travellers in ancient

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29 Travel and Travel Writing

Maria Pretzler is Lecturer in Ancient History at Swansea University.

Published: 18 September 2012
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Greek travellers tried to take their city with them: travel is typically conducted as a civic act, one justified and defined by one's tie to the city: trade, for example, or martial aggression, or colonization. This article discusses the range of travel experiences reflected in surviving literature. The study of ancient travel focuses on the process of travelling, on individual travellers' movements and their reactions to particular journeys and places. The evidence is therefore mainly literary, with valuable additions from epigraphic sources. The remains of sites that were particularly attractive to ancient travellers, depictions of their means of transport, shipwrecks, and traces of ancient roads can add further information. Greek travel literature had a strong influence on early modern geography and ethnography, and it still has an impact on how people understand the Greek world.

G reeks liked to think about their world by tracing colonists' movements from the old motherland to distant Mediterranean shores: they considered mobility as a crucial factor in defining what, and who, was essentially Greek. Myth and epic poetry set the scene by depicting an earlier age of travellers, be it the Achaeans on their overseas campaign against Troy and then on their tortuous journeys to return home, or adventurous heroes such as Heracles or Jason and the many founders of Greek cities everywhere. For us, the Odyssey in particular provides a wide range of responses to the experience of travelling overseas in the crucial period when Greek colonization began to shape the ancient Mediterranean as we know it. In Odysseus' tales we encounter a variety of travellers engaged in friendships, diplomacy, and marriage outside their own community, and many people risking adventures for gain through trade, piracy, war, or increased knowledge. Others were forced to leave their home, either displaced as slaves or seeking refuge after conflict. Odysseus, always longing to go home to Ithaca while experiencing both the benefits and the horrors of a long overseas journey, shows how the image of the traveller could be reconciled with that other crucial aspect of Greek identity, a close and lasting connection to one's polis. Many did, however, not return home: by the end of the archaic period we find hundreds of colonies, new poleis, around the coasts of the Mediterranean, and some Greeks sought opportunities well beyond the regions settled by colonists.

It is possible to document complex and dense connections between places and regions around the ancient Mediterranean and beyond (Horden and Purcell 2000 ), but most of the evidence for high levels of connectivity in the ancient world does not provide information about the actual process of travelling. The general and vague information derived from imported objects found on archaeological sites suggests the movements of people without offering much insight into the mode or direction of particular journeys. Nevertheless, the general observation that travel was not an exceptional activity in the ancient world should inform our approach to ancient texts dealing with travel experiences. The study of ancient travel focuses on the process of travelling, on individual travellers' movements and their reactions to particular journeys and places. The evidence is therefore mainly literary, with valuable additions from epigraphic sources. The remains of sites which were particularly attractive to ancient travellers, depictions of their means of transport, shipwrecks, and traces of ancient roads can add further information.

Much of what we know about ancient travel concerns the small, eloquent elite that generally dominated the ancient literary record. Throughout antiquity travel was a part of life for wealthy individuals who were involved in the affairs of their community. They were particularly active in maintaining contacts beyond their community, from the elaborate guest-friendships of the Homeric epics to embassies to the emperor in the Roman period. Throughout antiquity, members of the elite relied on widespread contacts which could include acquaintances who were not Greek. Travelling as we see it in most ancient texts was expensive, because eminent people travelled in grand style, with numerous attendants and considerable luggage (Casson 1994 : 176–8). Early Christian texts, particularly the Gospels, Acts, and some of St Paul's epistles, look beyond the small, wealthy elite and offer a different cultural perspective, but this valuable source-material has yet to be fully integrated with classical scholarship.

Information about the activities and routines of ancient travel has to be pieced together from disparate references in ancient texts, and the bulk of the evidence dates from the Roman period (Casson 1974 ; Camassa and Fasce 1991 ; André and Baslez 1993 ). The preferred mode of long-distance travel was by ship: not only was sea travel faster and more comfortable (e.g. Pliny, Epistles 10.17a; Casson 1974 : 67–8, 178–82), but few important Greek sites were located far from the sea. Journeys on land probably often meant walking, even for long distances, although wealthy travellers would use carriages. Mainland Greece at least had a dense road network suitable for vehicles which reached even remote, mountainous locations. Many of these roads date back to the archaic or early classical period and they were in use until the end of antiquity (Pikoulas 2007 ; Pritchett 1980 : 143–96). These practical aspects of ancient travel are rarely the focus of modern research, but they are crucial for our understanding of how ancient travellers interpreted their surroundings. The slow pace of ancient journeys facilitated intensive encounters with landscapes, sites, and local people, while ancient travellers were often less interested in the wider context of their location. Geographical overviews and accurate maps of large regions seem to have remained the domain of scholarly experts, while many travellers may have adopted a view which organizes the landscape along particular routes without paying much attention to a ‘global’ perspective (cf. the Peutinger Table and Pausanias, with Snodgrass 1987 : 81–6).

Trade, war, and the search for opportunities may have accounted for a majority of individual journeys in antiquity (Purcell 1996 ), but these activities are rarely at the centre of attention. Journeys made for the sake of travelling, usually for the spiritual and intellectual benefit of a particular individual, account for much of the information about travel experiences that can be found in ancient texts, and modern scholarship reflects this emphasis on what we might call ‘cultural travel’. Early Greek travellers were often engaged in new discoveries, encountering unknown regions and strange cultures. The exploration by Greeks of regions around the western Mediterranean and the Black Sea may be reflected in the epic tradition, particularly the Odyssey , although it came too early to leave credible traces in the literary record. Areas beyond the Mediterranean remained largely unknown well into the Hellenistic period. The Atlantic coasts of both Europe and Africa were occasionally visited by explorers who recorded their observations, for example Hanno and Pytheas of Massalia (Carpenter 1966 ). Egypt and the Middle East had always been more accessible to the Greeks, not least because there they encountered highly developed cultures that were much older than their own.

By the end of the archaic period Greeks had travelled widely and extended the boundaries of their known world: from Egypt they had reached the upper Nile Valley and brought news of regions further south, and, from the sixth century, knowledge about distant regions of the East as far as India could be obtained through good connections with the Persians. Herodotus criticizes the theories about the shape of the earth inferred from such information by the geographical theorists of sixth-century Ionia, but he also testifies to the usefulness of maps created in this period and he includes geographical information about distant regions in his own work (Herodotus 4.39, 5.49; Harrison 2007 ). Alexander's conquests in the East and the expansion of the Roman empire, especially in western Europe, provided the Greeks with opportunities to reach hitherto unknown regions and to obtain more detailed geographical information (Polybius 3.59; Clarke 1999 ). The edges of the earth, however, remained a matter of legends about unusual peoples and cultures and wondrous natural phenomena (Hartog 1988 : 12–33; Romm 1992 ). All surviving ancient explorers' tales have been subjected to intense scrutiny to match them to actual regions and cultures. Recent scholarly attention, however, has been focused on the particularly Greek perspective on alien cultures which often describes strange people in terms of stark contrasts with what was familiar to the writer and his audience. In fact, authors dealing with ‘barbarians’ often seem more concerned with exploring their own culture than with giving an accurate picture of a distant region and its people. (Hartog 1988 : 212–59).

Most ancient travellers stayed within the familiar confines of the Mediterranean, but there was plenty of scope for ‘cultural’ travel in the Greek world and among its immediate neighbours. Educated Greeks would embark on sightseeing tours to visit famous places, for example a number of historical sites in mainland Greece, including Athens, Olympia, Delphi, and perhaps Sparta, some of the cultural centres of Asia Minor such as Ephesus or Pergamon, and Ilium as the main location of the Trojan War. Egypt, with its spectacular ancient sites (Casson 1974 : 253–61), was also an attractive destination. These sightseeing activities are sometimes described as ancient tourism, but this term is rather misleading because it invites analogies with the seasonal mass movements of today. The Grand Tours of wealthy Europeans of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries would be a more appropriate analogy (see Cohen 1992 ). Most visitors were particularly interested in ancient monuments with historical connections, artworks by famous artists, and sights that could be classified as curiosities. In most places with important historical monuments a visitor could employ professional tourist-guides to explain the sights, and wealthy travellers could apparently rely on members of the local elite to provide a tour appropriate for refined tastes and educated interests (as Plutarch does in his work On the Pythia's Prophecies ; and cf. Jones 2001 ).

In recent years ancient pilgrimage has attracted particular interest (Hunt 1984 ; Dillon 1997 ; Elsner 1997 ; Elsner and Rutherford 2005 : esp. 1–30). The applicability of this term to the activities of ancient travellers is contentious (Morinis 1992 : 1–28; Scullion 2005 : 121–30), but valuable interpretations of ancient texts have emerged from this line of enquiry. Throughout antiquity many sanctuaries saw large numbers of visitors, and some festivals could attract considerable crowds. Many people undertook such visits on their own initiative, but states also maintained regular official links with specific sanctuaries beyond their borders. The concept of pilgrimage invites new enquiries into the function and meaning of such journeys, especially as a means of defining identities and collective memories. Pilgrimage can also be a useful category in assessing ancient attitudes to historical sites. After all, the classical texts played a dominant role in the lives of educated Greeks and determined their approach to places that were in some way linked to the literary tradition. Historical sites, such as important battle-fields or places that played a crucial role in the Homeric epics, allowed visitors to explore localities with which they were intimately familiar from their reading since childhood, and which were part of a common Greek consciousness. Visits to such places could therefore have a profound effect which cannot easily be distinguished from a spiritual or religious experience (Hunt 1984 ). This approach to spiritual, cultural, and emotional aspects of pagan visits to significant places also allows a new evaluation of Christian pilgrimage in late antiquity (e.g. Egeria), by considering it in the context of earlier, pre-Christian traditions (Hunt 1982 ; Holum 1990 ).

Travelling was seen as an important source of knowledge and wisdom, and it was closely linked to the ideals of Greek culture and education ( paideia ) (Pretzler 2007 b ). A traveller could learn by seeing and experiencing different places and civilizations for himself, and he might gain access to information which was not available in Greece. The Greeks were aware that some civilizations were far more ancient than their own, and they assumed that in some countries, for example Egypt, Mesopotamia, or India, travellers might be able to acquire considerable knowledge, particularly about the remote past. There were many legends about the extensive journeys of famous sages such as Solon or Pythagoras, echoed by later traditions about the adventures of Apollonius of Tyana, or Dio Chrysostom's claims about his own wanderings while he was in exile (Hartog 2001 : 5, 90–1, 108–16, 199–209). In the Roman period, many aspiring young men from all over the Roman world travelled to acquire a Greek education: they would move to one of the leading cultural centres such as Pergamon, Athens, or Smyrna to study with a distinguished sophist. Prominent intellectuals could enhance their reputation by travelling to give lecture tours and to compete with their peers (Anderson 1993 : 2–30). Educated Greeks were therefore expected to be acquainted with famous cities and sites, and such personal knowledge influenced intellectual debates and texts. Experience gained through travelling became particularly important to enhance the credibility of arguments and reports. Authors often stress that they have personally seen places or witnessed events they are describing, and such claims of autopsia became a standard literary topos, particularly in historical and geographical works (e.g. Thucydides 1.1; Strabo 2.5.11; Polybius 3.4; Nenci 1953 ; Lanzillotta 1988 ; Jacob 1991 : 91–4).

While travelling and travel experiences play a crucial role in many ancient texts, there is no clearly defined genre of Greek travel literature. Modern examples of the genre often offer an insight into personal experiences on a journey, and they reflect reactions to strange landscapes, places, and people (Campbell 2002 ). Few ancient texts cover any of these aspects extensively, and a study of literary responses to travel experiences needs to include texts which touch upon the subject although they belong to different genres. There is no comprehensive modern study of Greek travel writing, and the re-evaluation of relevant texts as travel literature is a relatively recent phenomenon (e.g. Elsner 2001 ; Hutton 2005 ; Roy 2007 ); much work remains to be done in this field. As far as we can tell, the expectations of ancient readers of travel texts differed considerably from those of their modern counterparts. Few ancient writers provide a clear sense of the topography of a place, and they rarely attempt to create a comprehensive image of a location that would allow readers to visualize what the traveller has seen. In fact, ancient travel writers are usually very selective about what to report: particular features of a landscape are usually only mentioned if they represent a curiosity or if they are relevant to the author's aims, for example sporadic topographical details in a historian's account of a battle. Detailed descriptions of objects were the subject of rhetorical exercises ( ekphrasis ), and landscape descriptions play a particular role in pastoral poetry, but they rarely take up much space in ancient travel accounts (Bartsch 1989 : 7–10; Pretzler 2007 a : 57–63, 105–17).

Ancient travel writing (in the widest sense) can be roughly divided into two categories: on the one hand there are accounts of particular journeys, and on the other hard there are texts which present facts about places or cultures without discussing the process of travelling. The tradition of such ‘factual’ geographical texts was traced back to the ‘Catalogue of Ships’ in the Iliad (2.484–760; cf. 2.815–77), which provides a list of Greek cities and tribes in a roughly geographical order. The earliest geographical texts probably took the form of periploi (e.g. ps. -Scylax), essentially seafarers' logs describing coastlines with important places and landmarks, or stadiasmoi which listed paces and distances along overland routes (Giesinger 1937 ; Janni 1984 : 120–30). Hecataeus' Periodos Gēs developed this genre further by combining a periplous -style description of the world with a scientific discussion of the shape of the earth and the layout of the continents. Later geographers continued to rely on verbal descriptions of coastlines and regional topographies which were never fully superseded by maps (Janni 1984 : 15–19; Jacob 1991 : 35–63). As Strabo shows, geographical works could include information about the landscape, history, and culture of particular places. Texts dealing with particular regions, for example local histories (e.g. Atthidography, Arrian's Bithyniaca ), could go into more detail and would usually rely on an intimate knowledge of landscape, monuments, and local traditions.

Most descriptions of regions and sites were probably mainly interested in historical monuments, religious sites, and significant artworks, not unlike the ‘cultural’ travel-guides of today (Bischoff 1937 ; Hutton 2005 : 247–63). Only two such works survive, Lucian's On the Syrian Goddess , a description of the sanctuary of Atargatis in Hierapolis which is clearly not meant entirely seriously (Lightfoot 2003 ), and Pausanias' Periēgēsis Hellados , ten books describing the Peloponnese and a part of central Greece which represent the longest extant ancient travel text (Habicht 1985 ; Alcock, Elsner, and Cherry 2001 ; Hutton 2005 ; Pretzler 2007 a ). Pausanias, a Greek from Asia Minor carried out extensive research between about 160 and 180 ce , but he rarely refers to his own travel experiences, probably in order to maintain his credibility as an objective observer. Pausanias shows little interest in the life of contemporary communities or the natural landscape. Instead, he focuses on sites with a historical or religious significance, and he provides detailed information about the symbolic and cultural interpretations that Greeks could attach to the landscape. The Periēgēsis follows a long ethnographic tradition, and particularly Herodotus, but instead of reflecting on his own identity by contrasting it with the strange customs of barbarians, Pausanias applies his observations to the heartlands of the Greek world, and he presents an intensive study of the history and state of Greek culture in his own time. A fragment of an early Hellenistic description of Greece by Heraclides Criticus offers a very different view of the landscape of Attica and Boeotia (Pfister 1951 ; Arenz 2006 ). He adopts an often humorous and somewhat flippant tone to comment on the customs and character of contemporary people and on general conditions for a traveller. Heraclides also records his impressions of the landscape and the general appearance of the cities on his route: his approach to the landscape remains unique among the preserved ancient Greek travel texts.

It seems that authors who described places without discussing a particular journey found it easier to assert their credibility. Accounts of individual journeys had a long tradition, but such stories rarely allowed clear distinctions between fact and fiction. Heated discussions about the veracity of tales about distant regions show that ancient readers were aware of this problem, but their conclusions about particular texts often do not agree with modern opinions (e.g. Strabo 1.2.2–19; Romm 1992 : 184–93; Prontera 1993 ). Fictional travel accounts should therefore be included in any study of ancient travel literature because they add to the range of possible literary responses to travel experiences, even if they may not provide factual information about ‘real’ places or journeys. Greek travel writing begins with a fictional tale, namely the Odyssey , with its stories about monsters and incredible events (Jacob 1991 : 24–30; Hartog 2001 ). What is more, its main narrator, Odysseus, is clearly an unreliable reporter who tells untrue stories (‘Cretan tales’) about himself and his adventures, and the epic demonstrates how a traveller can construct false tales which will stand up to scrutiny. Odysseus therefore was a hard act to follow: in his wake no traveller reporting adventures in distant lands could be without suspicion, and many did indeed feel free to add fantastic details to their accounts. The earliest explorers' accounts usually took the form of a periplous which would include some details about specific adventures and discoveries (e.g. Hanno, Pytheas of Massalia). In the Roman period, Arrian revisited the genre and demonstrated its potential complexities: he reports his activities as governor of Cappadocia in a Periplous of the Black Sea , which also allows him to explore his own position as a Greek with multiple identities (Stadter 1980 : 32–41; Hutton 2005 : 266–71; Pretzler 2007 b : 135–6).

Few ancient travel accounts deal with emotional responses to a journey or the transforming impact of the experience on an individual's character, knowledge, or spiritual state. Aristides' Sacred Tales are unique in presenting the authors' personal perspective on his activities, including many journeys, in the pursuit of health and a special relationship with Asclepius (Behr 1968 : 116–28). Most texts dealing with such personal experiences are fictional, and can take the form of extensive accounts, for examples a trip to India in Philostratus' Life of Apollonius , or the Greek novels that usually send their main characters on convoluted journeys before they can settle down to live happily ever after (Morgan 2007 ; Rohde 1960 : 178–310). Some travel authors make no attempt to disguise the fact that their stories are invented, and this can lead to fresh perspectives on the experience of travel. For example, Apuleius' Golden Ass (cf. Lucian, Ass ) takes the opportunity to consider a journey from the point of view of a beast of burden, and it describes a spiritual transformation which turns the main character into a devout follower of Isis. The story also provides a rare chance to observe various travellers who are not members of the elite (Schlam 1992 ; Millar 1981 ). Lucian's fantastic stories ( Lovers of Lies, True Histories ) and other examples of ancient fiction can be seen as a humorous exploration of the many devices employed by travel writers to make their accounts believable (Ní Mheallaigh 2008 ).

Travel accounts could recover some credibility in the context of historiography: after all, Herodotus' Enquiries ( Historiai ) involved extensive travelling around the eastern Mediterranean, and autopsy remained crucial to enhance a historian's authority. Some journeys were themselves historical events, for example long military campaigns, and they inspired a new kind of travel account which owed much to historiography but could also follow some of the conventions of ancient adventurers' tales. Xenophon's Anabasis is the most extensive personal account of a specific journey that survives from antiquity, although the author never admits that he is in fact one of the main characters in the story. Xenophon includes specific information about distances, topography, flora, fauna, and local people, and he gives the impression that decades after the events he can draw on detailed memories, perhaps even a travelogue (Cawkwell 2004 ; Roy 2007 ). His perspective, however, is not that of an explorer whose main aim it is to describe a foreign region, but that of a historian who includes details about landscape and people when they are relevant to the events described. Alexander's conquests inspired a number of participants to write accounts which probably took the form of historical accounts in the mould of Xenophon's Anabasis (Pearson 1960 ). In the East, Alexander's military operations turned into a journey of exploration, and his scientific staff gathered reliable, factual information about areas which had hitherto been almost unknown to the Greeks (Strabo 1.2.1; 2.1.6). Well-founded knowledge could, however, be superseded by fantasy: if Strabo (2.1.9) is anything to go by, realistic reports about India did not have a lasting impact and were soon replaced by the old traditions about an exotic land full of strange wonders (Seel 1961 ; Romm 1992 : 94–109). Alexander's campaign became itself the subject of the Alexander Romance , which reinterpreted historical events in the tradition of myths and fictional adventure stories: in ancient travel writing, imagination could sometimes be stronger than reality.

Like Odysseus, Greek travellers are often unreliable witnesses of places and events they have seen, but their tales offer great insights into ancient perceptions of the world. Greek travel literature had a strong influence on early modern geography and ethnography, and it still has an impact on how we understand the Greek world. Since the Renaissance, western travellers who set out to discover the eastern Mediterranean relied on ancient texts to guide them to classical sites and to help them interpret the historical landscape. They also drew on similarities between the reactions of travellers in the Roman period and their own feelings about ancient sites and the loss of Greek culture. Ultimately, our understanding of antiquity owes much to ancient travellers who contributed their observations and interpretations to the definition of Greek culture and identity. The reception of ancient travel literature, especially of major texts such as Strabo or Pausanias, deserves attention, not least in the context of the development of our own disciplines, namely Classics, Ancient History, and Classical Archaeology.

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Wandering Poets in Ancient Greek Culture: Travel, Locality and Pan-Hellenism

Roosevelt rocha , federal university of paraná, brazil. [email protected].

Table of Contents

In Ancient times, it was very common that poets and performers were great travellers. This is a theme still overlooked, according to Richard Hunter and Ian Rutherford, the editors of the book under review here. It is a collection of papers formerly presented in April 2005, in a colloquium at the University of Cambridge in which the main questions were why poets travelled and how the skills of these outsiders were used by the local communities for their own purposes. In the Introduction, Hunter and Rutherford present the volume, asserting that “travel and wandering are persistent elements in both the reality and imaginaire of Greek poetry, and intellectual and cultural life more generally, from the earliest days” (p. 1). Orpheus was the first wandering poet and even a professional of the word like Empedocles of Acragas is a good example of the truth of this statement. But not only the poet could be a traveller. The public also could make a journey by attending or reading a text. And even more, a poem could travel and spread the fame of both poet and patron. Names like Theognis and Pindar are examples of that. And there’s still another possibility of travel in the act of composing or enacting a poem. This also can be seen as a kind of journey and the Argonautica , by Apollonius Rhodius, must be cited in this context.

It was very common that poets and performers travelled to receive honors like the proxenia but also to get payment, like the epinician composers and the Artists of Dionysus. This kind of activity continued into Hellenistic times and even into the Roman period, as the example of Archias, the poet defended by Cicero, shows. So, there were a munber of motivations that led to poetic mobility. Another one was the desire to receive commissions for celebrating the antiquities ( patria ), buildings and local worthies of particular towns. Thus the most common forms of performance were the encomia of the host city and its traditions.

Travels could lead to different kinds of innovations producing an ‘internationalization’ in the Archaic period. We have many notices of poets working far away from their homeland in those times, like Thaletas of Cretan Gortyna and Alcman (from Sparta or Lydian Sardis?). It could be important for a powerful ruler to draw in skilled poets: Polycrates of Samos attracted Ibycus from Rhegium and Anacreon from Teos; Periander of Corinth brought to his court Arion, from Lesbian Methymna; Peisistratus took Homer’s poetry to Athens and latter Anacreon and Simonides of Ceos spent some time there, before going to courts in Thessaly (the Tean) and in Sicily (the Cean). So, in Ancient times, a poet would take all the chances he had at hand to profit from his art (cf. Theocritus 16.34-47, cited p. 28).

But this phenomenon was not particular to Greece alone. As the editors say (p. 14), “singers and poets travel in many societies, perhaps most”. In Japan, in late medieval Europe, in medieval India, in Western Africa singers travelled to where they could find employment, and the best singers migrated to where they would be paid most. And to consider this comparative evidence can be useful in helping us to understand the ways poetic itinerancy developed in Ancient Greece.

Concluding their Introduction, the editors say (p.17) that poets travel to perform, but this does not exhaust the issue. It’s very import also to say that poets, local and foreign, played a role in celebrating local traditions. “One of the main functions of the shared cultural tradition was to provide an ideological fabric connecting the different Greek cities” (p. 20). So poets, when wandering, were reinforcing local traditions but also making Hellenic identity.

In the second chapter, ‘Hittite and Greek perspectives on travelling poets, texts and festivals’, Mary R. Bacharova starts by asserting that the mechanism by which literature from the Near East reached Greece has not been well studied. She argues that there was contact at an early stage between Pre-Greek and Anatolian poetic traditions. According to her, transmission of cultural practices via Anatolia during the Mycenean period should be given serious consideration. She examines the mechanisms by which second-millenium Anatolian singers and other ‘masters of the word’ made their way from one location to another. The focus is particularly on two related settings: the worship of an imported god and festivals. In analysing the texts, she presents phraseological correspondences that she claims to be “good indirect evidence of the contact between wordsmiths through whom the phrasing crossed langages” (p. 29). In conclusion, Bacharova asserts that festivals from Anatolia and other parts of the Near East shared much in common with Greek festivals of the first millenium.

Peter Wilson is the author of chapter 3, “Thamyris the Tracian: the archetypal wandering poet?”. The author notes that Thamyris may seem, at first glance, the perfect ‘wandering’ archetypal poet, but, in fact, he is a difficult role-model. He is a marginal figure in Greek myth and literature, even though an ancient and persistent presence. He comes from the margins of the Hellenic world. As Wilson argues, Thamyris is a useful model of opposition, a figurehead for a religious tradition that ran against Olympian religion and Homeric epic itself. Perhaps the most interesting contribution of this paper is the analysis made by Wilson of a number of Sophoclean fragments, specially those from the play Thamyras or Mousai . Thamyris was a kind of revolutionary poet who opposed the poetic status quo represented by the Homeric Muses. For this reason, his identification with the poets of the New Music of the second half of the fifth century was a natural development, as Wilson masterfully shows.

“Read on arrival” is the title of chapter 4, by Richard P. Martin. In this paper the author tries to make a diachronic examination of the strategies adopted by wandering poets and performers in order to delineate a typology. In doing that, he wants to explore the poetics of a number of genres related or not to the travelling poets. The strategies of the wandering poets are different from those of the metanastic figures (a term proposed by Martin in 1992) 1 because these had a kind of one-way ticket, while the travelling poets had “the equivalent of a long-term Eurail pass” (p. 81). Based on this, Martin analyses Aristophanes’ Birds 904-57, where a parody is presented of a travelling poet’s arrival that can be viewed as representing the typical behavour of a poet seeking for a patron; Pindar’s Pythian 4, 275-280; Odyssey 17.382-6; Bacchylides’ 5.7-14 and 3.90-8; the Hymn to Apollo 166-75 and some other texts are used to establish the six gambits that form the handbook of strategies and rules for the wandering poet: 1. praise the place and let the people come later; 2. make yourself the voice of tradition; 3. for success, don’t dress; 4. inflate your worth; 5. handle many genres ( polueideia ); and pratice, pratice, pratice. In conclusion, Martin says that “the successful roaming poet will be one who makes the memorized look spontaneous” (p. 103). In this context, the concept of re-performance is very important, because, as Martin argues (p. 103), there must have been a kind of temporary textualization of a repertoire that was ‘read’ in a type of composition-in-performance characteristic of oral tradition.

Ewen Bowie, in chapter 5, entitled “Wandering poets, archaic style”, studies archaic wandering poets’ representation in their poetry of themselves and of their performances. He is interested mainly in monodic lyric poetry down to 500 BC. According to Bowie, travelling poets can be divided in three categories: 1. the poet as a member of a group (Archilochus, Tyrtaeus, Mimnermus and maybe Anacreon; 2. Solitary travellers outside their polis who performed in a symposium and did not travel in order to sing (Semonides, Alcaeus and Solon); 3. Professional poets or ones who travelled in order to sing and to participate in symposia as guests (Ibycus [maybe] and Anacreon [maybe] and Simonides).

In Chapter 6, “Defining local identities in Greek lyric poetry”, Giovan Battista D’Alessio argues that in the formative period of the Greek poleis the construction of a local identity was often voiced by foreign poets. He explores some case studies of public poetic discourse as a means for defining and promoting civic identities in the archaic and classical periods, and of the different strategies by which such a poetic communal self-definition was constructed. D’Alessio studies the cases of Eumelus’ Delian Prosodion for the Messenians, refered to by Pausanias (4.4.1 and 4.33.2; see also PMG 696), and also the Delian Prosodia by Pronomus (for Chalcis; see Paus. 9.12.6) and Amphicles of Rheneia (for the Athenians; see ID 1497). Further on, the author dedicates some pages also to the Nephelokokkygia episode, in Aristophanes Birds (851-8; 863-904; 1318-22) and to the ‘choral’ elegy by Tyrtaeus (the poetic voice as a collective discourse) to understand the relevance and impact of lyric discourse as an important medium for expressing a communal image of the polis. The last case study analysed by D’Alessio is Pindar’s Paeans 2 and 4. In conclusion, the author says that “public poetic performance (…) was one of the privileged media for Greek cities to give voice to their ‘identities’ from the archaic age onward” (p. 166).

“Wandering poetry, ‘travelling’ music: Timotheus’ muse and some case-studies of shifting cultural identities” is the title of chapter 7, by Lucia Prauscello. The author investigates the ways the poetry of Timotheus of Miletus was exploited and re-interpreted in different moments and in different places of Ancient Greece. She says she is concerned with whether and to what extent re-performances and musical re-settings may have affected the generic definition of the text itself and its reception among the audience. In this context it is important to note that musical performance is a prominent feature in the rhetoric of self-construction of Greek cultural identities, in the poleis but also in broader geographical limits. Prauscello examines how the poetry of Timotheus was re-used and interpreted in Sparta (analysing the ‘forged’ Laconian decree transmitted by Boethius [ De inst. mus. 1.1]); in Arcadia (commenting on passages from Polybius [4.19-21], Plutarch [ Philop. 11] and Pausanias [8.50.3]; and in Crete (taking as points of departure the inscriptions ICret V.viii.11 [Knossos] and xxiv.1 [Priansos]). In conclusion, we could say that the interpretation and value of a text varies with time and withplace . A poem by Timotheus could be seen positively by the Arcadians, but could also be banished by the Spartans for different motives.

Andrej Petrovic is the author of chapter 8, entitled “Epigrammatic contests, poeti vaganti and local history”. He discusses the role of wandering poets as local historians. The focus is on texts dated up to the end of Hellenistic times written by wandering poets for public monuments. Petrovic is concerned with the fact that the composition of public epigrams in a number of cases was a task fulfilled by wandering poets. He is also interested on the procedure through which texts for public monuments were chosen and his response to this question is that the texts were chosen after contests that took place in public festivals and in the framework of public commissions. Petrovic argues also that these public epigrams had a supra-local reception, even though they were composed for local addressees. He sugests in the end that these poems were diffused through epigrammatic collections organized on the principle of interest in local history.

Chapter 9 is by Sophia Aneziri, who writes about “World travellers: the associations of Artists of Dionysus”. According to her, poets and musicians, in any time and in any society, have their mobility determined by three factors: first, by the features of the society they are operating in, along with conditions of travel and communication; second, the existence of opportunities for performance that might attract performers, such as festivals and competitions; and third, she asserts that it is important to know if the poets work by themselves or are organized in professional groups and if they stay at home or are continuously travelling. In her paper, she explores these three factors in relation to the Artists of Dionysus operating in the Mediterranean world during the Hellenistic and imperial periods. The volume of travel was very great in these periods because of the explosion in festival culture, but the pattern of movement of the Artists was very different in the two periods. In Hellenistic times artists of many places organized themselves in regional associations, but in the imperial period these regional associations lose their importance and the Association of the Artists of Dionysus achieves the status of an empire-wide network.

Ian Rutherford is the author of chapter 10, “Aristodama and the Aetolians: an itinerant poetess and her agenda”. Born most likely in the third quarter of the third century BCE in Smyrna, the poetess Aristodama is known to us only because around 220 BCE she travelled to central Greece and was honored by two cities due to the skill she demonstrated when presenting her poems there. Rutherford analyses two decrees, one of the city of Lamia (218/217 BCE, IG IX 2, 62 = Guarducci 17), the other from the Lokrian city of Khalaion ( FD 3.2.145 = G17*). He also compares the case of Aristodama with those of other poetesses and performers and examines what the relationship between Aristodama and those cities might be. Rutherford defends the hypothesis that the Aetolians engaged Aristodama to write about Aetolia and to create a sort of pan-Aetolian poetic tradition, forging in this way a political community through song. This is another example of how poetry can work as a mechanism that creates a political and cultural identity.

In the last chapter, “Travelling memories in the Hellenistic world”, Angelos Chaniotis starts his paper by analysing a document in which is narrated the visit of three citizens of the city of Kytenion in Doris to the city of Xanthos. The visitors wanted financial aid to help reconstruct the walls of their city and, in order to get that, they used many strategies to show that there was a kinship between Kytenion and Xanthos. Chaniotis is concerned with the impact cultural mobility had on the shaping of memory in the Hellenistic world. He is more interested in the contribution of orators, historians and envoys than in that of poets.

In conclusion, I want to say that this is a wonderful book. It deals with a matter whose importance is still underestimated. The authors of the different papers enter into a dialogue with each other and write in a way that is certain to inspire new research. The texts are very well edited and I have found only a few insignificant typos. All in all, this is an amazing collection.

1 .Martin, R. ‘Hesiod’s Metanastic Poetics’, Ramus 21: 11-33.

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Tourism Through the Ages: The Human Desire to Explore

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Although taking a summer vacation is now a standard aspect of modern-day civilization for many, it wasn’t always that way. Tourism was far less common in ancient times than it is today, but that certainly doesn’t mean it didn’t occur at all. Even in ancient times, people had a natural curiosity about the world around them and yearned to explore.

However, tourism didn’t necessarily look the same then as it does now. So what did tourism look like, and where did ancient peoples like to travel the most? What was the perception of tourists in ancient times versus today?

What was Ancient Tourism Like?

Tourism as we think of it has not always existed. In fact, travel was not possible for most people in ancient times. Travel was often difficult and full of dangers such as disease , starvation, dehydration, or death by wild animals. Because of this, travel was often seen as too risky unless absolutely necessary, such as for relocation, or religious, political, or medical purposes.

However, travel did still happen. Armies would travel to take over new lands or conquer new cities. Tradesmen would travel to popular trade spots throughout their countries to sell goods for profits, while others would travel there to buy utilitarian or luxury items for their homes. Others would travel for important religious ceremonies that they were required to attend. Travel of this nature was considered a need within society, rather than a want, so not tourism as such.

Lydgate and Pilgrims to Canterbury. Early ‘tourism’ was frequently for religious ceremonies and pilgrimages. (Jim Forest / CC BY NC ND 2.0 )

As time went on, technology advanced. With the expansion of roads and the development of more efficient travel using boats , chariots , and carriages, travel for leisure, or tourism, became an intriguing possibility. However, many individuals struggled with the same tourism questions we do today: if they could even afford to travel, and if they could, where they would go.

Early tourists tended to avoid cities with political or civil unrest as it could be dangerous in the event of an uprising. It’s unsurprising these would be eliminated as tourism destinations . They would also avoid cities their own regions had hostility towards, as that was also considered risky business. They would instead choose regions that were not known to be dangerous, just to see what was out there.

Although technological advancements made travel easier than walking or horseback, it was still perilous and time-consuming. Travelers would often bring small weapons for protection, along with any money they planned to spend. Travel would take from a few days to a few weeks (or even a few months!), depending on how far they planned to venture out. This also meant having to take preserved food with them to last the journey, or knowing where to stop along the way to find food when hungry. There were few to no establish tourism ‘rest stops’ in ancient times.

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Tourism Destinations of the Ancient World

There were many tourism destinations available in ancient times, but some were more popular than others. Particularly, ancient tourists enjoyed tourism spots that served multiple purposes. This started as early as the times of the ancient Egyptians , who often traveled for government activities but would stay in foreign areas longer than necessary to enjoy the local shops, restaurants, games, and other forms of entertainment.

This desire to stay abroad for entertainment continued with the Roman Empire. The Romans developed a system of roads that covered approximately 50,000 miles, in order to make travel easier. At the time, traveling 30 miles would take about a day, and they used that information to establish an inn system. Through this system, an inn would be placed approximately every 30 miles, so that you always knew you had a place to rest in the evenings as you traveled out.

With more tourism establishments like inns along the roads , travel felt safer as well. There would be more people present in case of an emergency, and a lower chance of running out of food or water. The risk of natural predators would be lower as well, since travel would no longer take place through endless plains or overgrown wilderness. The Roman system became so well-established that people from surrounding areas would visit Rome, just to see the roads, inns, and other established infrastructure.

Language and currency were an important part of tourism at this time as well. If your destination used a different currency or spoke a different language, you would likely be a bit reserved about spending much time there (if any time at all!). As a result, common tourism areas did business in several common languages, so they could be more inclusive of visitors and receive more tourism.

Tourism in the Middle Ages: Risky Business

After the fall of the Roman Empire , tourism was not the same. In fact, tourism hardly happened at all anymore because there was too much risk involved. Nations were at war with one another, and traveling to a new place meant inevitable danger for the traveler and their family. Lots of the efficient transportation infrastructure were now destroyed, and languages were more separated than ever.

Travel returned to being a necessity rather than a vacation. Religious and political motives were the primary causes of any travel, as nations attempted to overtake one another. Trade routes had to be re-established, although many were still unwilling to risk the trek. It wasn’t until Marco Polo took the risk and began to write about his solo tourism in the 13th century that people began taking interest in exploration again.

By the Renaissance , trade began to take hold once more, and so merchants were willing to travel further than before. Additional trade and tourism businesses opened, and commercialism steadily increased, especially in Europe. People that would visit these trading posts to purchase new and luxury goods would wonder what the rest of the world was like, especially the sources of their favorite goods. This then ushered in the Grand Tour Era.

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Exotic new products entering Renaissance markets fed a desire for tourism, Jan van Kessel the Elder 1650-1660 ( Public Domain )

The Grand Tour Era: Tourism for the Rich and Famous

The Grand Tour Era, as can be assumed by its name, was a major point in history for tourism. Between 1613 and 1785, the Grand Tour Era established tourism as a norm throughout many societies. However, it wasn’t always easy. Traveling at this time was mostly reserved for the upper classes, as travel and lodging had increased in price due to high demand. Rooms that could be provided for an average family were instead reserved for those able to pay the most.

Tourism was also held in high regard at this time because it was often used as a form of education. The children of the wealthy would travel abroad to gain an understanding of the world around them, making them more knowledgeable and well-rounded. Someone who’d had the opportunity to engage in tourism was seen as having a higher status than most, since they were perceived as more educated.

The most popular tourism regions at this time included Germany, Italy, France, and Switzerland. Europeans would often travel to these countries by carriage because it was more comfortable. Their carriage would be driven by an experienced chauffeur familiar with the routes, to make travel as efficient as possible. Tourists would frequently bring someone with them that would care for them, whether a servant or a more experienced traveler.

British Gentlemen in Rome, circa 1750 ( Public Domain )

Ushering in a New Era: The Industrial Revolution to Modern Times

Towards the end of the 18th century, tourism faced new challenges. The Industrial Revolution had changed tourism forever. Since people had more stable employment, they couldn’t take off for long periods of time to travel. Workers were stuck in their factories and businesses all week, unable to leave without jeopardizing the entire organization. Teamwork was essential and left no flexibility for vacationing.

However, the Industrial Revolution also helped people to travel more easily too. With new technology, travel became more efficient. Plus, for many workers, higher salaries contributed to their ability to go on a nice vacation. Additionally, business trips were increasing, to open more businesses and factories.

After several decades tied down to work and missing out on tourism experiences, workers began tiring of their overworked schedules. With more money came greater desire to expand one’s worldview. Planes, cars, and boats could be used to travel more quickly and comfortably than before. Office jobs also became more popular for their greater flexibility, and paychecks began to be used to see the world.

A 1922 Thomas Cook ad for a three-week trip on the Nile for £70 ($80) ( Public Domain )

At this point, tourism became an essential part of a fulfilling life. Countries such as France became hot spots for tourism because they had advanced technology and roads compared to other regions. Thomas Cook, an English businessman, inspired those without tourism experience to take a leap and go on an adventure. Later, paid work leave established for many in the 20th century ensured that more families could take the time to travel. It was the biggest increase in tourism since the Grand Tour Era.

Throughout the 20th century, hotels and motels became more common businesses worldwide, further fueling the tourism industry. Later, the development of credit cards helped lower-income families afford vacations more easily. Credit cards also helped universalize currency, so traveling between countries and buying necessities became more efficient. In the 21st century, traveling has become more accessible than ever.

1957 postcard showing tourism airline interior (Joe Haupt / CC BY SA 2.0 )

Tourism Today: Roadside Attractions, Cruises, #VanLife, and more

Tourism in ancient times could be difficult, but those early tourists certainly made the most of it. Today, travel and tourism are certainly much simpler than they were back then. There is more available information about different countries that can be considered before taking a trip, and most frequent travelers are looking for more than just new scenery. Tourism agencies now seek to put together packages for those looking for adventure, romance, or knowledge.

The biggest difference between ancient and modern tourism is purpose. While ancient people traveled as a way to learn about the world around them, modern tourists seek to gather and savor experiences. Experiencing new places and cultures is more fulfilling than simply learning about the place online. If nothing else, travel nowadays is certainly much more efficient and luxurious than ever before. After all, aren’t you glad you don’t have to take a chariot everywhere?

Top image: Vintage postcard showing European tourism destinations. Source: Freesurf /Adobe Stock

By Lex Leigh

A Historical View of Tourism . Study.com. (n.d.). Available at: https://study.com/academy/lesson/a-historical-view-of-tourism.html

Gyr, U. (December 13, 2010). The History of Tourism: Structures on the Path to Modernity . EGO. Available at: http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/europe-on-the-road/the-history-of-tourism/ueli-gyr-the-history-of-tourism

Rodriguez, C. P. (June 16, 2020). Travelling for Pleasure: A Brief History of Tourism . Europeana. Available at: https://www.europeana.eu/en/blog/travelling-for-pleasure-a-brief-history-of-tourism

Stainton, H. (May 27, 2022). The Fascinating History of Tourism . Tourism Teacher. Available at: https://tourismteacher.com/history-of-tourism-2/

Tourism . (n.d.) Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/tourism

Lex Leigh is a former educator with several years of writing experience under her belt. She earned her BS in Microbiology with a minor in Psychology. Soon after this, she earned her MS in Education and worked as a secondary... Read More

Travel in Antiquity | Part 2: The Blossoming of Ancient Tourism

February 13, 2023
Travel , All Posts , Ancient History , History

By the Classical period of the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, the world’s first known “travel industry” had started springing up. Were you to visit a hotspot destination like Athens, for example, you would find the port of Piraeus studded with souvenir stores, food stalls, laundries, barbershops, and brothels.

While many travellers stayed at the homes of friends — and this practice continued among the wealthy well into the Roman period — inns and hostels ( mansiones ) also began to spring up along the roadside, and around popular temples and sporting venues, built to accommodate a nascent form of ancient tourism.

Travel in Antiquity | Part 1: A Yearning for Adventure

In fact, those sporting venues were quickly becoming just as big a draw as the temples they had been built to honour. Panhellenic games, such as the Olympics , reached their zenith of popularity in this period, summoning wrestlers, disc-throwers, sprinters — and, of course, legions of cheering fans — to cities like Olympia, Delphi, Isthmia, and Nemea.

Artist's depiction of wrestlers competing in the Olympic Games, an event which drew travellers from all over Greece.

Since the games were considered sacred events, blessed by Zeus himself, it was customary for city-states across Greece to declare a truce for the duration of the games, to ensure safe passage for all involved. Suddenly, long-distance travel became a tempting proposition for many Greeks, as a form of ancient tourism began to blossom.

The Classical era also witnessed the establishment of religious festivals, such as the Panathenaia and City Dionysia of Athens. Travellers from all around Greece would flood into the city for these celebrations, where celebrities and statesmen would mingle at seaside banquets, in between premieres of new plays by Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Sophocles, and Euripides.

Athens' Theatre of Dionysus: home to one of the ancient world's most important theatrical events, the Dionysia.

As might be expected at such a Classical Cannes festiva l , wine flowed copiously, and gourmet chefs from all corners of Greece would compete to showcase their latest recipes. As the great Athenian statesman Pericles put it in 431 BCE,

“We throw open our city to the world, and never by alien acts exclude foreigners from any opportunity of learning or observing…” Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, II.35

International travel, too, began to open up for daring Greek adventurers, as bands of Hellenic mercenaries roved ever-farther in search of pay and plunder. In the early 400s BCE, the Athenian general Xenophon compiled his Anabasis , a book-length record of his travels, trials, and tribulations in Mesopotamia; which, while certainly subjective and self-congratulatory, does contain a striking profusion of accurate historical and cultural detail.

Less than a century later, in the wake of Alexander the Great ‘s conquests, international voyaging became an increasingly viable option even for those without a military disposition. Members of Plato’s Academy in Athens recorded their journeys to scientific schools in Asia Minor. Well-heeled experts in music, mathematics, rhetoric and philosophy might travel to study under famous masters in faraway cultural hubs like Metapontum (home of the Pythagorean school, on what’s now the south coast of Italy), Ephesus, and Alexandria.

And although career development might have been the only worthwhile reason to risk one’s neck on a long overseas journey, it certainly wasn’t the only reason to take a trip. By the third century BCE, pleasure travel had become common practice for many among Greek society’s elite; so much so that experienced wanderers had to keep each other up-to-date on the latest picks for lodging and dining.

A literature of travel guidebooks was flourishing — inspired, at least in part, by ships’ logs ( periploi ) describing landmarks, routes, and distances between ports along Greece’s coastline.

As early as the fifth century, the poet Ion of Chios had penned his Epidēmiai, recommending must-see sites throughout the Greek world. In the third century, the go-to guidebook for those in the know was Heraclides Criticus’ On the Cities in Greece (now known only from a few surviving fragments).

These guidebooks offer intriguing insights into the Classical Greek mentality around travel, not so much because of what they include, but because of what they leave out. The authors go into considerable detail describing famous monuments, buildings, and works of art — but they make hardly a mention of a beautiful forest, a towering mountain range, a pristine white-sand beach, or any of the other stunning natural wonders that draw so many travellers to Greece today (and would also capture the imagination of Roman writers like Pliny the Elder).

What’s more, these guidebooks scarcely touch on the actual logistics of travel: what to pack, how to book transport, and so on. This is one of those frustrating lacunae we encounter so often in ancient texts. We have very little idea how an ancient Greek traveller would have packed, or how he might have gone about arranging passage on a ship or wagon, because his contemporaries assumed these things were common knowledge, and therefore unworthy of discussion in writing.

As the Hellenic world expanded in the second and first centuries BCE, guidebooks to foreign lands also grew in popularity. Lists of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were shared widely, even among readers who had no clear idea where Babylon or the Pyramids might actually be. The most famous “Seven Wonders” list comes down to us from a writer called Antipater of Sidon (preserved in the work of the later author Pausanias).

And through his words, we have our earliest example of a handbook for ancient tourism.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon by Ferdinand Knab (1886)

“I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, ‘Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand.” Antipator of Sidon , IX.58

In Antipater we find, perhaps, the first-ever definitive mention of travel for the explicit purpose of “setting eyes on” world-famous sights. While religion, health, sports, and career prospects might all be worthy reasons to set off on a journey, aspirational sightseeing could now earn a voyager some serious bragging rights back home. One can almost imagine Antipater tallying up Instagram likes in his head, as he checks yet another wonder off his list as an influencer of ancient tourism.

Photograph of the Great Pyramids of Giza. One of the Seven Wonders mentioned by Antipater of Sidon, the Great Pyramids serve as a convergence point for modern and ancient tourism alike.

Still, the most trustworthy travel recommendations, as always, come from friends who’ve travelled recently. In Aristophanes’ comedy The Frogs , written in 405 BCE, the traveller Dionysius stops by the house of his well-travelled friend Xanthias on his way to the Underworld, whom he asks ,

“Describe to me the harbours, bakers’ shops, brothels, rest stops, detours, springs, and roads, the towns, their customs, and the inns where there are fewest bugs.” Aristophanes, Frogs 109

Innkeepers must have gone to great lengths to hold onto their five-star ratings in this Classical TripAdvisor system, where a single cry of “bedbugs!” might wreck one’s profit margin for years to come.

Such was the world of Classical Greece and, to a similar extent, the Hellenistic Age. But what happened after the arrival of Rome? How did ancient concepts of travel change with the establishment of the Roman Empire ? More importantly, what effect did the imperial peace –– the pax romana –– have in facilitating the logistics and likelihood of travel?

These are just some of the questions we’ll be answering at in the third part of the series on ancient tourism and travel.

Travel in Antiquity | Part 3: An Empire Without Limit?

Alexander Meddings

Alexander Meddings is a professional writer and content consultant. After graduating in ancient history from the universities of Exeter and Oxford, he moved to Italy to pursue his passion at the source. He now lives in Rome, where he works as a writer and guide.

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Privacy Overview

How did people travel in ancient rome?

The ancient Romans used a number of methods to travel around their vast empire. The most common form of transportation was by foot, but the wealthy also used chariots and horses. The Romans also developed a wide network of roads and bridges that made travel easier and faster.

The vast majority of the population of ancient Rome would have travelled by foot. This would have been the only way for many people to get around. For those who could afford it, there were a few other options. Wh

Did ancient Rome have public transportation?

In ancient Rome, transportation was quite different from what we have today. There were no cars or airplanes, but the Romans did develop an impressive transportation system with highways, horse-drawn chariots, and boats. This allowed them to move people and goods around their vast empire with relative ease.

The Roman elite used litters as a means of transport within the city. They were carried by 2-4 slaves and it was a slow but short-distance mode of transport. The rich used litters to avoid contact with the poorer classes. For longer distances, people usually went on top of the litter using horses, mules or donkeys. This was a faster pace but still allowed the elite to avoid contact with the lower classes.

How did people transport in ancient times

In ancient times, people used simple boats, walked, or rode animals to travel. They later devised wheeled vehicles to move from place to place. People used existing waterways or simple roads for transportation. Over time, people built more complex means of transportation.

Most travel in ancient Rome was by cart pulled by oxen, by walking, or by boat. Chariots were used for travel on the Roman roads when there was no need to carry a lot of weight. Chariots were sometimes used by the military.

What is the most common form of transport in Rome?

There are many means of transportation available in Rome, from the metro to buses, trams, and taxis. You can purchase tickets and travel cards for use on all public transportation.

The ATAC ticket is a very affordable way to get around Rome using public transportation. It is valid for buses, subway trains, trams (streetcars), and light rail, with the exception of taxis and airport transport. This makes it a great option for visitors who want to see the city without having to worry about the cost of transportation.

How did poor people travel in ancient Rome?

During ancient times, people had to use different means of transportation than what we have now. Instead of cars or planes, people would travel by chariot or boat. This was probably because there were no roads or railways during this time period. Because of this, transportation was probably slower and less comfortable than it is now.

It would have taken someone more than a month to travel from the core of the empire to the fringes. This is because the empire was so large and there were no means of transportation that could have helped someone travel that far in such a short amount of time.

Did the Romans travel by sea

The Romans were master shipbuilders and their vessels were designed to withstand the harshest conditions. Their ships had high bows and sterns to protect against heavy seas and storms, and were also built flat bottomed, enabling them to ride in shallow waters and on ebb tides.

What are 3 types of transportation?

There are many different types of transportation available for people to use. Some common types of transportation include buses, trains, and planes. Buses can be used for short or long distance travel and can operate within and between communities. Train service is another option for long distance travel and can be faster than bus service. Plane travel is the fastest option for long distance travel but can be more expensive than other options.

A cart is a vehicle used to transport goods or people. It is usually pulled by animals, such as horses, mules, or oxen. In ancient times, carts were one of the main ways people transported goods and traveled from place to place.

How did the Roman road system

The road construction process described in the passage above is called “pitching.” Pitching is a method of road construction that involves filling a ditch with large amounts of rubble, gravel, and stone. A layer of sand is sometimes added on top of the pitching material, if it is available.

The best way to get around Rome is on foot. And because many of the best attractions are clustered together in traffic-free zones, walking makes the most sense. However, some places, like Vatican City, are pretty far from the central historic district, necessitating the use of the metro or a taxi.

What is the bus system in Rome called?

The Rome trolleybus system was introduced in 1992 and currently consists of 8 lines. It forms part of the city’s public transport network, along with the Rome Metro, buses, and trams. The system is operated by ATAC, the city’s public transport company.

Rome Metro networkTermini is not only the main railway station but the major transport interchange for Rome of all kinds. Termini Station Rome is the hub of the limited Rome Metro network. The Rome Metro currently only consists of two lines, Line A and Line B, with a total of 38 stations. However, there are plans to extend the network in the future.

How do you get around Rome without walking

There are a few different ways to get around Rome other than walking. The best way is probably by ATAC city transport, which includes buses, metros, and trams. You can also take a Hop on / Hop off bus, or a taxi.

If you only have a day to explore Rome, don’t worry – you can still see a lot of the city’s best sights! Start with a walking tour of the historic center, including stops at the Colosseum, Vatican City, and more. Then, head to one of Rome’s famous piazzas for some people watching and to grab a bite to eat. Finish up your day with a stroll through one of the city’s beautiful parks or gardens.

The primary means of transportation in ancient Rome was by foot. This was made possible by a dense network of paved roads that crisscrossed the city. For longer distances, people would use a wagon or cart pulled by a team of oxen. In the late Roman Empire, horses were introduced as a new means of transportation.

The ancient Romans used a variety of methods to travel within the city of Rome and to other parts of the world. These methods included walking, horse-drawn vehicles, and boats. Within the city, the Romans built a complex system of roads and highways that made travel relatively easy and efficient. To travel to other parts of the world, the Romans used ships to sail across the Mediterranean Sea.

Ellen Hunter

Ellen Hunter is a passionate historian who specializes in the history of Rome. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe to explore its ancient sites and monuments, seeking to uncover their hidden secrets.

Foreign Travellers in Indian History - UPSC Notes

The envoy is an ambassador of a respective country. India is a land of beautiful culture and tradition. This draws many foreigners from different countries to our land. A great number of foreign travellers have visited India and appreciated the beauty of our country in different ways- poetry, books, travelogue. Megasthenes, ambassador of Seleucus Nikator was the first foreign traveller to India. India has witnessed the visit of great foreign envoys like Al-Masudi, Fa-Hien, Hiuen-Tsang, Marco Polo and Abdul Razak, etc. Read on to get the list of important foreign travellers in Indian history for the IAS Exam .

Aspirants reading about foreign travellers in Indian History can also read other important History articles:

Important Foreign Travellers to India

To analyze the trend of history questions asked in UPSC Prelims, you can check the links below:

Ancient History Questions in UPSC Prelims
Medieval History Questions in UPSC Prelims
Modern History Questions in UPSC Prelims
Art and Culture Questions in UPSC Prelims

Questions from the account of foreign travellers have been asked in the UPSC exam. Aspirants can get the previous years’ History Questions in UPSC Mains GS 1 , for reference.

Also, refer to Frequently Asked Questions on IAS Exam at the linked article.

Frequently Asked Questions on Foreign Travellers in Indian History

Q 1. what role did the foreign travellers play in the history of india, q 2. who were the famous foreign travellers of ancient india.

Ans. Few of the most popular foreign travellers of ancient India include:

Ibn Battuta
Hiuen Tsang

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Foreign Travellers in Ancient and Medieval India

Last updated on December 17, 2022 by ClearIAS Team

Many travellers from Greece, the Arab world, Western Asia, and China visited India during the ancient and medieval periods. What were their main motives? What did they write about? Read the article to know more about the foreign travellers who visited India during the ancient and medieval periods.

Many travellers from Greece, the Arab world, Western Asia, and China visited India during the ancient and mediaeval periods.

These travellers left numerous records of the things they saw. These foreign visitors had no loyalty to any of the local kings, thus their stories are impartial and provide firsthand information on the subjects they discussed.

According to Herodotus, who lived in the fifth century BC, the Indus River valley in central and eastern Pakistan was the farthest eastern point in the known world.

The Greek geographer Herodotus ( 5th century BC) refers to India as “the Indus country” in addition to using the term Hindus, the Old Persian name for the Indus river and its inhabitants, and the associated satrapy of Sindh of the Achaemenid Empire.

Table of Contents

Major travellers

Major travellers who visited India are:

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Megasthenes

302 to 298 B.C.

He was the ambassador of Seleucus.
He travelled to India when Chandragupta Maurya was in power.
Chandragupta was referred to as Sandrocottus by the Greeks.
He was also the author of the novel “Indica.”
Megasthenes is referred to be the “Father of Indian History” since he was the first to depict ancient India.

Abdur Razzak

1443 A.D. – 1444 A.D.
An Islamic scholar and philosopher named Abdur Razzak paid a visit to India while Dev Raya II, the most illustrious ruler of the Sangama dynasty, was in power.
The people of Calicut, whom he described as having bad hygiene and practicing polyandry, did not impress him.
Since the Vijayanagar King had called him to his dominion, his time in Calicut was brief.
Razzak passed through Mangalore before arriving in Vijayanagara.
1024–1030 A.D.
After travelling to India, he wrote a book about Indian culture.
He wrote Kitab-ul-hind or Tahqiq-i-Hind after investigating the Hindu religion that is widely practiced in India (History of India).
He became fully knowledgeable about India.
He studied Sanskrit, Indian philosophy, and the nation’s socioeconomic situation since he was fascinated by Indian culture.
He occasionally drew parallels between Sufi doctrine and Indian philosophy, as well as that of Socrates , Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, and others.
His book provides an account of Indian history based on his investigation and observations made between 1017 and 1030.
Since Al Masudi was the first Arab author to combine history and scientific geography in his works, he was known as the “Herodotus of the Arabs.”
Masudi was a prolific author who is thought to have produced 34 works in total.
He visited Malacca, the contemporary capital of Malaysia, as well as Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
He cites strong trade between Malacca and India’s east coast.
Al-Masudi believes that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are connected and refers to the Atlantic Ocean as the Dark-Green Sea.
405 to 411 A.D.
He was a Chinese Buddhist monk.
He travelled to India during the rule of Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II).
He gained notoriety for visiting Lumbini.
His travel journal, ” Record of Buddhist Kingdoms,” details his adventure.

Hiuen Tsang

630 to 645 AD.
During the time of King Harsha Vardhan, a Chinese Buddhist monk by the name of Hiuen Tsang, popularly known as Xuanzang, travelled from China to India to collect Buddhist texts.
He studied in Nalanda, a prestigious institution in the Indian state of Bihar, for almost five years. Hiuen Tsang studied logic, grammar, Sanskrit, and the Yogacara style of Buddhism when he was in Nalanda.
He wrote “The Records of the Western World,” or Si-yu-ki.

Ibn Battuta

1333 to 1347.
Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan nomad who travelled the world in the 13th century, left his home at the age of 21.
In Mohammad Bin Tughlaq’s royal court, Ibn Battuta came.
They set ship from the Gujarati port of Khambhat for Calicut, now called Kozhikode, where they were invited guests of the ruling Zamorin.
One of the ships of the Ibn Battuta expedition perished in a storm that happened close to Calicut, but the second ship continued without difficulty and was seized a few months later by a local Sumatran ruler.
He travelled around Southern India for a while under Jamal-ud-protection.
The poem Rihla was written by Ibn Battuta.
1292 and 1294.
Marco Polo, a Venetian trader and explorer, travelled from Europe to Asia .
He joined the Tanjore-area Tamil Pandya kingdom.
He travelled across Southern India while Rudramma Devi of the Kakatiya Dynasty was in power.One of India’s few queens was Rudramadevi, who ruled from 1261 to 1295 CE.

Nicolo Conti

1420 to 1421.
Italian explorer and merchant Niccolo Conti travelled to India in the year 1420, perhaps after Deva Raya II assumed the throne of the Vijayanagara state.
Niccolo visited Sonargaon and Chittagong (in modern-day Bangladesh), then travelled by land to Arakan (now Rakhine State, Burma).
The southernmost point that Conti ventured to was Ceylon. He made several stops, notably in Cochin and Calicut, along the Malabar Coast of India (Kozhikode).
Before travelling to the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula and the city of Aden, he returned to Cambay.
He arrived in India in 518 CE along with the monks “Hui Zheng,” “Fa Li,” and “Zheng Fouze” while the Buddhist Empress Hu of the “Northern Wei Dynasty” was in power.
Sung Yun, a native of Dunhuang, a city in China.
They departed from the Wei capital of Luoyang in 518 and returned in the winter of 522 bearing 117 Mahayana Buddhist scriptures.
Fortunately, many important details of their journey have been recorded in Yang Xianzhi’s Loyang Jielanji and other works.
He visited the Swat region of northern India and created the Gandhara dynasty story there.

Afanasy Russian Nikitin

1442-1443 AD
A Russian businessman named Nikitin spent more than two years in India, travelling to various locations, getting to know the people there, and methodically documenting everything he saw.
The merchant’s notes were assembled into a document called a “Journey,” which is more akin to a trip journal.
This literature accurately reflected the nature and political structure of India, as well as its traditions, way of life, and customs.
1615 A.D. – 1619 A.D
Englishman Sir Thomas Roe served as a diplomat.
He visited India in 1615, during Jahangir’s rule. He went to Surat to look for security for an English company.
He left behind a priceless contribution to Indian history with his “ Journal of the Mission to the Mughal Empire .”

Domingo Paes

1520-1522 A.D.
Numerous Portuguese traders and tourists visited Vijayanagara when Goa was taken over in 1510 and became the seat of the Portuguese Estado da India.
These visitors published in-depth reports of Bisnaga’s beauty.
Domingos Paes’ is most noteworthy, written between 1520 and 1522.
Paes’ description, published during Krishnadeva’s reign and mostly based on close observation, fully explains the yearly royal Durga festival and the so-called feudal Malankara system of Vijayanagara’s military organisation.

Fernao Nunes

1535-1537 A.D.
A Portuguese horse dealer named Fernao Nuniz wrote his account of India sometime between 1536 and 1537.
He was at Vijaynagara’s capital under the rule of Achyutaraya, and he might have been present for Krishnadevaraya’s earlier battles.
This visitor was very interested in the history of Vijayanagara, particularly the building of the city, the subsequent rule of three dynasties, and the battles they fought against the Deccan sultans and Orissan Rayas.
Additionally, his observations offer insight into the Mahanavami celebration, where he admires the extravagant gems worn by the courtly women and the hundreds of women serving the monarch.

Francois Bernier

1656 A.D. – 1668A.D.
He was a French traveller and doctor.
He spent the years 1656 to 1668 in India.
In the course of rule of Shah Jahan he visited India.
He served Prince Dara Shikoh as a doctor before joining Aurangzeb’s court.
The rules of Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh are mostly discussed in the book.

Jean Baptiste Tavernier

1638-1663 A.D.
French traveller who visited India 6 times during the reign of Shahjahan and Aurangzeb.

William Hawkins

1608-1611 A.D.
A representative of King James I of England.
Arrived in India during the rule of the great Mughal Emperor Jahangir along with William Finch.

Contributions of Foreign Travellers

The accounts of these travellers covered a variety of topics. The stories that have survived cover a wide range of topics.
Others are interested in religious issues, architectural issues, and monuments, while some are preoccupied with legal difficulties.
Visitors to India accurately portrayed Indian culture in their writings.
Particularly in mediaeval and ancient India, foreign travel reports are crucial to understanding Indian history.
Their tour’s narrative was able to shed light on a number of topics, including government and regional customs.
Understanding what other people think of our country is helpful. It helps us recognise where our nation is lacking.
Understanding how people lived in our country is useful.
Their writings offer details on the ports along the coast of India, the trade centres within India, the trade routes connecting the trade centres and ports, the distance between the centres, a list of the commodities that can be traded, the annual volume of trade, rates, ship types, and other information.

Visitors who want to learn about one of the world’s ancient civilizations have long considered India to be a dream destination. India has drawn several adventurous travellers who have fallen in love with its customs and colours from the beginning of time. These foreign travellors had no allegiance to the local tyrants; as a result, their testimonials are unbiased and offer specific information on the subjects they covered.

Article Written By : Atheena Fathima Riyas

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June 13, 2023 at 5:28 pm

Very nice this is helpful ☺️

August 24, 2023 at 9:29 pm

Al masudi write book muruj ul zehab. But you don’t mentioned it. If you can’t make good notes which are actual useful for aspirants then don’t make it please. Might be some of them rely on your info which is incomplete makes there selection possibility less than other competitor’s respectively.

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Thought Chakra

Foreign Travellers – UPSC Notes – Ancient India

Table of Contents

Throughout ancient times, India hosted the presence of esteemed foreign travellers in Ancient India from diverse corners of the world. Among the notable travelers who explored ancient India were Al-Masudi, Fa-Hien, Hiuen-Tsang, Marco Polo, Abdul Razak, and others.

These travelers left behind records and writings that introduced the world to India and its people. Their documented accounts provide insights into the culture and lifestyle prevalent in different regions of India during their respective eras. India, with its rich traditions and vibrant colors, has consistently captivated the imagination of explorers, making it a perennial dream destination.

A glimpse at some foreign travellers

Foreign travellers in indian history.

Greek ethnographer & ambassador.
Ambassador of Seleucus Nicator , visited the court of Chandragupta Maurya .
Described India in his book “ Indika .”
Provided insights about India’s major rivers, Sindhu and Ganga .
Often referred to as “ The Father of Indian history ” for being the first to describe ancient India.
Greek Ambassador.
Arrived as an ambassador to Bindusāra or Amitraghāta , successor of Chandragupta Maurya .
Offered important information about contemporary society and polity.
Sent by Antiochus I , the son of Seleucus Nikator .
Greek geographer.
Wrote “ The Geography of India ,” describing ancient Indian geography.
Chinese wayfarer who arrived in India on foot during the days of Chandragupta Vikramaditya .
The first Buddhist pilgrim to visit India, providing valuable details about the Gupta dynasty , and social and economic spheres.
Known for his visit to Lumbini .
Described his voyage in the travelogue “ Record of Buddhist Kingdom ,” with “ Foguoji ” being one of his famous books.
Chinese traveller also known as Hiuen Tsang .
Visited India and stayed for 15 years during the supremacy of Harsha Vardhana .
Studied the caste system and wrote the book “ Si-Yu-Ki ” or “ The Records of Western World .”
Explored Deccan, Orissa, and Bengal while studying at Nalanda University .
Chinese traveller.
Visited India in connection with Buddhism.
Work includes biographies of many important monks.
Arab traveller.
Provided an account of India in his book ‘ Muruj-ul-Zehab. ’
The book discusses India’s political, economic, and religious history.
Persian scholar.
Came to India along with Mahmud of Ghazni.
First Muslim scholar to study India.
Wrote the book ‘ Tahqiq-i-Hind. ’
Considered the Father of Indology.
Italian mercantile trader-explorer.
Visited Southern India during the reign of Rudramma Devi of the Kakatiyas.
Also visited South India during the reign of Pandyan ruler Madverman, Kulshekhara (1272-1311).
His work “The Book of Sir Marco Polo ” provides an invaluable account of India’s economic history.
Moroccan traveller.
Visited India during the reign of Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq.
Appointed as a judge by Tughlaq.
His book ‘ The Travels ’ details the much-mocked administrative reforms of Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq.
His book “ Rehla ” (the travelogue) offers insights into his journeys.
Hailing from Damascus.
Shared a vivid account of India in his book “Masalik albsar fi-mamalik al-amsar.”
A Venetian traveler.
Checked out India during Devraya I’s rule in the Vijayanagar empire.
Painted a graphic picture of Vijayanagara’s capital.
Wrote a book called “Historia de Varietate Fortunae.”
Persian traveler and Shahrukh’s ambassador.
Hung out during Devraya II’s reign in Vijaynagar Empire.
Chilled at the palace of the Zamorin of Kozhikode, Calicut.
His book ‘Matla-us-Sadain wa Majma-ul-Bahrain’ spills the beans on Calicut and the ancient city of Vijayanagara at Hampi.
Also known as Athanasius Nikitin.
A Russian merchant who hit up South India.
Talked about the Bahmani kingdom under Muhammad III in his narrative “The journey beyond three seas.”
His diary sheds light on the Islamic culture of the region.
A Portuguese voyager who kicked it in India for 16 years, mostly in Kerala and Vijayanagara dynasty.
Showed up during Krishna Deva Raya’s time.
Studied Malayalam and dished on caste culture and social life.
Wrote the ‘Book of Duarte Barbosa.’
A Portuguese traveler.
Hit up Krishnadeva Raya’s court in the Tuluv dynasty of Vijayanagar empire.
His description of Vijayanagara during Krishnadevaraya’s reign is a detailed observation, especially the Malankara system and the royal Durga festival.
Portuguese merchant vibing during Achyutdeva Raya’s rule in Tuluv dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire.
Wrote about the empire’s history, the Mahanavami festival, and was into the bling worn by the ladies at the court.
Dutch traveler dropping valuable info on the social and economic life of South India.
English traveler rocking the Mughal period.
First Englishman to hit up Akbar’s court in 1585 AD.
Had good things to say about Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Ahmedabad, and Delhi in his town descriptions.
Traveled to Bihar in 1587.
England’s King James I sent him as the ambassador to Emperor Jahangeer’s Mughal palace.
Led the first English East India Company expedition to India in 1609.
Tried but didn’t get Jahangir’s nod to start a factory.
English traveler under the reign of Jahangir .
English traveler who visited under the reign of Jahangir .
Ambassador of James I, king of England .
Visited during the reign of Jahangir, the great Mughal Emperor .
Came to seek protection for an English factory at Surat.
His “Journal of the Mission to the Mughal Empire” is a treasured contribution to the history of India.
Ambassador of Thomas Roe .
Described Indian social behavior, particularly in Gujarat .
Italian traveler under the reign of Jahangir .
Dutch traveler who stayed at Agra.
Gave a vivid account of flourishing trade at Surat, Ahmadabad, Broach, Cambay, Lahore, Multan, etc.
English traveler under the reign of Shahjahan .
Given a vivid account of Surat and Bombay .
Italian traveler during the reign of the Mughal Emperor, Shahjahan .
Gives valuable information about the living standard of the common people in the Mughal Empire.
German traveler.
French gem (particularly diamond) trader and traveler in the 17th century.
Made six travels to Persia and India.
Explored as far as Agra before arriving in the Kingdom of Golconda .
Discovered and purchased the Blue Diamond .
Italian traveler who got service at the court of Dara Shikoh .
French physician and philosopher.
Visited India during the reign of Shah Jahan .
Physician of Dara Shikoh .
Wrote ‘Travels in the Mughal Empire’ about the rules of Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb .
French traveler.
Provided an account of cities like Ahmadabad, Cambay, Aurangabad, and Golconda .
Italian traveler who landed at Daman .
Remarks on the Mughal emperor’s military organization and administration are important.
Thomas Coryat was an English traveler who lived during the period of 1612-1617 AD and visited India under the reign of Jahangir, the Mughal Emperor.
Pal Canning was an English traveler who visited India between 1615-1625, also during the reign of Jahangir.
Sir Thomas Roe served as the ambassador of James I, the king of England. He visited the Mughal Empire under the reign of Jahangir to seek protection for an English factory at Surat.
Thomas Roe’s journal is a valuable contribution to the history of India, documenting his mission and experiences during his visit to the Mughal Empire.
Edward Terry, an ambassador of Thomas Roe, described Indian social behavior, particularly in Gujarat, during his visit in 1616.
Pietra Della Velle was an Italian traveler who explored India under the reign of Jahangir between 1622-1660 AD.
Franciso Palsaer, a Dutch traveler, gave a vivid account of flourishing trade at various Indian cities, including Surat, Ahmadabad, Broach, Cambay, Lahore, and Multan.
John Fryer, an English traveler under the reign of Shahjahan, provided a vivid account of Surat and Bombay during his visit in 1627-1681 AD.
Peter Mundy, an Italian traveler during the reign of Shahjahan, gave valuable information about the living standards of the common people in the Mughal Empire.
Jean Baptiste Tavernier was a French gem trader and traveler who explored Persia and India in the 17th century. He made important discoveries and purchases, including the Blue Diamond.

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10 walks through history: ancient UK pathways in stunning countryside

From the John Bunyan trail to Silbury Hill, these short “pilgrimages” offer a chance to soak up myths and legends

The Hadrian’s Wall Pilgrims’ Way

Start Housesteads Fort Finish Brocolita Roman Temple Distance 4¼ miles (use regular AD122 bus to shorten, if needed) Those who walk the whole 84 miles of Hadrian’s Wall in a week may refer to it as a type of pilgrimage. But in the last few years the ever innovative British Pilgrimage Trust has worked with English Heritage to devise historical pilgrim trails – incorporating ancient sites across Britain – including the 23-mile section between Housesteads and Corbridge. For a pilgrimage with Roman flavour , begin at the Roman fort of Housesteads – a place where it is said “hooded gods” were worshipped, and walk east taking in the milecastles, turrets and the temple remains dedicated to Mithras, the Roman god of light (use the Hadrian’s Wall bus to return to the start).

St Patrick’s Camino, Newcastle , County Down

Start/ finish Harbour House, Newcastle Distance 3-7¾ miles Established by the St Patrick’s Centre in Downpatrick as a guided offering (still available as a day trip for £45 a person) this Irish camino takes in the town where CS Lewis holidayed as a child and no doubt heard the legends of the adjacent mountain of Slieve Donard – said to hold a hermit’s cell for Saint Donart, as well as, in Irish mythology, a tomb of mythical figures and a doorway to the otherworld.

Wandering in a loop from town (a case of following your nose, or a map, from the centre) the goal is the Narnia-esque Tollymore Forest Park, where a choice of footpaths can create a circular stroll through giant redwoods and rocky outcrops, and over stepping stones and 16 bridges across the Shimna River – an area of special scientific interest owing to its rare mosses, population of Atlantic salmon and geology. Evidence of prehistoric man has also been discovered here.

John Bunyan Trail, Bedfordshire

Start/ finish Sundon Hills Country Park Distanc e 2½ miles

Published in 1678, The Pilgrim’s Progress has been translated into more than 200 languages, has never been out of print and influenced writers such as CS Lewis, Charlotte Brontë and Enid Blyton. This trail is named after its author, who was incarcerated for preaching. In 1995 the Bedfordshire Ramblers group created a memorial walking route that transposes places from his book on to the real locations on which the writer based his tome. This section begins where one of Bunyan’s persecutors lived and meanders the chalky landscape to the summit of Sharpenhoe Clappers (cut out Streatley for this shorter route) – a spur of tree-covered ground that rises dramatically from the flat arable land surrounding it.

Cuckmere Pilgrim Path, E Sussex

Start/ finish Berwick station Distanc e 1-11¼ miles In 2014, Will Parsons and Guy Hayward noticed an ancient path on the 14th-century Gough map (one of the oldest maps of Britain) that linked churches and holy places together. They used it to try to resurrect what they called the Old Way, linking Southampton to Canterbury – an act that kickstarted a renewed interest in walking ancient trails. Inspired by their work, in 2018 an East Sussex local, the Rev Peter Blee, decided to create this circular route (broken down into six further shortened options) that touches on many points of it, and includes seven rural churches. But what makes it stand out is the chance to wander amid the clay and chalk of the South Downs, Low Weald and the archaeologically rich Cuckmere Valley, taking in a wizened 1,600-year-old yew tree, bird hides to spot migrant and nesting birds, and the Long Man of Wilmington, a 72-metre figure carved into the chalk hillside in the 16th or 17th century.

Peak District Old Stones Way

Start Rowsley Finis h Youlgreave Distance 8 miles (shorten to 1¾ miles starting at Birchover and walking there and back, either to Hermit’s Cave and Robin Hood’s Stride or the Nine Ladies)

The entire length of this neolithic walk is a little over 37 miles, but this prime slice takes in some real highlights, ending at a handy YHA youth hostel in Youlgreave that is housed in a former village Co-op a few miles outside Bakewell. There are no Christian saints here; instead, it is littered with prehistoric chieftains’ cairns, or standing stones. These include the circle of stones called the Nine Ladies (said in local lore to be women who danced on a Sunday and were turned to millstone); a giant tor known as Hermit’s Cave where there is a 13th-century carved cross; and a beautiful rock formation called Robin Hood’s Stride – perfect for scrambling and feeling the cool limestone beneath your fingers, and which movie buffs may recognise from the 1987 film The Princess Bride – all gazing out towards distant Minninglow, a chambered tomb dating back thousands of years to pre-Christianity and barrow bowls topped with a crown of beech trees.

Avebury Day Pilgrimage

Start/ finish Avebury National Trust car park Distance 11 miles

Most people who have visited Stonehenge have nipped over to Avebury for its unfenced prehistoric stone circle. But few have taken a full day to linger and really get a feel of the depth of history in this landscape. Utilising one of the oldest footpaths in the area, the Ridgeway, first, take in the ancient oval Sanctuary – once demarked by timber posts thought to be a gathering place and entryway to Avebury’s stones. From there, pay respects at West Kennet Long Barrow , the site for 50 burials going back nearly 6,000 years. Pass the source of the River Kennet – where overhanging trees are often covered with “clouties”, or strips of ribbon, and the 4,500-year-old Silbury Hill , before visiting the Longstones , which are aligned with the winter solstice. End by the trees that are said to have inspired Tolkien to create his tree-like creatures, the Ents, in Lord of the Rings. Going with kids? Wandering around Avebury is a pilgrimage in and of itself.

North Wales Pilgrims Way

Start Tŷ Coch Inn, Morfa Nefyn Finish Y Gegin Fawr, Aberdaron Distance 15½ miles (start at Porthor to shorten)

Officially launched in 2015, the North Wales Pilgrims Way follows the route taken by medieval pilgrims back in the sixth century. Their goal was Bardsey Island, AKA the isle of 20,000 saints (those buried there were virtually guaranteed their ascension to sainthood), though remains have been found that predate Christianity by 700 years. Weather often prevents the journey there from the Llŷn peninsula, but this section, from a hostelry reached only on foot to the Big Kitchen – once used by pilgrims and still serving coffee today – makes for a perfect outing. It’s a heady mix of rugged sandy beaches, tiny hamlets, crumbling cliffs and the whistling sands at Porthor (which squeak when you walk over them due to the molecular makeup of the grains), before crossing farmland and rivers, and finally gaining the view of the island.

Brecon Cathedral Pilgrimage, Powys

Start/ finish Brecon Cathedral Distance 4½ miles (two route options)

As this begins and ends at a cathedral cafe, The Hours Cafe & Bookshop , you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a walk only for people of faith. Yet the two routes created in the last year as part of the Visit Wales Year of Trails take in much more than religious hotspots. The lower-level Llanddew loop mainly follows water from an ancient well and along the River Honddu to a market town. The higher-level Pen y Crug takes in the River Usk and the iron age hillfort at the top of the hill from which it gets its name – from there, spirit-soaring views of the Bannau Brycheiniog (formerly known as the Brecon Beacons) and the Black Mountains reward a pilgrim’s efforts.

St Ninian ’s Cave Pilgrimage, Dumfries and Galloway

Start St Ninian’s Chapel, Isle of Whithorn Finish St Ninian’s Cave Distance 5½ miles (one way); cave only from Kisdale, 2 miles

Isle of Whithorn village is home to the ruins of the chapel of the fourth-century Saint Ninian, said to have converted many Celts and southern Picts to Christianity. In the 12th century, pilgrims would arrive by water and rest, before continuing on to Whithorn and its priory, in honour of the eponymous saint. Green signs marked “Core path 356” (a coastal network set up by the local council) lead you along sea cliffs to the cave where the saint would seek solitude. Names on the map are foreboding – Rock of Providence, Devil’s Footsteps – and this coastline is also where the infamous final burning-effigy scene of the 1973 classic The Wicker Man was shot. Look out for birds, especially cormorants, perched above the turquoise water and spy multiple caves once used by smugglers until you reach Port Castle Bay and St Ninian’s Cave , where 18 medieval stone crosses were discovered.

Iona of the East, Fife

Start North Queensferry station Finish Aberdour station Distance 8 miles (2½ miles if using train at Inverkeithing)

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Bon Voyaged

18 Eras In History That Time Travelers Would Visit First

Posted: April 11, 2024 | Last updated: April 11, 2024

<p>Gather ’round, fellow adventurers and aspiring time-travelers, for I have a tale that will warp your mind faster than a DeLorean hitting 88 miles per hour! Hold onto your hats (and your paradoxes), because we’re about to embark on a journey through the space-time continuum! Just be careful, very wrong turn could lead to a wardrobe malfunction at the Renaissance faire or an accidental duel with a medieval knight!</p>

Gather ’round, fellow adventurers and aspiring time-travelers, for I have a tale that will warp your mind faster than a DeLorean hitting 88 miles per hour! Hold onto your hats (and your paradoxes), because we’re about to embark on a journey through the space-time continuum! Just be careful, very wrong turn could lead to a wardrobe malfunction at the Renaissance faire or an accidental duel with a medieval knight!

<p>Witness the construction of the pyramids, marvel at the mysteries of the Sphinx, and explore the bustling markets along the Nile River. Just be sure to avoid any encounters with curses or mummies—those things tend to be a bit pesky! And remember, in ancient Egypt, cats were considered sacred, so be prepared to worship our feline overlords.</p>

Ancient Egypt

Witness the construction of the pyramids, marvel at the mysteries of the Sphinx, and explore the bustling markets along the Nile River. Just be sure to avoid any encounters with curses or mummies—those things tend to be a bit pesky! And remember, in ancient Egypt, cats were considered sacred, so be prepared to worship our feline overlords.

<p>Experience the birthplace of democracy, philosophy, and the Olympic games. Join Socrates for a lively debate or challenge Hercules to an arm-wrestling match—just make sure to bring your own olive wreath for the victory celebration! And don’t worry, if you get lost in the labyrinth of ancient Athens, you can always ask a minotaur for directions.</p>

Classical Greece

Experience the birthplace of democracy, philosophy, and the Olympic games. Join Socrates for a lively debate or challenge Hercules to an arm-wrestling match—just make sure to bring your own olive wreath for the victory celebration! And don’t worry, if you get lost in the labyrinth of ancient Athens, you can always ask a minotaur for directions.

<p>Explore the grandeur of Rome, witness epic gladiator fights at the Colosseum, and indulge in a feast fit for an emperor. Just be careful not to anger the gods—those lightning bolts can really ruin your toga party! And don’t forget, when in Rome, do as the Romans do…which apparently involves a lot of olive oil and conquering neighboring civilizations.</p>

Roman Empire

Explore the grandeur of Rome, witness epic gladiator fights at the Colosseum, and indulge in a feast fit for an emperor. Just be careful not to anger the gods—those lightning bolts can really ruin your toga party! And don’t forget, when in Rome, do as the Romans do…which apparently involves a lot of olive oil and conquering neighboring civilizations.

<p>Encounter knights in shining armor, explore majestic castles, and marvel at the intricate beauty of Gothic cathedrals. Just watch out for the bubonic plague—nothing ruins a medieval vacation like a sudden outbreak of Black Death! And keep in mind, if someone challenges you to a jousting match, it’s probably best to politely decline…unless you happen to have a spare suit of armor lying around!</p>

Medieval Europe

Encounter knights in shining armor, explore majestic castles, and marvel at the intricate beauty of Gothic cathedrals. Just watch out for the bubonic plague—nothing ruins a medieval vacation like a sudden outbreak of Black Death! And keep in mind, if someone challenges you to a jousting match, it’s probably best to politely decline…unless you happen to have a spare suit of armor lying around!

<p>Witness the flourishing of art, science, and culture in cities like Florence and Venice. Rub shoulders with the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and maybe even snag a selfie with the Mona Lisa. And don’t forget, in Renaissance Italy, fashion is everything—so make sure to bring your fanciest doublet and hose!</p>

Renaissance Italy

Witness the flourishing of art, science, and culture in cities like Florence and Venice. Rub shoulders with the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and maybe even snag a selfie with the Mona Lisa. And don’t forget, in Renaissance Italy, fashion is everything—so make sure to bring your fanciest doublet and hose!

<p>Sail with Christopher Columbus or Ferdinand Magellan to discover new lands and chart unexplored territories. Just be prepared for a long journey—those ships aren’t exactly known for their luxury accommodations! And remember, when encountering foreign people, diplomacy is key…but it never hurts to have a few shiny trinkets to trade!</p>

Age of Exploration

Sail with Christopher Columbus or Ferdinand Magellan to discover new lands and chart unexplored territories. Just be prepared for a long journey—those ships aren’t exactly known for their luxury accommodations! And remember, when encountering foreign people, diplomacy is key…but it never hurts to have a few shiny trinkets to trade!

<p>Experience the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and immerse yourself in the works of Shakespeare. Attend a royal banquet, try your hand at archery, and maybe even catch a glimpse of a mischievous fairy or two! And don’t forget, in Elizabethan England, gossip spreads faster than the plague—so watch what you say, or you might end up in the Tower of London!</p>

Elizabethan England

Experience the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and immerse yourself in the works of Shakespeare. Attend a royal banquet, try your hand at archery, and maybe even catch a glimpse of a mischievous fairy or two! And don’t forget, in Elizabethan England, gossip spreads faster than the plague—so watch what you say, or you might end up in the Tower of London!

<p>Witness the overthrow of the monarchy and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Join the revolutionaries on the streets of Paris, but watch out for flying guillotines—those things tend to be a bit messy! Just keep in mind, in revolutionary France, liberty, equality, and fraternity aren’t just words—they’re the keys to a successful uprising!</p>

French Revolution

Witness the overthrow of the monarchy and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. Join the revolutionaries on the streets of Paris, but watch out for flying guillotines—those things tend to be a bit messy! Just keep in mind, in revolutionary France, liberty, equality, and fraternity aren’t just words—they’re the keys to a successful uprising!

<p>Experience the Industrial Revolution, Queen Victoria’s reign, and the peak of British imperialism. Marvel at the wonders of steam power as you take a stroll through London’s foggy streets. And remember, in Victorian England, proper etiquette is everything—so mind your manners, or you might find yourself without a tea invitation! How bizarre.</p>

Victorian Era

Experience the Industrial Revolution, Queen Victoria’s reign, and the peak of British imperialism. Marvel at the wonders of steam power as you take a stroll through London’s foggy streets. And remember, in Victorian England, proper etiquette is everything—so mind your manners, or you might find yourself without a tea invitation! How bizarre.

<p>Step into the neon-colored world of the 1980s, where big hair, leg warmers, and cassette tapes reigned supreme. Dance the night away at an iconic disco club, challenge your friends to a game of Pac-Man, and maybe even catch a glimpse of a DeLorean zipping through time! And remember, in the ’80s, fashion was all about excess—so don’t be afraid to rock those shoulder pads and acid wash jeans like there’s no tomorrow!</p>

Step into the neon-colored world of the 1980s, where big hair, leg warmers, and cassette tapes reigned supreme. Dance the night away at an iconic disco club, challenge your friends to a game of Pac-Man, and maybe even catch a glimpse of a DeLorean zipping through time! And remember, in the ’80s, fashion was all about excess—so don’t be afraid to rock those shoulder pads and acid wash jeans like there’s no tomorrow!

<p>Live the adventures of cowboys, outlaws, and pioneers in the American frontier. Ride horses across the open plains, try your luck at a game of poker, and maybe even pan for gold in a rushing river! Just don’t forget, in the Wild West, it’s every person for themselves—so keep your wits about you, or you might end up on the wrong end of a showdown at high noon!</p>

American Wild West

Live the adventures of cowboys, outlaws, and pioneers in the American frontier. Ride horses across the open plains, try your luck at a game of poker, and maybe even pan for gold in a rushing river! Just don’t forget, in the Wild West, it’s every person for themselves—so keep your wits about you, or you might end up on the wrong end of a showdown at high noon!

<p>Experience the elegance and cultural innovations of Europe before World War I. Attend glamorous soirées, witness the birth of the modern automobile, and maybe even meet a dashing count or two! And keep in mind, in the Belle Époque, beauty is paramount—so don’t forget to powder your wig and polish your monocle!</p>

Belle Époque

Experience the elegance and cultural innovations of Europe before World War I. Attend glamorous soirées, witness the birth of the modern automobile, and maybe even meet a dashing count or two! And keep in mind, in the Belle Époque, beauty is paramount—so don’t forget to powder your wig and polish your monocle!

<p>Witness the Jazz Age, prohibition, and the rise of flapper culture in the United States. Dance the Charleston, live lavishly, and maybe even rub elbows with the likes of Al Capone! And remember, in the Roaring Twenties, anything goes—so throw caution to the wind and embrace the spirit of rebellion!</p>

Roaring Twenties

Witness the Jazz Age, prohibition, and the rise of flapper culture in the United States. Dance the Charleston, live lavishly, and maybe even rub elbows with the likes of Al Capone! And remember, in the Roaring Twenties, anything goes—so throw caution to the wind and embrace the spirit of rebellion!

<p>Explore the dynasties, philosophy, and technological advancements of China. Walk the Great Wall, study with Confucius, and maybe even discover the secret to immortality (spoiler alert: it involves a lot of herbal tea)! And don’t forget, in ancient China, harmony is key—so always strive for balance, whether you’re practicing martial arts or negotiating trade deals!</p>

Ancient China

Explore the dynasties, philosophy, and technological advancements of China. Walk the Great Wall, study with Confucius, and maybe even discover the secret to immortality (spoiler alert: it involves a lot of herbal tea)! And don’t forget, in ancient China, harmony is key—so always strive for balance, whether you’re practicing martial arts or negotiating trade deals!

The Early 2000s

Enter the dawn of the new millennium, where flip phones, frosted tips, and Y2K paranoia reigned supreme. Groove to the beats of boy bands and pop princesses, binge-watch DVDs of your favorite TV shows, and maybe even try your hand at creating your own Myspace profile (just don’t forget to add plenty of glitter graphics)! Just keep in mind, in the early 2000s, the internet was still a wild frontier—so be sure to watch out for any prank calls!

<p>Experience the isolationist period of Japan, samurai culture, and traditional arts. Attend a tea ceremony, practice the way of the sword, and maybe even catch a glimpse of a ninja in the shadows! And remember, in Edo Japan, honor is everything—so always act with integrity, whether you’re serving your lord or challenging a rival to a duel!</p>

Experience the isolationist period of Japan, samurai culture, and traditional arts. Attend a tea ceremony, practice the way of the sword, and maybe even catch a glimpse of a ninja in the shadows! And remember, in Edo Japan, honor is everything—so always act with integrity, whether you’re serving your lord or challenging a rival to a duel!

<p>Explore the rich culture and mysterious rituals of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Witness awe-inspiring pyramids, participate in colorful festivals, and maybe even find the lost city of gold! And don’t forget, in the Aztec Empire, honor is everything—so always show respect to the gods and your fellow warriors, whether you’re conquering new lands or building a floating garden!</p>

Aztec Empire

Explore the rich culture and mysterious rituals of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Witness awe-inspiring pyramids, participate in colorful festivals, and maybe even find the lost city of gold! And don’t forget, in the Aztec Empire, honor is everything—so always show respect to the gods and your fellow warriors, whether you’re conquering new lands or building a floating garden!

<p>Travel to a speculative future where technology has solved humanity’s problems and society thrives in harmony. Ride hoverboards through gleaming cities, dine on cuisine synthesized from pure energy, and maybe even attend a concert performed by sentient robots! And remember, in this futuristic utopia, the possibilities are endless—so always dream big and never stop striving for a better tomorrow!</p>

Futuristic Utopia

Travel to a speculative future where technology has solved humanity’s problems and society thrives in harmony. Ride hoverboards through gleaming cities, dine on cuisine synthesized from pure energy, and maybe even attend a concert performed by sentient robots! And remember, in this futuristic utopia, the possibilities are endless—so always dream big and never stop striving for a better tomorrow!

<p>As our journey through time draws to a close, we are left with a tapestry woven with threads of adventure, wisdom, and wonder. From the majestic heights of ancient empires to the innovation of future utopias, each era has offered insights into the human condition and the evolution of society. Though our time-traveling adventure may end here, the echoes of history continue to reverberate, reminding us of the rich tapestry of experiences that shape our world.</p><p><a href="https://bonvoyaged.com/?utm_source=msnstart">For the Latest Travel News, Headlines & Videos, head to Bon Voyaged</a></p>

As our journey through time draws to a close, we are left with a tapestry woven with threads of adventure, wisdom, and wonder. From the majestic heights of ancient empires to the innovation of future utopias, each era has offered insights into the human condition and the evolution of society. Though our time-traveling adventure may end here, the echoes of history continue to reverberate, reminding us of the rich tapestry of experiences that shape our world.

For the Latest Travel News, Headlines & Videos, head to Bon Voyaged

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Up to a Trillion Cicadas Are About to Emerge in the U.S.

Two periodical cicada broods are appearing in a 16-state area in the Midwest and Southeast for the first time in centuries. Can you get rid of them? Do they bite you? We answer your questions.

A single cicada with red eyes rests on a ledge.

By Aimee Ortiz

In a rare occurrence, a trillion cicadas from two different broods are expected to begin appearing in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States at the end of April.

It’s the first time since 1803 that Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood, and Brood XIII, or the Northern Illinois Brood, will appear together in an event known as a dual emergence.

Thomas Jefferson was president the last time that the Northern Illinois Brood’s 17-year cycle aligned with the Great Southern Brood’s 13-year period. After this spring, it’ll be another 221 years before the groups, which are geographically adjacent, appear together again.

A roughly 16-state area will be center stage for these periodical cicadas, which differ from those that appear annually in smaller numbers.

Forested areas, including urban green spaces, are more likely to see higher numbers of cicadas than agricultural regions. To put into perspective just how many of these bugs could emerge, one trillion cicadas, each just over an inch long, would cover 15,782,828 miles if they were placed end to end, said Floyd W. Shockley, an entomologist and collections manager at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

“That cicada train would reach to the moon and back 33 times,” Dr. Shockley said.

When are the cicadas coming out?

The first cicadas are expected to start emerging in late April. Temperature determines when they come out, said Gene Kritsky, a retired professor of biology at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, and the author of several books on cicadas, including “A Tale of Two Broods.”

Professor Kritsky said that first the soil needs to reach 64 degrees Fahrenheit, about six inches deep, and “then you get a good soaking rain, and that’s when they really pop,” he said.

They’ll use their forelegs to tunnel out from the earth, their beady red eyes looking for a spot where they can peacefully finish maturing. A few days after they emerge and molt, the males will start buzzing in an effort to find a mate, a slow-building crescendo of noise that as a chorus can be louder than a plane .

Where will they be?

The first waves of cicadas will emerge in northern Louisiana, southern Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, northern Georgia, and up into western South Carolina, Professor Kritsky said.

Then they’ll surface in central North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and northern Arkansas, followed by southern Missouri, Southern Illinois and western Kentucky . Finally, he said, the cicadas will appear throughout central and northern Missouri and Illinois, northwestern Indiana, southern Wisconsin and eastern Iowa.

How long will the dual emergence last?

The Midwest and Southeast should be buzzing for about six weeks.

In most cases, Dr. Shockley said, the cicadas, which live about a month, will die not far from where they had emerged.

Are cicadas dangerous?

Cicadas don’t bite or sting, nor do they carry any diseases. But since they’re “not great fliers and even worse landers,” cicadas often end up on sidewalks and city streets, where they can be squished by people or cars and “could conceivably make things slick.”

“In urban areas, there will be sufficient numbers to necessitate removal of their bodies,” Dr. Shockley said. “But rather than throwing in the trash or cleaning up with street sweepers, people should consider them basically free fertilizer for the plants in their gardens and natural areas.”

If you have a dog that likes to eat them, it’s not good to let them gorge themselves on the insects because it can lead to intestinal blockage, said Professor Kritsky.

How do I get rid of cicadas?

The short answer is: You don’t. If you have delicate plants that you want to protect, then use special netting created for that purpose.

The bugs are beneficial to the environment, acting as natural tree gardeners. The holes they leave behind when they emerge from the ground help aerate the soil and allow for rainwater to get underground and nourish tree roots in hot summer months. The slits they make in trees can cause some branches to break, and the leaves then turn brown in a process known as “flagging,” which is a kind of natural pruning. When the branch grows again, the fruits it yields will tend to be larger. When they die, the cicadas’ rotting bodies provide nutrients that trees need.

John R. Cooley, a biology professor at the University of Connecticut, said that his best advice for people living in the regions of the dual emergence is to let the bugs be.

“The forest is where they live,” he said. “They are a part of the forest. Don’t try to kill them. Don’t try to spray insecticide, all that kind of thing. That’s just going to end badly because there are more than you could possibly kill with insecticide. You’d end up killing everything.”

Aimee Ortiz covers breaking news and other topics. More about Aimee Ortiz

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This ancient practice has become 2024's biggest wellness trend

By Anita Bhagwandas

Sunset on northern end of Papanasham beach

Truthfully, despite being Indian, I didn’t take that much interest in Ayurvedic beauty until the pandemic. There was something about that time – specifically, being cut off from the usual break-neck pace of life – that made me want to examine my wellness routines and connect to my heritage more.

It wasn’t just me: interest in practices like tongue scraping and oil pulling for dental health was rising; ashwagandha was becoming a go-to for TikTok wellness gurus and beauty brands started adding turmeric and saffron to their products with abandon. The “no poo” movement that eschews traditional shampoo in favour of Ayurvedic shampoo powders like Amla (Indian gooseberry) or Shikaka (an Indian herb) was taking off, too. Since then, the practice of Ayurveda has continued to grow in the Western beauty world.

Below, we take a look at what exactly Ayurveda is, discuss some of the issues surrounding cultural appropriation and Western whitewashing, and explain how to authentically embrace Ayurveda in your beauty routines.

A beautiful young woman on a boat runs her fingers through her long windswept hair

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is an ancient holistic system of medicine that originated in India over 5,000 years ago. It is derived from the Sanskrit words “ayur,” meaning life, and “veda,” meaning knowledge or science. Ayurveda focuses on achieving balance and harmony in the body, mind and spirit to promote overall health and well-being.

Central to Ayurvedic philosophy is the belief that each person is made up of a unique combination of the five elements: air, water, fire, earth, and ether. These elements combine to form three distinct mind-body types or doshas: Vata (air and ether), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (earth and water). According to Ayurveda, maintaining the balance of these doshas is essential for good health, while imbalances can lead to illness.

Ayurvedic practitioners use various techniques to restore balance, including herbal remedies, dietary adjustments, massage, yoga, meditation and cleansing practices such as detoxification or purification therapies known as Panchakarma.

Ayurveda emphasises the importance of individualised treatment, recognising that each person’s constitution and imbalances are unique. The practice is considered a complementary and alternative medicine in many parts of the world, though it continues to be widely practised in India, often alongside Western medicine; a 2018 study found that 80 per cent of Indian households used Ayurvedic products of some kind.

Why is Ayurveda trending now?

The slow reclamation of ancient beauty and wellness rituals in the West shows no sign of abating. This is partially thanks to the allure of a simpler time, without a 15-step beauty routine every morning and evening. But it’s also about reconnecting to ourselves, which is something Western beauty often ignores.

Akash Metha, entrepreneur and co-founder of Fable & Mane , explains: “People are searching for more meaning and balance in their life, so they are looking to ancient cultures like India for wisdom and holistic remedies that have been proven for over 5,000 years. The popularity of yoga and meditation practices has also given rise to an interest in Ayurvedic wellness and beauty, too.”

Much of that interest has come in the form of social media influencers, although many who begin lauding the benefits of new practices often miss giving due credit to the practice’s origins. But some brands are reclaiming that ancient heritage, like Inde Wild , created by influencer Diipa Khosla. Her Champi hair oil was formulated in partnership with her mother, an ayurvedic practitioner (who, incidentally, has the most incredible hair I’ve ever seen.)

Though practices like hair oiling – when reduced to a 15-second clip – may just seem like another beauty trend to try, this misses the point entirely, says Anita Kaushal, founder of long-standing British Ayurvedic brand Mauli Rituals . “We are not separate from our mind and body, so you can use the best skin or hair care that money can buy, but if you haven’t dealt with your emotional blockages, you may not feel truly healthy or look radiant, and that’s what Ayurveda can help address,” she explains.

This disconnect between our bodies and our minds could be why the global Ayurveda product market is undergoing serious growth. “Its market size was valued at 6.50 billion dollars in 2020, and is projected to reach 21.12 billion dollars by 2028,” says Mira Kulkarni, Founder & Chairperson of Forest Essentials. “This has to do not only with a growing awareness of the practice of Ayurveda in the Western world, but also comes from consumers visiting India,” she adds.

There has been record growth in travel interest to Kerala, the home of Ayurveda, within Indian domestic tourism, and according to 2023 data from Kayak, bookings from the UK to India grew by 29 per cent, surpassing pre-pandemic rates. Plus, there’s been a solid rise in flights from the US to India, too. Why is that? When 74 per cent of people in the UK alone have felt unable to cope at one point in the last year, searching for authentic, connected experiences in one of the most spiritual places in the world makes a lot of sense.

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This rise may also be due to consumer demand for clarity in beauty ingredients. “The most fundamental Ayurvedic standard is that ‘if you cannot eat it, do not use it on your skin. In that sense, Ayurveda has pioneered the idea of Clean Beauty,’” Mira says.

Waterdrops on womans hair after swimming on the beach.

What are the concerns with the Westernisation of Ayurveda?

As mentioned, the increase in Western use of Ayurveda is often unaccompanied by an acknowledgement of the practice’s origins and history. Although scientific research on Ayurveda is growing, it has yet to reach the same extent as pharmaceutical treatments, due to funding issues and a lack of interest from the pharmaceutical industries – that is, until they realise they can capitalise on Ayurvedic practices. Back in 1997 , the US Patent and Trademark Office was forced to revoke a patent granted in 1995 to US researchers on the use of powdered turmeric for wound healing. India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research argued that the native Indian plant had been used in Ayurvedic healing for centuries, and so didn’t fit the “novelty” criteria that was required for patenting.

That isn’t the only example of whitewashing of Ayurveda, or the most shocking. Western medicine was introduced to India when it was under British and European colonial rule (which started in the 16th century and only ended in 1947), with the aim of benefitting those who wanted their “superior” medical practices from home. But instead of letting both medical systems exist side by side, Ayurveda was deemed “ irrational, dangerous and superstitious ” and was banned as a way to exert cultural force over the colony. Ayurvedic schools were shut down, sacred texts were burnt, and teachers were forced to stop practising. Some accounts report that Ayurvedic doctors had their three middle fingers cut off to stop them from doing pulse diagnosis.

This brutality didn’t stop Ayurveda from rising in popularity again both during and post-colonial rule, partly due to its integrative approach to healing that Western medicine didn’t allow for.

For example, Ayurvedic tradition dictates that hair is not just a symbol of beauty but can also indicate issues with our overall health, like nutritional deficiencies, stress, or hormonal imbalances, which are the first things that dermatologists and trichologists in Western medicine would check now.

“The difference is that hair care in Ayurveda goes beyond surface-level treatments; it encompasses these underlying causes through a balanced diet, powerful herbs and lifestyle practices like hair oiling to massage the scalp and promote circulation,” says Shikha Ramjutan, clinical pharmacist and founder of hair growth brand Reset. “These practices are deeply ingrained in the culture and have been passed down through generations, highlighting the importance of hair as an integral part of self-care and wellness.” Every ingredient is chosen for a reason; Australian Ayurvedic brand Subtle Energies, for example, uses anti-microbial tulsi and cortisol-reducing saffron in its Aura Protection Body Mist, so that it can be used as both a fragrance or meditation tool to aid both body and mind.

How can we embrace Ayurveda authentically?

Phrases like “woo woo” are often still thrown around in regards to Ayurveda, but this is ludicrous considering that practices like mindfulness, yoga, breathwork and many more that come from ancient Indian Vedic texts and are all proven to be effective by modern science.

Perhaps part of the issue is that the Ayurvedic philosophy may be challenging to grasp, explains Shirin Van Lare, Ayurvedic therapist and founder of Bourii . “In the West, there’s often an attempt to simplify Ayurveda for a society that may not be familiar with these practices – we sometimes hear doshas being compared to star signs as it’s a relatable example, but it is more complex than that and involves a proper diagnosis to ensure that the five elements are balanced for optimal health,” she adds.

Many Ayurvedic beauty founders are undeniably proud to share cultural practices. “Ayurveda holds a significant place in our identity and represents a rich cultural heritage, timeless wisdom and holistic wellness practices passed down through generations. Not many people know this, but the invention of shampoo originated in India, stemming back thousands of years through Ayurveda,” Metha says.

But this is also why cultural appropriation is such an issue. When brands appropriate Ayurvedic ingredients or concepts, it can diminish the practice for people from that heritage, inaccurately representing this ancient cultural practice and diverting profit from founders of Indian heritage. It’s also never quite as good; I am confident your chai latte from a chain coffee shop is nothing compared to Chai By Mira .

So, how do you make sure you’re getting an authentic experience? Picking where you get your Ayurvedic products from is crucial, Vivek Sahni, founder of Indian Ayurvedic brand Kama Ayurveda , which now has a flagship UK store and treatment rooms in London’s Notting Hill, with Ayurvedic treatments and products also available at Harrods. “The quality of any natural product is dependent on factors like the sourcing, location and timing, so we prioritise sourcing from premium locations like Kannauj for Roses, Kashmir for Saffron, and the Himalayan region for Sweet Almonds,” he explains. “Each ingredient is hand-picked to ensure the finest quality, and the meticulous formulation process with Ayurvedic experts enhances their potency.”

In an ideal world, perhaps every brand that dipped into Ayurvedic knowledge would source ingredients ethically and consult with Ayurvedic doctors to ensure their blends are truly effective for their customers, but that isn’t always the case.

“Ideally, Ayurveda should be credited by the brands who benefit from it,” says Ayurvedic beauty founder Michelle Ranavat. “But I try to focus my energy on creating educational content, with authentic products to help bring more organic awareness to Ayurveda and how helpful it can be for all people.” Some of that content includes homemade recipes that help the body heal from the inside, whilst her brand, Ranavat, uses Ayurvedic blends to beautify the outside. “Ultimately, Westernisation will happen as we modernise as a society, but the beauty of Ayurveda is that it adapts to our lifestyle. I don’t live a full Ayurvedic lifestyle, so I just take the parts that work for me.”

Where can you get an authentic Ayurvedic treatment experience?

These are just a few of the Ayurvedic spas and retreats around the world that offer high-quality Ayurvedic treatments and holistic wellness experiences.

Ananda in the Himalayas, India

Located in the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, Ananda is a luxury Ayurvedic retreat offering a range of traditional Ayurvedic treatments, yoga, meditation, and wellness programs. Set amidst breathtaking natural scenery, Ananda provides a serene and rejuvenating environment for true holistic healing.

Website: anandaspa.com

Kalari Kovilakom, India

Situated in Kerala, Kalari Kovilakom is a palace-turned-heritage Ayurvedic resort dedicated to authentic Ayurvedic treatments and therapies. Guests can experience personalised Ayurvedic consultations, herbal treatments, yoga, and meditation in a tranquil and traditional setting – minus digital distractions.

Website: cghearthayurveda.com

Ayurveda Parkschlösschen, Germany

Ayurveda Parkschlösschen is a renowned Ayurvedic wellness centre outside of India. It offers authentic Ayurvedic treatments, consultations, detoxification programs, and yoga in a peaceful and luxurious environment.

Website: ayurveda-parkschloesschen.de

The Raj Ayurveda Health Spa, USA

Located in Fairfield, Iowa, The Raj is a renowned Ayurvedic health spa in the US. It offers traditional Ayurvedic treatments, therapies, and consultations by experienced Ayurvedic practitioners in a serene and supportive atmosphere.

Website: theraj.com

Bulgari Hotel London, UK

Experience a Mauli Rituals treatment at the luxurious Bulgari spa. Each treatment is designed to target the body and mind, and starts with a one-to-one consultation, and is followed by one of four specialist treatments, including Prana, a mineral-rich massage using Marma Therapy to optimise the flow of energy in the body and Oja Surrender, an oil-rich full-body healing treatment.

Website: bulgarihotels.com

Where Did Travellers Stay in Ancient Greece?

When travelling to ancient Greece, one might wonder where the travellers stayed during their journeys. Although the concept of modern hotels and accommodations did not exist in ancient times, there were several options available for travellers to find shelter and rest. Let’s explore some of the common places where travellers stayed in ancient Greece.

The Agora Stoa was a covered walkway or portico located near the marketplace, making it a convenient place for travellers to find temporary shelter. These stoa structures were often supported by columns and provided shade from the sun or protection from rain. Travellers could rest, socialize, and even conduct business transactions within these bustling areas.

Inns (Pandocheion)

Inns , also known as pandocheion or xenodochion, were establishments specifically built to cater to travellers’ needs. These accommodations offered a more comfortable and private place for weary travellers to rest during their journeys. Inns typically provided basic amenities like beds, food, and sometimes even bathing facilities.

An example of an inn was the Priene Pandocheion . Located in Priene, this inn was known for its hospitality and excellent service. It had multiple rooms with comfortable beds and clean linens for travellers to relax and rejuvenate.

Taverns (symposia).

Taverns , also referred to as symposia, served as gathering places where people could eat, drink, socialize, and find temporary lodging if needed. These establishments were commonly found along major roads or near popular attractions. Taverns offered a more casual atmosphere compared to inns but still provided travellers with a place to rest and replenish their energy.

In ancient Greece, temples were not only places of worship but also served as sanctuaries for travellers. Temples dedicated to various gods and goddesses often had dedicated areas where weary travellers could find refuge. These sacred spaces provided shelter, safety, and sometimes even food for those seeking a temporary respite.

Hospitable Locals

Ancient Greeks valued the virtue of hospitality known as xenia . This concept emphasized the importance of welcoming and assisting strangers or travellers.

It was considered a sacred duty to offer shelter, food, and protection to those in need. Travellers could rely on the kindness of locals who would open their homes and provide them with a place to stay during their visit.

The practice of xenia was particularly prominent in rural areas where there were fewer formal accommodations available. Villagers would willingly offer their spare rooms or even share their own beds with travellers passing through their region.

Conclusion:

Ancient Greece had various options for travellers seeking shelter during their journeys. From bustling agora stoas to dedicated inns, taverns, temples, and the kindness of hospitable locals, travellers in ancient times had several choices depending on their preferences and needs.

These accommodations not only provided physical comfort but also offered opportunities for socializing and cultural exchange. Exploring these historical places can give us valuable insights into the lives of ancient Greek travellers.

8 Related Question Answers Found

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Suddenly, long-distance travel became a tempting proposition for many Greeks, as a form of ancient tourism began to blossom. The Classical era also witnessed the establishment of religious festivals, such as the Panathenaia and City Dionysia of Athens. Travellers from all across Greece would flood into the city for these celebrations, where ...
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Chapters. Travel. Tabernae - roadside inns. Sea and river travel. Ancient Romans were extremely mobile people, which is indirectly because the Roman Empire covered a huge territory. Vast areas required well-connected routes and safe sea and river connections, free from pirates and robbers. People high in the social hierarchy travelled to look ...
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Foreign Travellers in Ancient and Medieval India
1292 and 1294. Marco Polo, a Venetian trader and explorer, travelled from Europe to Asia . He joined the Tanjore-area Tamil Pandya kingdom. He travelled across Southern India while Rudramma Devi of the Kakatiya Dynasty was in power.One of India's few queens was Rudramadevi, who ruled from 1261 to 1295 CE.
How Did People in Ancient Times Travel?
In ancient times, people had to travel for various reasons such as trade, exploration, and conquest. However, the modes of transportation available to them were limited compared to the modern era. Let's dive into the different ways people in ancient times traveled. Walking. Walking was the most common mode of transportation in ancient times.
Foreign Travellers
Throughout ancient times, India hosted the presence of esteemed foreign travellers in Ancient India from diverse corners of the world. Among the notable travelers who explored ancient India were Al-Masudi, Fa-Hien, Hiuen-Tsang, Marco Polo, Abdul Razak, and others. These travelers left behind records and writings that introduced the world to India and its people. Their
10 walks through history: ancient UK pathways in stunning countryside
Start/finish Berwick station Distance 1-11¼ miles In 2014, Will Parsons and Guy Hayward noticed an ancient path on the 14th-century Gough map (one of the oldest maps of Britain) that linked ...
18 Eras In History That Time Travelers Would Visit First
Gather 'round, fellow adventurers and aspiring time-travelers, for I have a tale that will warp your mind faster than a DeLorean hitting 88 miles per hour! ... And remember, in ancient Egypt, cats ...
Up to a Trillion Cicadas Are About to Emerge in the U.S
By Aimee Ortiz. April 4, 2024. In a rare occurrence, a trillion cicadas from two different broods are expected to begin appearing in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States at the ...
How Did People Travel Ancient Greece?
1. Walking. Walking was the most common mode of transportation for people in Ancient Greece. Whether it was short distances within a city or longer journeys between towns, walking was a practical and essential means of travel. Greek cities were often designed with narrow streets, making walking the most convenient option.
This ancient practice has become 2024's biggest wellness trend
Wellness & Spas. This ancient practice has become 2024's biggest wellness trend. Ayurveda is sparking a return to back-to-basics wellness. Truthfully, despite being Indian, I didn't take that much interest in Ayurvedic beauty until the pandemic. There was something about that time - specifically, being cut off from the usual break-neck pace ...
Where Did Travellers Stay in Ancient Greece?
Temples. In ancient Greece, temples were not only places of worship but also served as sanctuaries for travellers. Temples dedicated to various gods and goddesses often had dedicated areas where weary travellers could find refuge. These sacred spaces provided shelter, safety, and sometimes even food for those seeking a temporary respite.
The Ancient Wars Between Israelites and Philistines
David Giving Thanks to God After the Death of Goliath, Charles Errard the Younger, 18th century. Credit: Wikipedia Commons, Public domain. Ancient Palestine has been the site of numerous wars for thousands of years. In the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, it was the site of wars between the Philistines and the Israelites. Many of these wars are recorded in the Bible.

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Foreign Travellers in Indian History - UPSC Notes

Important Foreign Travellers to India

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Foreign Travellers in Ancient and Medieval India

Major travellers

Megasthenes

Abdur Razzak

Hiuen Tsang

Ibn Battuta

Nicolo Conti

Afanasy Russian Nikitin

Domingo Paes

Fernao Nunes

Francois Bernier

Jean Baptiste Tavernier

William Hawkins

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10 walks through history: ancient UK pathways in stunning countryside