Description of Greece, I: Books 1-2 (Attica and Corinth) (Loeb Classical Library) (Hardcover)

~ Pausanias (Author), W. H. S. Jones (Translator)

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Product Description

Pausanias, born probably in Lydia in Asia Minor, was a Greek of the 2nd century CE, about 120–180, who travelled widely not only in Asia Minor, Palestine, Egypt and North Africa, but also in Greece and in Italy, including Rome. He left a description of Greece in ten books, which is like a topographical guidebook or tour of Attica, the Peloponnese, and central Greece, filled out with historical accounts and events and digressions on facts and wonders of nature. His chief interest was the monuments of art and architecture, especially the most famous of them; the accuracy of his descriptions of these is proved by surviving remains.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Pausanias is in five volumes; the fifth volume contains maps, plans, illustrations, and a general index.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Loeb Classical Library (January 1, 1918)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674991044
• ISBN-13: 978-0674991040
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,202,230 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The ancient Greece databank, October 12, 2005

By	Tom Potter (Beijing, China) - See all my reviews

Pausanias' two volume travel logs, which were written in the second century A.D., are the most comprehensive sources of data about ancient Greece. Pausanias travels throughout Greece in a linear fashion, describing the historical artifacts he sees and he make thousands of comments about the people and events associated with the artifacts. Most of this information has been lost and is only available in Pausanias' works.

It is particullarily enlightening to use Google Earth to follow in the footsteps of Pausanias and see the terrain he describes, and see how the terrain affected the events involved, the battles, and the interactions between the various peoples.

These works provide an overview of Greek history, and should be the starting point from which to focus in on specific people and events. The works are not so much entertaining and specific, but they provide a wealth of information that is not available anywhere else.