Guide to Greece: Volume 2: Southern Greece

I'm not a professional archaeologist, but love the subject all the same -- my ideal vacation is to tour obscure sites with ancient literature mentioning the places. For that, Pausanias is ideal! True, as a previous reviewer wrote, the names are thick and obscure (just say "Sthenelaus" off-hand, then imagine dozens of other tongue-twisters in close context), the writing is not the best (although as early travel books go, this is the real thing!), and without looking at the actual sites, the casual reader may find little of interest. But I agree, Levi's footnotes bring hours of pleasure to someone who has visited the little-known places that, with a little attention from the Greek archaeologists, would be just as famous as those knee-deep in tourists. The fact you are alone, and with a voice from 1800 years ago to guide you, is like a personal discovery. Having been to such places, I plan to return again, and I'll have my copy with me. . . .

I purchased the Pausanias' Guide to Southern Greece many years ago before vacationing in the Pelopponese. Pausanias gives a very detailed account of many tourists sites. It is referred to on plaques at Greek sites in Greece. However, as important as Pausanias, is Peter Levi. His footnotes are extremely helpful in understanding the text and relating descriptions to what is on the ground today. I learned at least as much from the Peter Levi's footnotes as I did from Pausanias' text. I would not buy a different translation without his footnotes. I give this only a 4 star rating because it may be too detailed for the casual reader.

I have reviewed the companion volume (Guide to Greece: Central Greece) in the Penguin Classics series, and commented there that the Peter Levi translation is not ideal. One of the problems I had in mind is that the division into two volumes, while sensible in itself, does not follow the standard order of the books, but groups them geographically. Pausanias should have done this himself, but the innovation means flipping between the volumes when looking up cross-references to originally adjacent material, and really complicates using references in other volumes. Still, this is not an insurmountable problem, and should not be an objection if (when?) this translation is returned to the Penguin list. Of course, the Penguin Classics are currently (2003) being reprinted in a larger format, and that may prove an occasion for altering the "Guide to Greece" in a new edition