Pausanias was born in the region of Lydia in Asia Minor.
He lived and wrote the time when the Roman Empire was at the highest point,
that is in the century of the Antonines. He was born in about 110 A.D. and
grew up in a rich and conservative family. He had a very good education, he
studied ancient greek poetry and history and he could write in the attic dialect.
He travelled widely during the reign of Hadrian and kept extensive notes of
his itineraries and all the interesting sites and stories he came across-
natural phenomena, myths, historical events, local cults and traditions, famous
sanctuaries and buildings and innumerable works of art.
His description of Greece is the richest source of information about southern
Greece and archaeologists have frequently relied on Pausanias's work to identify
cities, towns and villages, monuments and shrines.
He had deep admiration and respect for old Greece such as Athens, Sparta,
Delphi and Olympia. Follow this ancient traveller to the main sites of southern
Greece, described so many centuries ago and still worth visiting.
