Pausanias Periegete (Παυσανίας ὁ Περιηγητής) was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century CE, likely from Lydia in Asia Minor [1]. He traveled extensively throughout mainland Greece—including Attica, the Peloponnese, and Boeotia—between approximately 150 and 175 CE, during the reigns of the Roman emperors Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius [1][2]. A meticulous observer, he relied on personal autopsy and local informants to compile his descriptions, writing in the contemporary Koine Greek dialect [1][2].

His sole surviving work is the Description of Greece (Ἑλλάδος Περιήγησις / Periegesis Hellados), a ten-book prose guide to the monuments, art, topography, and local cults of ancient Greece [1][2][3].

Pausanias’s Periegesis is an indispensable archaeological and historical source, providing the most comprehensive surviving account of Greece’s sacred and artistic landscape in the Roman period. It has been crucial for identifying ancient sites like Olympia and Delphi and for preserving countless local myths and descriptions of lost artworks [1][2][3].

Sources 1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Stanford University): https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pausanias/ 2. Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.): https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pausanias-Greek-geographer 3. Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University): http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160