Written by Julia Schulz

Biography

Pausanias, a Greek traveler and geographer, was born in ca. 115 CE, probably in western Anatolia¹, and died ca. 180 CE. He is the author of a Description of Greece² (see fig. 1), which were published in ten volumes containing eyewitness accounts of hundreds of sites, monuments and artworks from his travels through Greece between 150 and 180 CE.³

Pausanias is a significant source of the history of Greek art including paintings, sculptures and architecture. His accounts may convey the impression of guidebooks written for tourists.⁴ He furthermore conserved information about the history, mythological traditions and customs of his travel destinations, all while mirroring the contemporary depiction of the Greek world under the supremacy of the Roman Empire.⁵

 

While on one hand Pausanias historical accuracy was the topic of frequent debate and critique over the years, his general material about sites and monuments on the other hand were validated by thorough archaeological research.⁶

His reference of Syene

Pausanias mentions Syene in reference to the “Aethiopians” who lived south of the ancient city. In this paragraph he used a similar vocabulary as Herodotus who may be a source for Pausanias’ depiction of the so-called “Ichthyophagoi” (Greek: Ἰχθυοφάγοι = “fish-eaters”)⁷ that reside in Nubia:

„It is not the river Ocean, but the farthest part of the sea navigated by man, near which dwell the Iberians and the Celts, and Ocean surrounds the island of Britain. But of the Aethiopians beyond Syene, those who live farthest in the direction of the Red Sea are the Ichthyophagi (Fish-eaters), and the gulf round which they live is called after them. The most righteous of them inhabit the city Meroe and what is called the Aethiopian plain. These are they who show the Table of the Sun, and they have neither sea nor river except the Nile.”⁸

Sources

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