Chapter Ii Legends in Tourism and Hospitality
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Andrew O. Coggins, Jr. Chapter II Legends in Tourism, Hospitality & Passenger Shipping 20 CHAPTER II LEGENDS IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY: 2.1 The Quest for Blessings: Like deeds worth a song or a story to be passed down from generation to generation, tourism/pilgrimage destinations worth the cost or danger of the trip have existed since ancient times. These destinations were initially sites associated with a particular deity, maybe the deity’s birthplace or the location of a crucial incident in the deity’s life. As travel became easier, destinations developed that were associated with literature and great events such as wars and battles. The initial development of travel, versus migration, is closely tied to the change in government from city-states to unified nations in Egypt and Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C. Effective government required efficient means of communication. In Egypt, these developed mainly as water transport along the Nile while in Mesopotamia they developed conversely as road systems. The development of money and writing, which made non- barter trade and record-keeping possible, made travel over wide areas both feasible and profitable. With the invention of the cart, first four wheels, later two, heavier loads could be carried faster and longer than by porters or single animals. The security from robbers required for the movement of government personnel also benefited trade. By 1750 B.C., one could travel the 120 miles between Larsa and Babylon at an average speed of 2½ to 3½ miles per hour (Casson, 1974). Until the invention of the railroad in the early 1800s, water transportation was always easier than land transportation. In Egypt, this was facilitated by prevailing winds that blew from North to South and the Nile’s flow from South to North. Mass travel developed in conjunction with religious festivals at locations sacred to specific deities. Worshippers would flock to these locations, usually located close to the Nile, by boat. The temples, at these sites, were supported by the pharaohs. Due to the Nile Valley’s abundance of good building stone, both the temples and the pharaohs’ tombs achieved a durability so that by 1500 B.C. when the first signs of tourism appear in Egypt they were Andrew O. Coggins, Jr. Chapter II Legends in Tourism, Hospitality & Passenger Shipping 21 already ancient. In Mesopotamia, brick was the primary construction material and fell into disrepair with the ebb and flow of conquerors. Based on messages left on their walls, the pyramids at Gizeh, the Sphinx, and the step pyramid at Sakkarah, were being visited by a steady stream of sightseers (Casson, 1974). The next region to develop mass movements of people was ancient Greece. By the sixth century B.C., there were four great panhellenic religious festivals, combining athletics, music, dance and literature, the Olympic Games at Olympia in honor of Zeus, Pythian Games near the oracle at Delphi in honor of Apollo, Isthmian Games at Corinth consecrated to Poseidon and Nemean Games dedicated to Zeus. The Greater Dionysia, held every March in Athens and devoted entirely to music and drama, achieved an equal status. “The festivals furnished in one unique package the spectrum of attractions that have drawn tourists in all times and places: the feeling of being part of a great event and of enjoying a special experience; a gay festive mood punctuated by exalted religious moments; elaborate pageantry; the excitement of contests between performers of the highest caliber-and, on top of all this, a chance to wander among famous buildings and works of art.” (Casson, 1974, 77) Each of these events occasioned a large movement of people throughout Greece. While the festivals took place in specific years and seasons, there was also a large movement of the sick to temples or sanctuaries associated with the healing gods, such as the sanctuary at Epidaurus, sacred to Asclepius. (Casson, 1974) 2.2 Beginnings of Pleasure Travel: Herodotus of the fifth century B.C. provides the earliest travel writings. He wrote about parts of Greece, the Persian Empire, and Egypt. He wrote about some of the attractions that would be considered important in Roman times, such as the pyramids, the Labyrinth, and the ziggurat of Babylon. With the peace and prosperity brought about by the Roman Empire the number of travelers increased but the main reasons remained the same, government, trade, religion, and health. However, there was an increase in the number of people traveling for just pleasure, whether to the beach in summer or on extended voyages to see the wonders of the world. Thermal springs with various healing powers Andrew O. Coggins, Jr. Chapter II Legends in Tourism, Hospitality & Passenger Shipping 22 had developed as baths throughout the Empire, a number of which would become the nineteenth century spas. The Greek international games and festivals were also a large draw for tourists. In addition, Rome itself served as a major attraction for people from all over the Empire. (Casson, 1974) The Roman historian, Livy, wrote of the tours of commander-in-chief of the Roman army, Aemilius Paulus in 167 B.C. “Paulus’ choice of places to visit illustrates to the letter the interests of the vast majority of tourists who came after him. He was no Herodotus, poking into the ways and manners of men, picking up conversations with sacristans and businessmen. He was interested, almost to the exclusion of all else, in the past. And, of the monuments of the past, he gave precedence to those that commemorated the presence of gods; next came those that recalled mythology and history. Thus he saw the great temples and sanctuaries at Delphi, Athens, Oropus, Epidaurus; he also visited the harbour where Agamemnon gathered the fleet for the legendary attack upon Troy, and the base that served the navy which, two and a half centuries before his time had made Athens’ name great in history. He included Phidias’ statue of Zeus at Olympia, not so much for art’s sake as for its renown and the solemn religious effect it had on the beholder (according to report, his reaction was, ‘Phidias has sculpted the Zeus of Homer!’). And he took in one of nature’s marvels, the Euripus, the narrow channel-only forty yards wide-between the mainland of Greece and the island of Euboea, where the current whips through at four to five miles an hour and seems to switch direction with bewildering irregularity. (Casson, 1974, 230)” In the second century B.C., Antipater of Sidon listed Seven Wonders of the World (Legend, 1988). These were the Pyramids of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Phidias’ statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Pharos of Alexandria. All these shared great size, great age, and significance beyond their mere physical being. The Pyramids of Giza represented the power of the pharaohs who built them and the antiquity of Egyptian civilization. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon illustrated the power of the rulers of Babylon and the love of a king for his queen. The statue of Zeus at Olympia signified Andrew O. Coggins, Jr. Chapter II Legends in Tourism, Hospitality & Passenger Shipping 23 Zeus’ importance in the pantheon of Greek gods, the holiness of the site, and the superb artistry of Phidias. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus demonstrated the strength of the cult of Artemis and the wealth, which allowed the temple to be adorned with such beautiful works of art. The Mausoleum was also known for the beauty of its decorations and the story of a queen’s love for her king. The Colossus of Rhodes represented technological achievement in its construction. Visible from some thirty miles at sea (Casson, 1974), the Pharos of Alexandria was a hallmark of the city’s importance and a source of comfort and hope for approaching ships. Natural attractions were associated with the gods, literature, and great battles. The sites were not attractive for their aesthetics but for what they represented. Art also attracted visitors, though not for the size of the work but for its beauty. In 70 B.C., Cicero “mentions in passing some half-dozen works of art of outstanding reputation, pieces that people made pilgrimages to see. These included, in addition to Praxiteles’ Aphrodite and Myron’s cow, a statue of Europa on the bull at Tarentum done by Pythagoras of Rhegium; a marble Eros at Thespiae in Greece executed by Praxiteles; a painting at Cos of Aphrodite, shown rising from the sea, by Apelles, who was considered by the ancients to be their greatest painter…; a portrait at Ephesus of Alexander, also by Apelles; a picture of Ialysus, the legendary founder of Rhodes, on Rhodes….and a picture of the Paralos, one of Athens’ flagships, in the great gateway to the Acropolis at Athens, both by Protogenes, a contemporary of Apelles (Casson, 1974, 236-7).” Praxiteles’ Aphrodite was so beautiful that its home city of Cnidus turned down the repayment of its public debt by a wealthy Asia Minor king in return for the statue. The city displayed the statue in an open pavilion surrounded by a viewing platform, which enabled viewers to appreciate its beauty from all perspectives. Myron’s bronze cow on the Acropolis at Athens was also associated with a story so that “poets scribbled ecstatic verses about it being so realistically made that it could fool not merely a herdsman but even calves and bulls (Casson, 1974, 236).” More than two hundred years later, the most popular attractions, as disclosed by Pliny the Younger at the beginning of the second century A.D., still lay within Greece, Asia Minor, and Egypt (Casson, 1974).