Following Pausanias. The Quest for Greek Antiquity

Abstract

This book is the first to offer a historical overview of the reception of Pausanias, with a particular focus on the early modern period. Pausanias, a Greek writer of the second century AD, presents a detailed description of the historical landscape of central and southern Greece. His work, the Periegesis, is a mine of valuable information about ancient culture. Since its rediscovery by western scholars in the early fifteenth century, the Periegesis has had a crucial impact on modern attitudes to Greece, Greek cultural history and Greek art. Following Pausanias is a companion (not a conventional catalogue) to an exhibition in the Gennadios Library at Athens, an institution exceptionally well placed to document the reception of Pausanias’ work. The book includes numerous illustrations which demonstrate the scope and value of the library's collections. The first part of Following Pausanias introduces the ancient author and his time. This is...