, 1979), on his personality and religion;L. Casson, Travelin theAncientWorld
(London, 1974), pp. 292-300,fortravel;Habicht,Pausanias' Guide.

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 PAUSANIAS: A GREEK PILGRIM IN THE ROMAN WORLD 5

My projectin thisarticleis somewhatdifferent. Pausanias'

acknowledgedintentionwas to represent"all thingsGreek"
(panta ta hellenika)(i.26.4).o0 No critichas soughtto examine
the textof Pausaniasas an accountof "all thingsGreek",as a
uniqueattempt tosystematize andencapsulate allthatwasinteres-
tingto the Greek-speaker about Greece at the heightof the
Romanempire.Aftersetting Pausanias'writings intheirhistorical
and literarycontext,I shall focuson whathis narrative, as a
systematic enumeration of Greece,revealsaboutGreekidentity
in thesecondcentury A.D.
Pausaniasoffers us a guideto theformation ofGreekreligious
identityas a formof resistance to therealitiesof Romanrule."
His text relatesthatsense of Greekidentityboth to specific
privilegedplacesin Greeceandto themyth-histories whichthese
places evoked. Pausaniaspresented hisnarrative ofplacesin the
orderhisreaderswouldexperience themiftheytooweremaking
his journey.The readertravelsthroughthe textas Pausanias
himselftravelledthroughGreece.This meansthatthe reader
encounters themanydifferent andpreviously independent localit-
ies of Greecewithina singletextencapsulating thewhole.The
way Pausaniasstructured his subjectmatterrevealsan attempt
to transcend thehistoricalrealitiesofconflictand divisionamong
the Greeksin searchof a myth-history whichmightevokethe
imageof a free,unifiedGreece.This visionof the past (apart
frombeingmoreofa mythical idealthanan historicalfact)clearly
conflictswiththerealitiesof Pausanias'own day. In thesecond
centuryA.D. Greecemayhave been united,but it was certainly
notfree.It wasa provinceoftheRomanempire.12The inevitable
tensionbetweenthismythof Greekidentityand the factsof
RomanrulewasresolvedforPausaniasonlybyevokinga religious
identity,deeperthansocio-political realities,whichlay in the
sacredsitesand monuments of Greece.The textprovidesa link
betweentheexternal signsoftheholy(statues,templesandsacred
spots)and theinwardexperienceof theholy.It offers a keyto
the formation of religioussubjectivity in the ancientworld.In
Frazer,Pausanias'sDescription,
i, p. xxii; Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,pp. 5-6.
10o
For a briefaccountof some aspectsof GreekidentityundertheRoman empire,
see R. Browning,"Greeks and Others",in his History,Languageand Literacyin the
ByzantineWorld(London, 1989), pp. 8-11.
12 For somereflections
on Greecein thisperiod,see S. E. Alcock,"Roman Imperial-
ism in the Greek Landscape", Ji. Roman Archaeol.,ii (1989), pp. 5-34; M. H.
Crawford,"Rome and the GreekWorld", Econ. Hist. Rev.,xxx (1977), pp. 42-52.

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6 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER 135

an analysisofthiswell-known
effect textcan shedvaluablelight
on the culturalassumptionsof thehighempire,whichin their
turngave rise to attitudeswe would regardas typicalof late
antiquity.

I
HISTORICALAND LITERARYCONTEXT
The usualviewofPausaniasregardshimas an antiquarian, writ-
inga guidebook("the GreekBaedeker")inan age ofliterary and
antiquarianism
linguistic - the so-called"Second Sophistic".13
In thisperiodtravelforthe sake of educatedtourismbecame
increasinglypopular,14perhapson the modelof the extensive
imperialjourneyswhichhad becomea necessarypart of the
emperor'srole.15This view of Pausanias,a reasonableestimate
inmanyrespects, is,however,deeplymisleading. assim-
It rightly
ilatesPausanias'travelsto the kindof learnedtourismso well
evokedby his earliercompatriot, the essayistand biographer
Plutarch(c. A.D.47-120),in the followingsketch:
CleombrotusofSparta... had mademanyexcursionsin Egyptand about
theland of thecave-dwellers,and had sailedbeyondthePersianGulf;his
journeyings were not forbusiness,but he was fondof seeingthingsand
of acquiringknowledge;he had wealthenoughand . .. so he employed
his leisureforsuch purposes;he was gettingtogethera historyto serve
as a basis fora philosophywhichhad as its aim theology,as he himself
13 On Pausanias Murrayor Blue Guide,see Frazer,Pausanias's
as a Baedeker,
Formdes Pausanias",
i, p. xxiv;G. Pasquali,"Die schriftstellerische
Description,
Hermes,xlviii(1913), p. 161; B. P. Reardon,Courantslitterairesgrecs(Paris, 1971),
p. 222; Casson, Travelin theAncientWorld,pp. 292 f.; K. Muller, Geschichte der
antikenEthnographieundethnologischen ii (Wiesbaden,1980), p. 177;
Theoriebildung,
Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,p. 20; R. Chevallier,Voyageset diplacementsdansl'empire
romain
(Paris,1988),p. 50;J.Ferguson,
Among theGods(London,1990),p. 77. Only
Did theGreeks,
Veyne, pp.3, 101,openlycontests ofthisassessment.
the"injustice"
in theRomanEmpire
On the"Second Sophistic",see G. W. Bowersock,GreekSophists
totheSecondSophistic
(Oxford,1969); G. W. Bowersock(ed.), Approaches (University
YaleClassical
ofSophists",
Park,1974);E. L. Bowie,"The Importance xxvii
Studies,
(1982),pp.29-60.
viewofancient
tourist"
14 For the"antiquarian travel, in
see theclassicchapters
L. Friedlaender,Darstellungen Roms,3 vols. (Leipzig, 1921-3),
aus derSittengeschichte
i, pp. 318-490;Casson,TravelintheAncientWorld,pp. 229-330;E. D. Hunt,"Travel,
TourismandPietyin theRomanEmpire",Echosdu monde xxviii(1984),
classique,
pp.391-417(pp.398-401on Pausanias).
in theRomanWorld(London, 1977), pp. 28-40; H.
15 See F. Millar, The Emperor
Halfmann,ItineraPrincipum:Geschichte und Typologie im r6mischen
der Kaiserreisen
Reich
(Stuttgart, andSt.Helena:Imperial
1986),esp.pp. 143-56;K. Holum,"Hadrian
TravelandtheOriginsofChristianHolyLandPilgrimage", inR. Ousterhout
(ed.),
TheBlessings (Urbana, 1990), pp. 66-81.
ofPilgrimage

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 PAUSANIAS:A GREEK PILGRIMIN THE ROMANWORLD 7
namedit.He hadrecently
beenat theshrineofAmmon
anditwasplain
thathe was not particularly
impressedby mostof the thingsthere.'6
Pausaniasmay be comparedwiththistypeof travellerin the
wealthand leisurehe musthave enjoyedto conducthis travels,
and in hisinterest
inwriting.
Buttherethecomparison stops.He
differedfromthepatternimpliedby Cleombrotus in twofunda-
mentalaspects.First,mostunusually,Pausaniaschoseto travel
in and writeabouthisownnativeland.He himself
was awarethat
thiswas somewhatpeculiar:
The Greeksappear apt to regardwithgreaterwonderforeignsightsthan
sightsat home. For whereasdistinguishedhistorianshave describedthe
Egyptianpyramidsin theminutestdetail,theyhave notmade thebriefest
mentionof the treasuryof Minyasand the wallsof Tiryns,thoughthese
areno lessmarvellous
(ix.36.5).
Greekwriters preferredto turntheirgaze upontheforeign than
upon the self.The strangeness of Pausanias' enterprise in
lies
recording the monuments and rituals of his own societyrather
thanthoseofotherpeoples.17He was self-consciously exploring
Greekidentity through lookingat "all thingsGreek"ratherthan
implicitlydefiningitbycontrast withthingsEgyptian orScythian
(as, forexample,Herodotusdid18).
Secondly,Pausanias'interests lay in religioussitesand cere-
monies.AlthoughPlutarch'sreadersencounterCleombrotus at
theoracularshrineofDelphiand theaccountofhimmentions a
tripto a templeofAmmon,Cleombrotus' interestsarenotessen-
tiallyreligious.The discussionhe conductedat the openingof
theessaycentredon obscuremathematical problemsconcerning
thelengthoftheyear.WhenaskedabouttheoracleofAmmon,
he "made no replyand did notlook up".19In facttheessayin
whichhe appearsis about the obsolescenceof oraclesin the
Greeceof Plutarch'stime.By contrast, as criticshavenotfailed

16
Plutarch,De defectu ii.410AB.
oraculorum,
For a briefaccountofPausanias'viewofGreecein thecontext
17 ofhisviewof
worldgeography, see C. Jacob,"The GreekTraveler's
AreasofKnowledge:
Myths
and OtherDiscoursesin Pausanias's Description
of Greece",Yale FrenchStudies,lix
(1980),pp.65-85,esp.pp.69-73.
18 On Herodotusand the other,see F. Hartog,TheMirrorofHerodotus
(Berkeley,
1988).Fora discussionofthesedifferent
typesofGreekethnography,
seeJ.Elsner,
"FromthePyramids to Pausanias
andPiglet:Monuments,TravelandWriting",in
S. D. Goldhilland R. Osborne(eds.),Artand Textin GreekCulture
(Cambridge,
forthcoming1993).
19Plutarch,De defectu
oraculorum,
iii.410C-411D,v.411E.

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8 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 135

to note,Pausaniasis interested almostobsessively(thoughnot

exclusively) in thingsreligious.20
The religiousbias of Pausaniasdifferentiates himsignificantly
fromtravellers of moregenerally antiquarian interests.He was
not simplyan outsiderseekinginteresting information; he was
(like his Latin-speaking contemporary Apuleius21)a potential
insider,an initiatein at leastsomeofthesanctuaries he visited.22
A religioustouristvisiting sacredsitesis notsimplya tourist:he
or she is also a pilgrim.When visitingthe cave of Demeter
Melaineat Mt. Elaius,Pausaniastellsus that"it was mainlyto
see thisDemeterthatI cameto Phigalia"(viii.42.11).23The trip
had meanta longjourneywestof Megalopolisin Arcadia.The
cavePausaniasfoundwas "sacred"(viii.42.1,3: hieron), forhere
Demeterhadhiddenin grieffortherapeofPersephone. Andyet
therewas nothingto see.The horse-headed woodencult-image,
whichPausaniasdescribedfromhearsay(viii.42.4-5),had been
destroyed by fire,and itsreplacement, a bronzeby thesculptor
Onatas(viii.42.6-10),"no longerexistedin mytime,and most
of the Phigalianswereignorantthatit had everexistedat all"
(viii.42.12).Yetthesitewasholy;ithada numberofspecialrites,
a priestessand threeassistants.Pausaniantravelwas as much
aboutmakingcontactwiththesanctity embodiedin a placeas it
was abouttourism.Pausanianviewing(as in theexpression"to
seethisDemeter")wasas muchaboutperceiving the(in thiscase
invisible)presence of the holy as it was about lookingat art.
In effect,
Pausanias'historical contextis to be soughtas much
amongthemanypilgrims ofantiquity whosoughtcures,explana-
tionsfordreamsand visionsof gods in the greatcult centres
(particularlyofAsiaMinor)as amongtheantiquarian intellectuals
withwhomhe is so oftenassociated.24 His account,farfrombeing
merelya catalogueof monuments, gives us first-hand literary
access to the worldof pagan pilgrimage. In thissense,it can
perhapsbest be comparedwiththe earliestChristianpilgrim
20
See Frazer,Pausanias'sDescription, de Paus-
i, pp. xxv-xxviii;Heer, Personnaliti
anias,pp. 127-314;Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,pp. 23, 151 f.
21
Apuleius,Apologia,Iv: "I have been initiatedinto variousof the Greek mys-
teries".
22 In
particular,Pausaniasappearsto have been an initiateof Demeterand Kore:
see Heer, Personnalitide Pausanias,pp. 132-4; Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,p. 156.
23 On the Demeter of Phigalia,see Jost,"Pausanias en Megalopolitide",p. 249;

Heer, Personnalitide Pausanias,pp. 160-7.

24 Many aspects of pagan cult and pilgrimage evoked by R. Lane
are brilliantly
Fox, Pagans and Christians (London, 1986), pp. 27-261.

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 PAUSANIAS: A GREEK PILGRIM IN THE ROMAN WORLD 9

accountsfromthefourth century A.D.25But thesepilgrimstrav-

elledsomewhere else- to a HolyLand whichwasnottheirown.26
It is Pausanias'insistenceon hisownland,on a journeyintohis
own culturalroots,whichmakeshis textbothrewardingand
unusual.
As anthropologists of Hindu and Buddhistpilgrimagehave
shown,thereis a deep sense of place in the kindof religious
travelwhichtakesa pilgrimlikePausaniasto thesacredcentres
of his ownland (as opposedto theMuslim-Christian modelof a
journeyto a holyland whichis elsewhere).27 In the East Asian
model,pilgrimage becomes"an encounter betweentheindividual
and hisgeography, a cultural
modebywhichpeopleexpresstheir
personal identification
with the continent. . . a means by which
geographyis made a partof theirpsycheand culture".28 The
in space providedby pilgrimage
orientation is not simplygeo-
graphicor cultural.It directly
concernsthereligiousand moral
assumptionswhich are a aspectofPausanias'comment-
frequent
ary on what he described,29and which the philosopherCharles

25
See esp. ItinerariumEgeriae,ed. P. Maraval(Paris, 1982); trans.byJ. Wilkinson
as Egeria'sTravelsto theHoly Land (Jerusalem,1981); the journeyof the Bordeaux
Pilgrimof A.D.333, in Itinerarium Burdigalense, ed. P. Geyerand 0. Cuntz (Corpus
script.Christianorum [hereafter C.S.C.], ser. lat., clxxv,Turnhout,1965); partially
trans.by Wilkinsonin Egeria's Travels,pp. 153-63. For a generaldiscussionof the
phenomenon,see E. D. Hunt, Holy Land Pilgrimage in theLater RomanEmpire,AD
312-460(Oxford,1982).
26 For Christian pilgrimageas a journeyto an "otherworld",see M. B. Campbell,
The Witnessand theOtherWorld(Ithaca,N.Y., 1988), esp. pp. 15-44,on Egeria;for
theemergenceofa characteristically Christianconceptionofthe Holy Land, see J. Z.
Smith,To Take Place: TowardTheoryin Ritual (Chicago, 1987), esp. pp. 88-95, on
Egeria;R. A. Markus,TheEnd ofAncientChristianity (Cambridge,1990),pp. 139-55,
on "holy places and holypeople".
27 On locationand sacredgeography, see D. L. Eck, "India's Tirthas:'Crossings'
in SacredGeography",Hist.Religion, xx (1981), pp. 323-44,esp. p. 323; T. S. Naidu,
"Pilgrimsand Pilgrimage:A Case Studyof the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams",
in M. Jha(ed.), Dimensions ofPilgrimage (Delhi, 1985),p. 17. On Christianpilgrimage
as a journeyelsewhere, see Campbell,Witness and theOtherWorld,p. 18.
28 J.J.Preston,"Sacred Centresand
SymbolicNetworksin SouthAsia", Mankind
Quart.,xx (1980), p. 269 (quotingthe unpublishedworkof B. Aziz).
29 For example,see Pausanias' comments on fate(e.g., iv.9.6, "humanaffairsand
humanpurposeabove all are obscuredby fate,just as the mud of a riverhides a
pebble"; c.f. viii.24.13); on modernmorality(e.g., viii.2.5, "at the presenttime,
when sin has grownto such a heightand has been spreadingover everyland and
everycity,no longerdo menturnintogods,exceptin the flattering wordsaddressed
to despots"); on piety(e.g., concerningHadrian,i.5.5; the Athenians,i.17.1, 24.3;
AntoninusPius, viii.43.5); and impiety(e.g., concerningSulla, i.20.7; the Achaeans,
vii.10.1; Aristocratesson of Aechmis,viii.5.11; Philip,son of Amyntas,viii.7.5).

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10 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER 135

Taylorhas tiedto thenotionofidentity.30 In shortpilgrimage is

a journeyinto one's identityin its topographic, culturaland
spiritualresonances.Pausanias'journeyto the sacredsites of
Greecewas no exception.
In antiquityPausaniaswas unique.Although thereare several
examplesoftravelliterature fromthethirdcentury B.C.,no one
appears to have producedanything more comprehensive thana
on a
specificmonograph single monument or limited area.31The
interests of such descriptionsmay well have been significantly
different fromthoseofPausanias,to judgebytheextantportions
ofa second-century B.C.accountofAtticaand Boeotiapreserved
underthenameof Pseudo-Dicaearchus.32This description, full
of "slighthighly-coloured sketches"witha "strongleaningto
gossipand scandal"(as J.G. Frazerput it),33has greathuman
interest,butdisplaysalmostnonein religion.AndyetPausanias
owed muchto suchethnographic writing, of whichperhapsthe
mostimportant traditionflourished
in Alexandria underthePto-
lemies,and whichis best represented todayby the greatgeo-
graphy of Strabo.34His work was ethnographically and
descriptively muchricherthaneitherthe bare guidebooksand
listsproducedto enumerate monuments and districtsin thecit-
ies,35or the bald cataloguesof coastaltowns (withtheir precise
30 C. Taylor,SourcesoftheSelf(Cambridge,1989), pp. 3 f., 27-8, 43-4, esp. p. 28:
"the essentiallinkbetweenidentityand orientation.To know who you are is to be
orientatedin moralspace".
31 On Pausanias' predecessors, see Frazer,Pausanias'sDescription, i, pp. lxxxii-xc;
Heer, Personnalite de Pausanias,pp. 9-12.
32 The fragments of Pseudo-Dicaearchusare edited by C. Miiller in Geographi
Graeciminores, 2 vols. (Paris,1882),i, pp. 97-110;fora partialtranslation, see Frazer,
Pausanias'sDescription, i, pp. xliii-xlviii.
i, pp. xlvii-xlviii.
33
Frazer,.Pausanias'sDescription,
34 On Alexandriangeographies, see P. M. Fraser, PtolemaicAlexandria,3 vols.
(Oxford, 1972), i, pp. 520-53; for descriptionsof Alexandriaitself(in particular
Strabo'sBook 17), see ibid.,pp. 7-37.
35For ancientguidebooksto cities,see G. Hermansen,"The PopulationofImperial
Rome: The Regionaries",Historia,xxvii (1978), pp. 129-68,esp. pp. 131-8, 140 f.,
on the enumerativelistsof Roman monumentswhichgo underthe collectivename
of "regionaries"and thecomparablenotitiaurbisConstantinopolitanae. The "regiona-
ries" are collectedand editedby H. Jordanin Topographie derStadtRominAlterthum,
2 vols. (Berlin,1871),ii, appendix;R. Valentiniand G. Zucchetti,in Codicetopografico
dellacittddi Roma(Rome, 1940), pp. 63-258; A. Nordh,in Libellusde regionibus urbis
Romae (Lund, 1949). Such accountswere drawn on by ZachariahRhetorfor his
descriptionof Rome in the SyriacChronicle, x.16: see Jordan,Topographie derStadt
Rim, ii, pp. 525-7; Historiaecclesiastica ZachariaeRhetori,ed. E. W. Brooks,2 vols.
(C.S.C., Script. Syrii, 3rd ser., lv-lvi, Louvain, 1919-21), ii, pp. 131-4; trans.
F. J. Hamiltonas The EcclesiasticalHistoryof ZachariusRhetor(London, 1892),
pp. 317-19. For the notitiaof Constantinople, see Notitiadignitatum,ed. O. Seeck
(cont.onp. 11)

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 PAUSANIAS: A GREEK PILGRIM IN THE ROMAN WORLD 11

entriesabout itemsforimportand export)made by merchant

Pausaniascombinedtheprecisionand aim forcom-
travellers.36
prehensiveness implicitin such practicalguidebookswiththe
morelivelydescriptive ambitionsofGreekliterary ethnography.
The uniqueachievement ofPausaniaslaynotjustinhisattempt
to describethewholeof Greece,but also in his balancebetween
comprehensive enumeration, theretelling
of myth-historiesand
theurgeto presentthe courseof his travelsexperientially.His
strategy to and
was select compile the"most noteworthy" sights,
the"mostfamouslegends"aroundtheimagesthat
to crystallize
encapsulatedthem."Pausanias'Greecewas thepastglorified qua
past, livingandpresentstillin themyth-historical
but andsacred
presenceof its sacredimages.This is one reason,ideologically,
whyPausaniaswasaboveallobsessedwithreligious monuments.38
These worksof art werenot merelya decorationon the land-
scape- theytransformed thelandscapewiththepresenceof a
or
god,story myth.39
particular

II
STRUCTURING GREECE: PLACE AS MYTH AND AS EXPERIENCE
Like fourth-centuryChristian to theHoly Land, such
travellers
as Egeriaor theBordeauxPilgrimof A.D. 333, Pausaniasstruc-
turedhis Greeceon thepatternof his own travels.We movein
thetext,as thetraveller
himself
journeyed,fromcentreto centre.
This was by no meansto be expectedin a worklikePausanias'
Therewasnothing
Description. unusualabouta pilgrimlikeEgeria
(n. 35 cont.)
(Berlin, 1876), pp. 229-43; forthe topographicdescriptionsof Constantinople that
survivein the textof Codinus,see Scriptores originumConstantinopolitanarum,ed. T.
Preger,2 vols. (Leipzig, 1901-7),ii.
36 See, in particular,the Periplusof the ErithraeanSea, datingfromabout A.D.
95-130, ed. and trans.W. Schoff(London, 1912), G. W. B. Huntingford (London,
1980), L. Casson (Princeton,1989).
37 This goal was announcedfrequently: forexample,"The mostnoteworthy sight
in thePiraeusis a precinctofAthenaand Zeus" (i. 1.3); "The mostnoteworthy things
whichI foundthe cityof Epidaurusitselfhad to show are these" (ii.29.1); among
numerousother instances,see i.39.3, ii.10.4, 13.3, 15.1, 20.7, 23.7, 25.4, 30.10,
iii.19.6,viii.54.7,x.32.1.
38 On theconcentration on sacredimages,see Frazer,Pausanias'sDescription,i, pp.
xxv f.; Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,p. 23, n. 91; Casson, Travelin theAncientWorld,
p. 296.
39 On Pausanias,locativemythsand "divine presence",see Lane Fox, Pagansand
Christians, pp. 111 f. On the importanceof imagesin pagancults,see ibid.,pp. 66-8.
On Pausaniasand local myths,see Veyne,Did theGreeks,p. 17.

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12 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER135

makingan effort to writea personalaccountof thepatternand

orderin whichsheexperienced theholyplaces.Afterall she had
comefarfromherhome(probablyin Gaul),and it is likelythat
she was writingfor a circleof pious women,one of whose
devotional actsmayhavebeentoreadheraccount.40ButPausan-
ias was describing a familiarworld,theclassicsitesoftheGreek
mainland,in a textaimedat Greekreaders.Moreovertheusual
ethnographic patternin antiquity,as evidencedby Strabo'sbook
onGreece(theeighthbookofhisGeography), dealtwitha country
as a whole,breakingit up thematically or by area,accordingto
a map.
No otherpaganauthor,so faras I know,emphasized so insist-
entlythepersonalandexperiential natureofseeingwhatonesees
in theorderone travelledto see it. Pausaniashimself employed
a thematic structure in hisexcursuson Ionia (vii.2.2-5.13).The
discussionofIonia lacksthephenomenology of travel,thesense
of "thisis how one does it, thiscomesnexton theroad". His
experimentin an alternativestructureshows that Pausanias
thoughtcarefully abouthow to presenthis description. It mat-
teredthatGreecebe morethanan enumeration, thatit be an
experience, a journeyintoidentity.
The firstbook beginsby takingus not anywhere,but into
Athensitself- at itsport,Piraeus.Aftera leisurely exploration
of AthenswhichmovesfromthePiraeus(i.1) intothecity(i.2)
and throughthe districtsof the citysuch as the Cerameicus
(i.3-14) and the Agora(i.17 f.) via a multitudeof mythsand
storiesup to the city'sheart,the Acropolis(i.22-8), Pausanias
takesus out of thecentreintotheoutskirts. Via theAreopagus
(i.28.4f.),the Academy and thegraveyard(i.29.2-30.3), we move
intothenumerous smallparishes(demoi)(i.31.1 f.).Beyondthese
are themountains, Pentelicus,Parnesand Hymettus (i.32.1 f.),
Marathon(i.32.3 f.), Brauron(i.33.1 f.) and at i.34.1 "the land
ofOropus,betweenAtticaandthelandofTanagra,whichorigin-
allybelongedto Boeotia[but]in ourtimebelongsto theAtheni-
ans". Like pilgrim accountsin medievalEurope,41thetextenacts
thejourneyit describesby takingreadersalongtheroadswhich
theywoulduse iftheyweremakingthetripthemselves. This is

40
See H. Sivan,"Holy Land Pilgrimageand WesternAudiences:Some Reflections
on Egeria and her Circle", ClassicalQuart.,xxxviii(1988), pp. 528-35,esp. p. 533.
41 See J. B. Holloway,The Pilgrim and theBook (New York, 1987), esp. p. xiv.

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 PAUSANIAS:A GREEK PILGRIMIN THE ROMANWORLD 13

no bald enumeration, butan actor-centred accountwhichenacts

theveryprocessoftravel.
When he discussedthe altarsat Olympia,Pausaniastwice
remindedthe readerthatthe orderhe chose was not merely
descriptive,but experientiallydetermined by the orderused in
ritual:"My narrative willfollowin dealingwiththemtheorder
inwhichtheEleansnormally sacrifice" (v.14.4); andagain,"The
readermustremember thatthealtarshavenotbeenenumerated
in theorderin whichtheystand,buttheorderfollowedby my
narrativeis that followedby the Eleans in theirsacrifices"
(v.14.10).The pointwasreiterated. How didonefullyvisit,fully
see a place? One did it as the locals did it, one fittedintoan
identity.Here, in Olympia,one did it liturgically. If we could
identifythealtarsdescribedherein thearchaeological remains,
we couldmapan Eleanliturgy whichis a moreimportant, more
meaningful arrangement ofspacethanmerejuncture("the order
inwhichtheystand").The text'sstructuring ofmonuments (here
on thesmallscale of a specificsite) mapsspace and whatspace
containsaccording toa patternofhumanexperience. Thispheno-
menologically orientedstructureis in itsturn governed bya sense
ofidentity- thesacredness or culturalimportance ofparticular
places,theenactment ofparticular rituals.
Betweenthemajorcentres, suchas Athensand Megara(i.39.4
f.),theroadpassesthrough manyminorstopsandoutlying areas:
Oropus(i.34), a diversionto theislands (i.35-6),Eleusis (i.38-9).
All thesebelongedto Athens(i.39.3), while the Megariswas
markedas different - independent oftheAthenians (i.39.4) and
its "neighbour"(vi.19.12). The textitselfmarksthe boundary
firmly witha sentencethatroundsAthensoff:"Such in my
opinionarethemostfamouslegendsandsightsamongtheAtheni-
ans,andfromthebeginning mynarrative haspickedoutofmuch
materialthethingsthatdeserveto be recorded"(i.39.3). These
borders,as felt by the travelleron the actual land and as
announcedto thereaderbythetext,arecrucial.Whattheymark
are notmerelylineson a map,butboundariesand thresholds in
the experienceof Greece.They delimitplacesnot simplytopo-
graphically,but as areasof culture,of race,of identity. This is
whythebordersofdistricts so frequently coincidewiththeends
ofthebooksin Pausanias'account.
The effect of thephenomenology is to presentPausanias'text
as a mirrorof Greece.The majorcentres(politicaland sacred)

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14 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER135
and the movement betweencentresimitatethe condition of
Greeceas a landof manypoleis(citystates),a multiplicity of
andoftencontradictory
conflicting identities.
The textimitates
Greeceas it movesfromplaceto place.Andyetthetotality of
Pausanias'narrative totalizes Greece,bringing all theseparate
hellenika
("worlds ofGreece")intooneGreece.Theactoftravel-
lingandtheparallel actofwriting actuallyundermine thedivers-
itywhichthe textwishesto emphasize. Greecebecomesa
coheringofthemanyhellenika intooneimage,oneman'simage,
definedbyitsotherness in relationto otherethnographies, and
aboveall to Rome.The veryconflicts ofthehellenika becomea
cohesivefactor,a shared myth which brings themtogetheragainst
the"other"ofRome.
Theactor-centred pattern impliesbotha personalviewandthe
assumption thatone'slandmustbe experienced throughsucha
personalviewin orderto be understood. Implicithereis an
emphasis on geography as a modeofidentity, on thesubjective
andaffective of
qualities place. The ofidentity
investigation can
be seenas thecoreofPausanias' text.He useda constant cross-
referencingofmyths andnarratives tobring placestogether.Such
stories
tiethemanyhellenika intoa singlewhole,through myth-
history.
Theyprovide thereader withwhatheneedstoknow-
an identity,
a meaning - bydrawing on thegeneral knowledge
ofa broadmythology ofGreecewhichPausanias assumed as his
readers'
cultural background.42 Pausanias took to
greatpains get
hismyth-historical interpretations right- hiscareforaccuracy
herewasnodifferent (despite thecomments ofcritics)43
from the
painstaking care taken in providing precisetopographies. He
regularlytook the trouble to tieup any looseends byreferring
thereaderelsewhere inhistext.44
In effectthetextpresents notonlya journey through topo-
graphy,butalsoa myth-historical ofthemeaning
interpretation
ofthattopography. Thisinterpretation dartsin andoutofthe
42
1followVeyne,Did theGreeks,pp. xi-xii,passim,in takingthedisparatetotality
of myths,beliefsand truthsaccepted or criticizedby a societyas constituting its
culture.
43 See Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,p. 97, and the views he quotes in n. 6 there.
of accountof the exile of Polycaonson of Lelex at
44 For instance,the promise an
iii.1.1, providedat iv.1.1-2.1; "As to thecause of the [Messenian]war,the Lacedai-
monianversiondiffers fromthe Messenian.The accountsgivenby the belligerents,
and the mannerin which the war ended" are promised"later in my narrative"
(iii.3.1, 5). The promiseis fulfilledat iv.5.1 f.

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 PAUSANIAS:A GREEK PILGRIMIN THE ROMANWORLD 15

travelogue-structure, reorganizing thenarrative of monuments

and placesaccording to a pattern, notof geography, but of
mythology - an ideological pattern whereby identity, having
already beenlocatedbyplace,is further defined bystory.45 The
importance ofthesemyth-histories is notprimarily as narratives,
butasa meansforvalorizing placeswithin thetotality of"Greece"
as a cultural construct.46 The factthatPausanias wasso aliveto
his myths, thathe remembered and cross-referenced themso
assiduously, showstheirparamount importance to hisnotionof
"Greece".He madesenseofhisGreecethrough them.
It is revealing thatmostofPausanias'contextualizing stories
plunge usintoa pastthatwasdistant eveninhisowntime.47 The
identity whichhistextevokeswasgrounded inthepast.A clear
instance ofthepastness evenofpresent identity is thecaseofthe
whose
Corinthians, city had been laid waste by Mummius in 146
B.C.andonlyrefounded in 44 B.C.byJulius Caesaras a Roman
colony (ii.1.2).Despiteitsnewpopulation andRomancredentials,
whatinterested PausaniasaboutCorinth wereitsancient(pre-
Roman) associationsand sights,which were explained toPausan-
ias byhiscontemporary Corinthians. By virtue of beingin that
place,according to the Pausanian definition these peoplehad
become"Greek";theplaceitselfhad imparted itsidentityto
them.Hencethestories recounted ofCorinth areaboutArtemis
(ii.3.2)andMedea(ii.3.6f.),Bellerophontes (ii.4.1f.) andthe
ancient history of the Corinthian kings(ii.4.3-4).
Morepowerful stillas a myth ofidentity istheextended history
of the Messenians (iv.1-29).This tale describes"the many
sufferings oftheMessenians, howfatescattered themtotheends
oftheearth. . . andafterwards brought themsafelyhometo
45 This is why it is mistakento attackPausanias for historical inaccuracy- his
historyis no different frommyth,since bothare ways of constructing identity.On
Pausaniasand history,see Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,ch. 4 (esp. p. 97, n. 6). But it
is too simpleto assertthat"Pausanias wantedto enlivenhis descriptions of regions,
citiesand monuments withhistoricalfacts"(ibid.,p. 96). This assumesthatPausanias
thehistorianwas different fromPausaniastheguide(ibid.,p. 95), butin factPausanias
was neither.The distinctionof "history"or "tourism" or "pilgrimage"fromthe
restofPausanias'ideologicalthrustis an entirelyfalseone: to theGreekofthesecond
centuryA.D. creatinga nostalgicideologyof sacred and ancientGreece, history,
geographyand mythwere all partof identity.
46Contrathe assumptionthat Pausanias' narrativesare digressionsor additions
whichexpandor enlivenwhatis basicallya topographicguidebook: see, forexample,
ibid.,p. 96; Frazer, Pausanias'sDescription, i, p. xl: "to relievethe tediumof the
topographicpartof his workPausaniasintroduceddigressions".
47 Heer, Personnalitide Pausanias,pp. 69 f.; Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,pp. 102 f.

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16 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER135
theirowncountry (oikeian)"(iv.29.13).Identityheredependson
morethangeography - it is a mythpartlyof race, partlyof
dialect,above all of displacement and return,but focusedon
localityin the senseof loyaltyto the traditions of one's home:
"The wanderingsof the Messeniansoutsidethe Peloponnese
lastedalmost300 years,duringwhichitis clearthattheydid not
departin anywayfromtheirlocalcustoms, anddidnotlosetheir
Doric dialect,but even to our day have preservedthe purest
Doric in thePeloponnese"(iv.27.11).Butthisfierceloyaltywas
notenough.Onlywhentheyreturned to thefullidentity
ofbeing
in theirproperplace couldtheMesseniansreturnto beingfully
Greek:
I was exceedinglysurprisedto learn thatwhile the Messenianswere in
exile fromthePeloponnese,theirluck at the OlympicGamesfailed.For
... we knowofno Messenian,eitherfromSicilyor fromNaupactus,who
won a victoryat Olympia... However,whentheMessenianscame back
to the Peloponnese,theirluck at the OlympicGames came with them
(vi.2.10).
Identitytranscendedplace.It wascompetitive inthepan-Hellenic
traditionoftheGames.Butsuccess,a nation'splaceintheGames
(and in thepan-Hellenictradition), was itselfdependenton the
correctnessoflocality.The Messenianswerenottrulythemselves
untiltheirreturn.This returnwas morethanmerelya re-place-
mentin therightplace;it provedto be a returnto theirformas
fullyGreek,as competitors and victorsin the pan-Hellenic
Games.
Deeply implicatedin thissenseof identity was the repeated
themeofautochthony - ofpeoplesbeingbornfromthesoilthey
inhabit.48Thisrecursin mostofthebooksofPausanias'Descrip-
tionofGreecefromErichthonius (i.2.6) to theLocrians(x.38.3).49
Despite the factthatidentitiescould change,it was theearliest
linkbetweena people and an environment thatPausaniaswas
mostkeento record:"The Stymphalians are no longerincluded
48
Ontheancient
Greekmyth initsAthenian
ofautochthony seeC. Berard,
context,
Anodoi: essai sur l'imageriedes passages chthoniens
(Neuchatel, 1974), pp. 29-38;
N. Loraux, Les enfantsd'Athena(Paris, 1981), pp. 7-26, 35-73; N. Loraux, The
InventionofAthens(Cambridge,Mass., 1986),pp. 148-50,193-4,277-8. On Pausanias
andautochthony, seeJacob,"GreekTraveler's AreasofKnowledge", pp. 73-82.
49 Somefurther examplesof autochthony includeAras,ii.12.4;theAeginetans,
ii.29.2;Lelex,iii.1.1;Phlyus,iv.1.5;theArcadiansand Achaeans, v.1.1; Anaxof
MiletusandCoresusofEphesus,vii.2.5-7;Eumelus, vii.18.2;Pheneos,viii.14.4;the
Plataeans,ix.1.1;OgygusofThebes,ix.5.1;theThebanssownbyCadmus, ix.10.1;
Alalcomeneus, x.6.4;thefirst
ix.33.5;Castalius, x.17.2;Ledon,x.33.1.
Sardinians,

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 PAUSANIAS: A GREEK PILGRIM IN THE ROMAN WORLD 17

amongtheArcadians, butare numbered withtheArgiveleague,

whichtheyjoined of theirown accord.That theyare by race
Arcadians is testified
bytheversesofHomer"(viii.22.1). Pausan-
ias was lookingto an ur-past.His Stymphalians (despitetheir
laterchoices)were locatedbang in the middleof Arcadianot
simplyby race or theauthority of thepoeticcanon,but by the
verystructure of Pausanias'own account(wheretheyoccupya
placein themiddleoftheeighthbook).

III
IDENTITY PAST, IDENTITY PRESENT: PAUSANIAS AND THE ROMANS

Clearly,in lookingto thepastfora Greekidentity,

Pausaniaswas
avoidingthepresent.The presentwas theRomanempireunder
Hadrian,Antoninus Pius and MarcusAurelius.The presentwas
a Greece thatserved,at best, as a culturallyinfluential,
but
otherwisenot especiallysignificant,
provincein a huge system
whosecentres ofpowerwereelsewhere. LiketheJews,theGreeks
were an ancientand independent people whoserelationswith
theirRomanrulersweredeeplyambivalent.50 In a passagewhich
seems to anticipatemany of Pausanias' concerns,Plutarch
describedtheproblemfromtheGreekpointofview:
The statesman,while makinghis native state readilyobedient to its
sovereigns,mustnotfurther humbleit; norwhentheleg has beenfettered,
go on and subjectthe neck to the yoke, as some do who, by referring
everything greator smallto thesovereigns,bringthereproachof slavery
to theircountry.51
The need to balanceobediencewithlimitedfreedommade for
long-term complicationsin the attitudeof Greekstowardsthe
Romans.As withPlutarch, Pausanias'relations
withtheRomans
were,notsurprisingly,complex.52
In hisdescription,
Pausaniasignoredmonuments he musthave
50 For theJews,see N. R. M. de Attitudes
totheRomanEmpire",
Lange,"Jewish
in P. D. A. Garnseyand C. R. Whittaker(eds.), Imperialism in theAncientWorld
(Cambridge,1978), pp. 255-81; forthe Greeks,see Browning,History,Languageand
Literacy,pp. 9-10.
51 Plutarch,Praeceptagerendae xix.814EF.
reipublicae,
52 ForPlutarchandtheRomans, seeR. H. Barrow,
PlutarchandhisTimes (London,
1967),pp. 119-49;C. P. Jones,
Plutarch
andRome(Oxford, 1971);G. J.D. Aalders,
Plutarch'sPoliticalThought
(Amsterdam, 1982),pp. 12-25.On Pausaniasand the
Romans,see J. Palm, Rim, Romertum und Imperiumin dergriechischen
Literaturder
Kaiserzeit(Lund, 1959),pp. 63-74; B. Forte,Romeand theRomansas theGreeksSaw
Them(Rome,1972),pp.418-27;Heer,Personnaliti
dePausanias,
pp.66-9;Habicht,
Pausanias' Guide,pp. 117-64.

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18 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER135

seen,suchas thegreatcharioteer groupcommemorating Marcus

Agrippabytheentrance oftheAcropolisat Athens,or thetemple
of Rome and Augustuswhichwas placed on the Acropolisin
frontof theParthenon's east entrance."On theotherhand,he
wasgenerousinacknowledging somemajorRomanbuildingpro-
grammes, suchas Hadrian'stempleofOlympianZeus in Athens
(i.18.6 f.).54Romansmightbe paradigms of virtuelikeHadrian
(i.3.2, 5.5) or AntoninusPius ("a most religiousman",
viii.43.1-5).But theymightalso be exemplarsof evil - for
instancetheimpiousSulla (i.20.7,whose"mad outragesagainst
theGreekcitiesand godsoftheGreeks"werepunishedby "the
mostfoulofdiseases",ix.33.6)or Neroand Caligula(ix.27.3f.).
The Romansmightofferfreedomto the Greeksby liberating
particular cities,suchas Mothone(iv.35.3),55 andeventhewhole
nationwhenNero "gave to theRomanpeopletheveryprosper-
ous islandofSardiniain exchangeforGreece,and thenbestowed
upon thelattercompletefreedom"(vii.17.3).But thisveryact
ofbestowalwasproofofwhowasmaster, anditcouldbe reversed:
"The Greekshoweverwerenotto profit by thisgift.For in the
of
reign Vespasian, the next emperor after Nero, theybecame
embroiled ina civilwar.Vespasianorderedthattheyshouldagain
pay tributeand be subjectto a governor, sayingthattheGreek
people had forgotten how to be free" (vii.17.4).This is a deep
condemnation - all themorebitter becausefreedom was inher-
entlypart of the Greek identity in the Pausanian myth;it was
precisely this freedom which Roman domination had eroded.
In factPausanias'mythof Greecewas supremely a mythof
how "all Greecewon independence and freedom",to quotethe
inscription whichPausaniasquoted fromthe statueof Epami-
nondas(ix.15.6). It was a mythof how thelivesof a fewgreat
menfromMiltiadestoPhilopoemen transcended theirlocalloyal-
ties and how theyhad become "benefactors of all Greece":
"Those who beforeMiltiadesaccomplishedbrilliantdeeds,
CodrusthesonofMelanthus, Polydorus theSpartan,Aristomenes

53 On theseomissions, see M. L. D'Ooge, TheAcropolisofAthens(London, 1908),

pp. 276-7; the companionvolumeby R. E. Wycherleyto Loeb edn. of Pausanias's
DescriptionofGreece,5 vols. (London, 1918-35),v, pp. 29-30, 34.
54 Otherexamplesof praiselavishedon Hadrianicbuildingsconcernhis worksin
Athens(i. 18.9); hismarbletempleat Megara(i.42.5); hisroadimprovements (i.44.6);
his temple of Antinousat Mantineia(viii.9.7); and his general improvementof
conditionsat Corinth(ii.3.5, viii.22.3).
55Comparealso the cases of Pallantium(viii.43.1) and Elateia (x.34.2).

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 PAUSANIAS: A GREEK PILGRIM IN THE ROMAN WORLD 19

theMessenian,and all therest,willbe seento havehelpedeach

his own countryand notGreeceas a whole" (viii.52.1).This is
a fascinating passage.Not onlyis therean unashamedly moral
slant to the pan-Hellenicpicture,praise for motivations that
transcend localinterests, butthisshadesintoan explicitly moral
emphasison thewaylivesoughttobe lived.Pausaniasspecifically
excluded"frombeingcalledbenefactors ofGreece"hisnamesake
Pausaniasand Aristeides, the victorsof Plataea (on accountof
theirsubsequenttransgressions), as wellas theparticipants
in the
Peloponnesianwar whom he billed as "murderers,almost
wreckers,of Greece" (viii.52.2-3).There was, furthermore, a
senseofinevitable declineandfall.As inPlutarch,56 Philopoemen
was the last in the roll-callof the great,and he was already
involvedin warswiththe Romans(viii.50-1).Historically, the
myth of Greece had to be defined, delimited and ended by its
proximity to Rome.
Andyetitwasprecisely theconquestofGreecebyRomewhich
constituted the possibility forthe mythof a freeGreecein the
past.Greece could only one wholewhenit was a provincein
be
an empirewhosevariouscitieswereunitedthroughhavinglost
theirfreedom.For thePausanianprojectto be possible,all the
places,whosestoriesand sanctities he so carefullyenumerated,
had no longerto be freeand at war (as theywerein themyth
Pausaniasretails),but had to be unitedby and withina larger
power.The veryattempt to inventand justify a myth-historyof
"Greece" was simultaneously theevidenceforitsdefeat:Greece
could onlyexistin the invention, in the mythof Rome. The
conditionforthe Pausaniandescription of Greecewas thatthe
Greecewhichhisdescription describedno longerexisted.
Onlywhenwe appreciatethehead-onclashof identities, the
complexity and incongruity of conflicting paradigmsfrompast
and presentwhichwerereiterated through Pausanias'narrative,
whichtogether in theirtensioncreatedhisGreece,can we begin
to graspsomeoftheironiesthatlie hiddenin thetext.At Sikyon
he noted drily: "The precinct. . . devoted to Roman emperors
was oncethehouseofthetyrant Cleon" (ii.8.1). The viewingof
this temple is ironic in the extreme- and the effectis
heightenedwhenPausaniaslaunchesimmediately intothestory
of how Aratus liberatedSikyonand Corinthfromtyranny

56 See Aalders,Plutarch'sPoliticalThought,
p. 17.

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20 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER135

(ii.8.2-6). In the ArgiveHeraion,he noticed"statues. . . of

variousheroes,includingOrestes.They say thatOrestesis the
onewiththeinscription thatitrepresents
theEmperorAugustus"
(ii.17.3)! Onlyrarelydid Pausaniasrejectinscriptional
evidence
formerehearsay.57 In boththesecasestheconflict,
theambiguity,
of pastand presentas theyclashedin theidentity of theviewer
emergedas irony.In all suchinstances itwastheviewer'sidentity
itselfwhichwas at stakein theact ofinterpretinga workofart.
One way out of the impasseof socio-historicalidentities
was
to look fora selfwhichwas outsidehistory, beyondthedecline
ofGreeceintoa Romanfief.At theheartofPausanias'ideology
ofplaceswas thethemeofsacredcentres.If thepoliticalpathof
the travellerwas fraughtwithidentity-conflicts, thenperhaps
religiouspilgrimagewas the solutionto the identitycrisisof
second-century Greece. The travellerturnedpilgrimwas no
longersearchingforan historicalpast thatwas deniedby the
present;he sought rathera sanctifiedpresent-pastwhose
sacredness hadpervadedtheseplacessincethebeginning, despite
history.

IV
PAUSANIAS AS PILGRIM: IDENTITY AND THE SACRED

Pilgrimagewas an important aspectof the religiouscultureof

paganantiquity. We know of manyexamplesof individuals and
groupsgoing to sanctuaries
to consult seek
deities, vener-
healing,
But,withtheexceptionof Pausanias,we possessno
ate relics.58
textfromthepaganworldwhichrecounts theprocessofpilgrim-
age as a personaljourney.Here the contrastbetweenantiquity
and the Christiantraditionof travel-writing is stark.It gives
Pausanias'texta uniquecultural notonlyas testimony
significance
to a specifically
paganformand viewofpilgrimage, butalso as a
counterpoint to laterChristian
writing.
One can see the wholeof Pausanias'accountas a pilgrimage

57On Pausaniasand inscriptions, see Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,pp. 64-94.

58The finestaccountis Lane Fox, PagansandChristians, pp. 11-261.On theholiness
of place in pagan antiquity,see S. MacCormack,"Loca Sancta: The Organizationof
SacredTopographyin Late Antiquity",in Ousterhout(ed.), BlessingsofPilgrimage,
pp. 9-20; fortherelicsoftheheroPelopsat Olympia,see Pausanias,v.13.4-6,vi.22.1;
W. Burkert,Homonecans(Berkeley,1983), p. 99.

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 PAUSANIAS:A GREEK PILGRIMIN THE ROMANWORLD 21

lastingmanyyears.59 it has elementsofa ritedepassage

Certainly
in whichwriterand perhapsreaderare changedby theircon-
frontationwiththe sacredidentity of Greece.60Pausaniascom-
mentedon his personaltransformation over the courseof his
themythofhowRhea deceivedCronus:
travels,afterretelling
When I began to writemy historyI was inclinedto counttheselegends
as foolishness,but on gettingas far as Arcadia I grew to hold a more
thoughtful view of them,whichis this.In the days of old, thoseGreeks
who were consideredwise spoke theirsayingsnot straightout but in
riddles,and so the legendsabout CronusI conjecturedto be one sortof
Greekwisdom.In mattersofdivinity, I shalladoptthereceived
therefore,
tradition(viii.8.3).

Significantlythischangeofattituderelatedto "mattersofdivin-
ity".It markeda shiftfromrationalistic literalism(thesecularist's
responseto the sacred) to a greateropennesstowardshidden
meanings whichmightpointto religioustruth.61
However,itis in thespecific descriptions thatwe can elucidate
moredirectly theelements ofpilgrimage in Pausaniantravel.Let
us takethejourneyto Eleusis- whichwas notonlya centreof
mystery but was markedby Pausaniashimselfas one
initiation,
of the two supremesitesof Greece:"on nothingdoes heaven
bestowmorecare thanon theEleusinianritesand the Olympic
Games"(v.10.1). Pausaniaswashimself an initiateintotheEleus-
inianmysteries.62 Although thetextonlyreachesEleusisat i.38,
we have been preparedforits importance by the discussionof
theEleusiniumat Athens(i.14.3) and thereference to initiation
in themysteries at i.37.4. Since"a visionin a dream"prevented
59A goodanalogy forthisis thethousand-mile
pilgrimagetotheeighty-eight
sacred
placesof Shitokuin Japan,so vividlyevokedby O. Statler, Japanese Pilgrimage
(London,1983).
accountofpilgrimage
60 For an excellent as ritedepassage,
see V. andE. Turner,
Imageand Pilgrimage
in ChristianCulture(New York, 1978), pp. 1-39; V. Turner,
"The CentreOutThere:Pilgrim's
Goal",Hist.Religions,
xii(1973),pp. 191-230.On
as a transformative
pilgrimage see A. G. Grapard,
journey, "FlyingMountains and
WalkersofEmptiness:Towarda Definition
ofSacredSpaceinJapanese Religions",
Hist. Religions,xxi (1982), pp. 195-221, esp. pp. 205-7; Eck, "India's Tirthas",
pp. 324-6,334,340-4.On "theactofaccounting forone'stravels"as itselfa ritede
passage,see M. Harbsmeier, "Elementary StructuresofOtherness", inJ.CUardand
J.C. Margolin (eds.),Voyagera la Renaissance(Paris,1987),p. 337.
61 On this seeHabicht,
passage, Pausanias'Guide,pp. 156-7;Veyne, Did theGreeks,
pp. 11,98-100.
62 Seetheimplicationsofi.14.3,37.4,38. On PausaniasandEleusismoregenerally,
see Heer,Personnaliti de Pausanias,pp. 127-89.For a discussion of thesite,its
archaeologyand themysteries,
see G. E. Mylonas,Eleusisand theEleusinianMysteries
(Princeton,1962); K. Kerenyi,Eleusis:ArchetypalImage of Motherand Daughter
(London,1967).

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22 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER135
Pausaniasfromdescribing thecontents oftheAthenianEleusin-
ium,thereaderis alreadypreparedforEleusisbeingreligiously
special.
Thisspecialness is markedbytheverytopography themoment
thetextarrivesat Eleusis(i.38.1): "The streamscalledRheitiare
rivers. . . sacredto the Maid and to Demeter,and onlythe
priestsof thesegoddessesare permitted to catchfishin them.
Anciently, I learn,the streams were the boundaries betweenthe
land of the Eleusiniansand thatof the otherAthenians".The
geography herewasitselfsacred- marking an ancientboundary,
a threshold betweenthepoliticalworldof Atticaand theother
world,Eleusis,on itsperiphery. The ancientpoliticalsettlement
boreoutthisotherness: "The Eleusinians weretohaveindepend-
ent controlof themysteries, but in all otherthingswereto be
subjecttotheAthenians" (i.38.3). The textnowproceedsthrough
a numberofshrinesandtemples, andtheirmyths, untilitreaches
thesacredenclosureitself.
Here Pausaniassurprises us: "My dreamforbadethedescrip-
tion of the thingswithinthe walls of the sanctuary, and the
uninitiated are of coursenotpermitted to learnthatwhichthey
are prevented fromseeing"(i.38.7). Havingset Eleusisup as a
worldapart,insteadof describingthis other,or bringinghis
readerthrough"the wallsof thesanctuary"intoitsinnersanc-
tum,Pausanias'textdramatizesthe othernessof Eleusis in a
notableway. Pausaniasdeniesits describability withinhis own
discourse.He nevertellsus whatdreamhe had:itis a mechanism,
implicitlya supernatural one, forjustifying silence.No markof
otherness is so effectiveas thisstatement thatthetruthofEleusis
cannotbe constrained in the act of writing.Here, in a radical
about-face, Pausanias,whohasconstantly beenthereader'sguide,
his allyin penetrating "all thingsGreek",suddenlychangesto
beingtheother'sallyin concealingthemystery of Eleusisfrom
hisuninitiated readership. Here, before thesacred whichcannot
be described,thetext'sexperiential emphasis breaks down.The
readerwhodoes GreecewithPausanias,in hisorder,at hispace,
alonghisroads,is leftoutside thesacredwall.Pausanias'writing
is generally an exercisein goingout to us, makinga wayforus
intothe otherof his Greece,its ritualand art. But his silence
here- hisarticulation withindiscoursethatthereis an otherto
discoursebeforewhichdiscoursemustcease- is theoppositeof

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 PAUSANIAS: A GREEK PILGRIM IN THE ROMAN WORLD 23

theusualpatternofhiswriting, an obstacleto ourentryintothe

heartofa Greecewhichhisprojectwas to facilitate.
If Eleusiswerean isolatedinstance, we couldbe pardonedfor
overlooking it.Butinfactitrepresents theparadigm fora repeated
pattern.63It offered a journeyto a sacredother,whichwaslocated
on theperiphery ofa politicalcentre,butwas nevertheless deeply
centralto the pilgrim'ssense of identity.64 Such "peripheral
centres"wheretheother(whether a statueor a setofrites)had
to remainsecretare numerousin Pausanias.In somecases,like
Eleusis,Pausaniaswas an initiate whocouldnotdescribewhathe
knew;inothershe wasan outsider (likehispresumed readers)and
neverknewwhatlayat thesacredcentre.Suchcasesincludedthe
sanctuary ofDemeteron Mt. PronoutsideHermione, wherePaus-
anias describeda remarkableannual festivaland sacrifice
(ii.35.5-7),theminorstatuesandimages(ii.35.8),andbuiltto the
climax"But the thingitselfthattheyworshipbeforeall else I
neversaw,noryethas anyotherman,whether stranger or Her-
mionian.The old womenmaykeeptheirknowledge ofitsnature
to themselves" (ii.35.8).Likewiseat theverygateofHermione on
theroadtowardsMases is a sanctuary ofEileithyia: "Everyday,
bothwithsacrifices andwithincense,theymagnificently propitiate
thegoddess,and,moreover, therearea vastnumberofvotivegifts
offeredto Eileithyia.But the imageno one may see, except,
perhaps,thepriestess"(ii.35.11).Againtheparaphernalia of the
sacred(rituals, offerings)led to that which could not be viewed or
described.These paraphernalia enticeddescription (theirinterest
meritedentryintothetext)and yetthecauseuponwhichall the
ritualand the sanctuary itselfrested- a deityand the deity's
image - was denied to knowledge.
Pausanias'silencewas itselfa ritualact,theresultofa religious
oftabooandretribution.
mentalitd Often(as atEleusis,theAthen-
ian Eleusiniumand themysteries at theCarnasiangroveoutside
Messene,iv.33.4-5),a dreaminformed Pausaniaswhathe might
or mightnotreveal.Severaltimeshe remarked emphaticallyon
theconsequences oftransgression - whetherthephysicalact of
enteringa sacredplace or theverbalact of givingthemysteries
63See Habicht,Pausanias' Guide,p. 156.
64For pilgrimageas a confrontation with the other,see, for example, Grapard,
"Flying Mountains",pp. 205-7; D. K. Samanta,"Ujjain: A Centreof Pilgrimagein
CentralIndia", in Jha (ed.), Dimensions
of Pilgrimage, p. 52; V. Turner,Dramas,
Fieldsand Metaphors(Ithaca,N.Y., 1974), p. 197. On the peripheralnatureof many
pilgrimages,see ibid.,pp. 193-6.

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24 PAST AND PRESENT NUMBER 135

away. At the sanctuaryof PoseidonHippios near Mantineia

(viii.10.2f.) into whichno one mightenter,Pausaniastwice
repeatedthestoryof how Aegyptusbrokethisrule,onlyto be
punishedby blindnessand death(viii.5.5,10.3). Death was the
punishment fortransgression at the precinctof LycaeanZeus
(viii.38.6)and at thesanctuary of theCabeiri(ix.25.9-10).The
merelyinquisitive wouldalso die (x.32.17),as wouldthosewho
imitatedthemysteries (ix.25.9) or who,likeOrpheus,profaned
themthrough speech(ix.30.5).
Such storiesarticulatea deep culturalsense of taboo sur-
roundingthe sacred.Whatwas the sanctity whichsuch taboos
protectedin pagan culture?Since his silencewas scrupulously
observed,Pausanias'readerswereclearlynotintendedto know
toomuchunlesstheywereto becomeinitiates How-
themselves.
ever, there is one instancewhere he does tellus somethingabout
the mysterious natureof a sacred centre.The sanctuaryof
LycaeanZeus in Arcadiaboasteda trulyremarkable marvel:
If anyonetakesno noticeof the rule and enters,he mustinevitablylive
no longerthana year. A legend,moreover,was currentthateverything
alive withintheprecinct,whetherbeastor man,cast no shadow.For this
reason,whena beasttakesrefugein theprecinct,thehunterwillnotrush
in afterit,butremainoutside,and thoughhe sees thebeasthe can behold
no shadow(viii.38.6).
This sacredprecinct was notmerelyotherbyman-maderulesof
liminality entry.By contrast
and withothersitesor rituals,this
was
sanctuary open to vision.But it was preciselythe rulesof
seeing thatwere transcended. Here sacredspace affected and
alteredmaterialspace - itbroke natural lawswithin
the threshold
of its own sanctityby abolishingshadowsand shortening the
length of human life. Here, brieflybut memorably, we see the
otherworld penetrating this world- we see one aspect of
thesacredin action.
These instancesrepresentsacred centresoutsideor on the
periphery Close to thispatternis a parallelstructure
of cities.65
of theholywherea sacredcentreis describedin theheartof a
city.In Athens,forinstance,themostsacredimagewas Athena
Polias,Athena"of thecity"(i.26.6).66 WhenPausaniascameto
65
We mayadd theLernaianmysteries toLycaean
(ii.37.1f.),thesecretsacrifices
Zeus(viii.38.7)andtheritesoftheCabeiri(ix.25.5f.).
66
On AthenaPolias,see C. J. Herrington,AthenaParthenos andAthenaPolias
(Manchester, 1955);J.H. Kroll,"The Ancient ImageofAthenaPolias",Hesperia,
suppl.no. 20 (1982),pp.65-76.

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 PAUSANIAS:A GREEK PILGRIMIN THE ROMANWORLD 25

discussthis statue,scholarshave noted his silenceabout its

appearance.67Moreover,in thedescription oftheArrephoria,or
ofbearingsacredofferings
festival to thisimage,thereareseveral
secretssurroundingtheritual:68
Having placed on theirheads whatthe priestessof Athenagivesthemto
carry- neithershe who gives nor theywho carryhave any knowledge
what it is - the maidensdescend by the naturalundergroundpassage
thatgoes across the adjacentprecincts,withinthe city,of Aphroditein
the Gardens.They leave down below whattheycarryand receivesome-
thingelse whichtheybringback coveredup (i.27.3).
At the ritualheartof the city,its sacredidentity,weresecrets
necessarilyabsentfromknowledgewhichwere none the less
crucialto thepreservation ofsanctity.
Secrecymarkedan otherness whichupheldthesacred.Andthe
sacredwasabovealla guarantor ofidentity. Whendisaster loomed
forthe Messeniansin theirwar withSparta,Aristomenes their
leaderdecidedto hide their"secretthing"(iv.20.4). Pausanias
comments that"if it weredestroyed,theMessenianswouldbe
overwhelmed and lostforever,but if it werekept . . . aftera
lapseoftimetheMessenianswouldrecovertheircountry".This
"secretthing"was thespiritual heartoftheMessenians - itwas
theabsentcentrethatdefined theiridentity:"Aristomenes, know-
and
ingtheoracles,tookit towardsnightfall coming to themost
desertedpartof Mt. Ithome, buried it on themountain, calling
upon Zeus who keeps Ithomeand the gods who had hitherto
protectedthe Messeniansto remainguardiansof the pledge"
(iv.20.4). It matteredthatthe objectand its locationbe secret,
thatthe hidingbe done at night,thatPausanias'narrative told
his readersall and yetmissedthecrucialprecisions ofwhatwas
buriedand whereit was concealed.For it was the identity of
Messeniaitselfwhichwas at stake.

V
VIEWINGAND IDENTITY
Pausanianviewingwas theenumeration of "all
and classification
thatis Greek". Whatmighthave seemedin principlea simple
act of cataloguingturnedout to be the highlycomplexact of
67
Herrington,Athena Partenosand Athena Polias, pp. 16-17; Kroll, "Ancient
Image",p. 65.
68On theArrephoria,see H. W. Parke,Festivals
oftheAthenians(London,1977),
ofAttica(Madison,1983),pp. 39-46.
pp. 141-3;E. Simon,Festivals

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26 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER 135

meeting thestatues,buildings andnaturalwondersofone'snative

land on all the conflicting levelsof one's identity. The factsof
thepresentand the mythsof thepast,whichtogether createa
socio-politicalidentity,normally intertwine, reinforcing each
otherlikea double-helix. But,in thiscase, theydid notmatch.
And so theidentity to whichtheygave birthwas notcoherent,
was fullofcontradiction. Moreoverin thissocio-political identity
Pausaniaswas incapableof graspingor describing thesacred-
whichdefinedhis identity in the crucialaspectof pilgrimand
initiate.
Pausaniaswas quite explicitaboutthe limitsof his discourse
and of his knowledge.The description designedto do justiceto
the mostnoteworthy sitesof Greecebrokedown preciselyat
someofthesightsthatPausaniasdeemedmostworthseeing.At
thesacredcentrestowhichthepilgrimage ofhistextmovesthere
is an absence;overthesightswhichare mostworthviewingis
drawna veil.Pausanianenumeration was notonlya construction
of ideology;it was a catalogueof instanceswherethe ideology
constructed by therestof his textfailedto apply.Whatall the
instances in whichPausaniassignalledhisinability to describean
objecthavein commonis ritualand thedifference ofan initiated
viewerfromtheordinary person.In everycase, eitherPausanias
fellintothecategory the
of uninitiated, like his presumed reader,
or (as at Eleusis)he couldnotrevealthecontentsof thesacred
secretto readerswhomightbe uninitiated themselves. For "the
uninitiated are not of coursepermitted to learnwhattheyare
prevented fromseeing"(i.38.7).
In Pausanias'discoursewe areoffered twocontestant, logically
exclusive,yet mutuallyconstitutive, of signs.The one is
sets
Pausanias'structure of descriptionsand myths,the otherhis
pronouncements ofwhat he cannot describe. Thesearenotequal.
To signify theimpossibility of enunciating theotherworld,the
holy,wastorevealthatthekindofdiscourseinherent inordinary
Pausanianviewingcould not controlthe otherworldand was
insufficientto it. The implicationfortheculturalhistorian is that
Pausaniashad at leasttwoquitedifferent and logicallyexclusive
waysofviewingtheworld,depending on thesanctity ofthesite
he was visiting. These twowaysofviewingcoexistedin thesame
individual. Identitydependsin parton context,and the same
person'sidentity in differentcontextswillbe different.
The function of Pausanias'use of so-calleddigressions into

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 PAUSANIAS: A GREEK PILGRIM IN THE ROMAN WORLD 27

historyand mythwas to construct a narrativewhichcouldhelp

his readersunderstand Greece.His textallowsthemto contex-
tualizetheobjectsand buildingstheysee - to derivemeaning
fromand supplymeaningto thoseobjects.But suchviewersare
excludedfromthesacredimageswhichare open to the initiate
viewer.69 Initiateviewingis participant
withinritualina waythat
ordinaryviewingcannotbe. In initiateviewing,the observer
consciously givesup theprivacyofhisor herownpersonalview,
as well as the culturallysharedassumptions whichhave helped
to formulate sucha view,fora "sharedsubjectivity" ofparticip-
antsintheritualprocessorjourney.Ritualis culturally important
becauseit providesa different, an exclusiveor sectarian,cultural
framework fortheconstruction of subjectivityand self-identity.
Quitedifferent kindsof interpretationof theworld"out there"
willresult.70

VI
CONCLUSIONS
This articlehas been about subjectivity - not in the entirely
personalsense, but about thatpart of subjectivity whichthe
individualtakes on fromoutsideand constructs himselfinto.
Pausanias' text is evidencefor a certainideologywhichwas
designedto providehisreaderswitha culturalidentity, a shared
subjectivity,outofwhichtoviewart.Thiswasa verygeneralized
and "secular"identity, availableto anyonewithinhis particular
world(like beingBritish,or American).But he also evokeda
secondand muchnarrower culturalidentity,sharedexclusively
and esotericallyby the initiates
in certainrites
and cults.For the
initiate
thiswasa deeperandmorefulfilling thanthemore
reality
generalsense of thesubjectivewhich themain thrust
ofthetext
offered.It was a realitythatnecessarilyexcludedtheuninitiated.
In manyways Pausanias'approachanticipatedthatof later
Christian pilgrimslikeEgeria.Theytooemphasized thephenom-
enology of travel,describing their journeyspersonallystep by
step. Here is an extractfromthe narrativeof the Bordeaux
PilgrimofA.D.333:
69 "Ordinary"viewingis not merelyinadequate;it is impious- see therecurring
use of the wordhosion:forexample,i.14.3, ix.25.5-6.
70
See C. Geertz,"Religionas a CulturalSystem",in M. Banton(ed.), Anthropolo-
gicalApproaches to theStudyofReligion(London, 1966), p. 38.

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28 PASTAND PRESENT NUMBER 135
Cityof Neapolis (15 miles). Mount Gerizimis there,whereaccordingto
the Samaritans,Abrahamofferedhis sacrifice.There are 1,300 steps
leadingto the top of the mountain.Nearby,at the footof themountain,
is the place called Shechem,whichis the siteof the tombin whichJacob
is buried . . . A mile fromthereis the place called Sychar,wherethe
Samaritanwoman went down to draw water,at the very place where
Jacobdug thewell,and our Lord JesusChristspokewithher.Some plane
treesare there,plantedbyJacob,and thereis a bathwhichtakesitswater
fromthiswell. Twenty-eight milesfromthereon the leftof the road is
the villagecalled Betharand a mile fromthereis the place whereJacob
slepton his way fromMesopotamia,and thealmondtreeis there,and he
saw a vision,and an angelwrestledwithhim.71
The Christian pilgrim'sawarenessoftheroaditself,hisconstant
relationof placesto the storiesevokedby them,72his tyingof
currentlandmarks(the 1,300 stepsat Mt. Gerizim,the plane
treesandbathat Sychar,thealmondtreeat Bethar)totheancient
myths- all thiswas verysimilarto Pausanias.Like Pausanias
in Greece,theChristian travellerto theHolyLand attempted to
evokea senseof identity throughplace and throughthemyths
whichgaveplacestheirmeaningin his culture.Moreover,again
likePausanias,theearlyChristian pilgrims displayeda remarkably
acutesenseof,and deep interest in,ritual.Egeriadevotedabout
halfof the survivingportionof her accountto the liturgyin
Jerusalem.73
However,the differences are fundamental. WherePausanias'
monuments evokeda massofconflicting myth-historiesreferring
to oral as well as writtentraditions,the Christianpilgrimstied
theirsenseofplacealmostexclusively to Scripture.74
WhilePaus-
aniastravelledthroughhis own land (wherehis nativelanguage
was spoken,his nativemythswere alive and his identitywas
embodied),Christianpilgrimagewas to anotherworld alto-
gether- a foreign holylandwhere,as theLatin-speaking Egeria
tellsus, sermonswere preachedin anotherlanguage(Greek),
were translatedinto Syriacand mightalso be interpreted in
Latin." The Christianidentitywasconstructed ina fundamentally
differentway- through readinga sacredbookoriginally created
71 Itinerarium ed. Geyerand Cuntz,587.2-589.10.
Burdigalense,
72
On thesenseof placein fourth-century see Hunt,Holy
accounts,
pilgrimage
Land Pilgrimage,
pp. 83-8.
73 On Egeria andtheliturgy,seeibid.,pp. 107-28;J.Baldovin,
TheUrbanCharacter
of Christian Worship (Rome,1987),pp.55-64,83-96(usingEgeriato reconstruct
patterns offourth-century worshipinJerusalem at Easter).
74See Hunt,Holy Land Pilgrimage, pp.83-106;MacCormack, "Loca Sancta",
pp.20-4.
75 ItinerariumEgeriae,ed. Maraval,
47.3-5.

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 PAUSANIAS: A GREEK PILGRIM IN THE ROMAN WORLD 29

in anotherculture(theJewishEast) and aroundthetopography

ofa sacredplacefarfromhome(Palestine).
MoreoverEgeriahad no need forselectivemysticalsilence.
Her text, her Christianworld,her presumedreadership,all
belongedto a circleof initiates.This shiftabove all was funda-
mentaltothetransformation inidentity betweenthepagansecond
and the Christian fourthcenturies.For Pausanias,therewas an
absolutedifference betweenthesecularworldofhissocio-histor-
ical identityand the sacredworldof initiation. The lattergave
accessto an exclusiveand esotericidentity sharedwitha small
and self-selectinggroupoffellowinitiates. It wasnotavailableto
outsiders.By the timeof Egeria,in thelate fourthcentury, we
alreadysee theextraordinary "drainageofthesecular"whichhas
been seenas themostessentialcharacteristic of theonsetof the
MiddleAges.76 Despite the factthatChristianityhadonlyescaped
persecution less than a century before her,Egeriaassumed that
herreaders,indeedthewholeworldofherpersonalexperience,
wouldshareherChristian initiation.A religionwhichhad begun
as an exclusivesect,littledifferentfromtheinitiate cultswe meet
inPausanias,hadbecomea universal church.One ofChristianity's
greatestachievements in transforming theidentity oftheancient
worldwasthewayitusedtheintenseexclusiveness oftheinitiate
cult, whichwe see so in
clearly Pausanias, to definetheworldof
secularandsocialexperience as well.WhatinPausaniashadbeen
two worlds - secular and sacred - had become one sacred
world.

JesusCollege,Cambridge JohnElsner

76 See theexcellentaccountin Markus,End ofAncientChristianity,

pp. 1-18,224-8.

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