Religious Tourism in Roman Greece
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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada RELIGIOUS TOURISM IN ROMAN GREECE by David James Stark Bachelor of Arts, Wilfrid Laurier University, 2006 THESIS Submitted to the Faculty of Arts, Department of Classical Studies and Archaeology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Arts Wilfrid Laurier University © David James Stark 2009 i RELIGIOUS TOURISM IN ROMAN GREECE David J. Stark Dr. Judith Fletcher, Dissertation Supervisor ABSTRACT In recent years, Roman travel and tourism has become a focus of scholarship. Most of the scholarship however has focused either on religious travel through studies of pilgrimage or on secular travel through studies of tourism. Many tourism scholars however have begun to recognize that the differences between what is a tourist and what is a pilgrim is not as large as was once thought. These scholars have coined a new term, the religious tourist, to describe those travelers who seem to bridge the gap between the traditional definition of a pilgrim and the traditional definition of a tourist. Through examining the work of the travel writer Pausanias and the travels of famous Romans such as Aemilius Paullus, Cicero, Mucianus, Nero, and Hadrian, one begins to understand that the majority of tourists in the Roman world visited religious sites. Travelers were interested both in the religious nature of these sites as "houses of the gods" and in their secular nature as home to countless wonders of art, relics of history, and athletic and cultural festivals where the very best athletes and artists competed for prestige and prizes. Although many travelers made dedications or sacrificed victims, many of them also took time to marvel at the artwork and admire the museum-like nature of the Greek Sanctuary site. Although these travelers have previously been classed as either tourists or pilgrims, it is clear that they are best considered religious tourists as they participated in both religious and secular activities while at these sites. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As might be accepted, any work of this size and magnitude could not have been completed without the advice and support of many people. Special thanks goes to my wife, Jenn, who not only gave me the idea for studying Roman tourism at sanctuary sites while we toured around Greece together but also encouraged me to go back to school when anyone else might have wanted their husband to get a job and support the family. She has also very kindly listened to my ideas as this project has taken shape, read many drafts, and, with keen insight, shown me new directions of study. This work is dedicated to her. I would also like to thank my parents, not only for making my trip to Greece possible but also for raising me to value learning above all and for teaching me to pursue those things in life that would make me truly happy. I would like to thank Dr. Judith Fletcher for advising throughout the year and for always encouraging me to continue my studies. I would also like to express gratitude to my other committee members, Dr. Andrew Faulkner and Dr. Joann Freed, who have also advised, supported, encouraged, and inspired me throughout this year. Others who deserve acknowledgement include Dr. Sheila Ager, Dr. David Porreca, and Dr. Craig Hardiman for their encouragement, insight, and enthusiasm for my research; Dr. Arden Williams and Dr. Alexis Young, for being helpful supervisors and not bogging me down with too much teaching work at inopportune times; and my fellow grad students, Evan Sharp, Jacqueline McDermid, Deen Merrick-Braund, Laura Rocone and Justin Strieker, for their support and friendship through the trying first year of this program. I would also like to thank the Kennedys for their support and friendship and for reminding me that being a full-time student and iii supporting a family is entirely possible. Lastly, special thanks to the Baans and the Uyars for their love and support as always. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 2 ACKNOLEDGEMENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 5 Aims and Parameters of this study CHAPTER ONE: DEFINING THE TERMS 9 What is a tourist? What is a pilgrim? What is a religious tourist? Pilgrimage in the Ancient World Tourism in the Ancient World CHAPTER TWO: PAUSANIAS THE TRAVEL WRITER. 19 Who was Pausanias? Who was his intended audience? Pausanias and his time period What does Pausanias tell us about ancient religious tourism? CHAPTER THREE: THE GREEK SANCTUARY SITE AS A MUSEUM 38 What is a Greek sanctuary site? Sanctuary sites: ancient museums? CHAPTER FOUR: FESTIVALS 54 The agonistic festivals Strange civic traditions The "Carnivale" Atmosphere of the Festival CHAPTER FIVE: THE TYPICAL TRAVELER IN THE ROMAN ERA 67 Where was the typical traveler from? The status of the typical traveler CHAPTER SIX: FIVE FAMOUS ROMAN TRAVEL ITINERARIES 77 L. Aemilius Paullus Marcus Tullius Cicero Mucianus Imperial Tours CONCLUSION 106 REFERENCES 109 1 INTRODUCTION Religious sites have always held an important place in society as destinations that people wished to visit. Many visitors over the centuries have traveled to these places for strictly religious reasons; to offer a sacrifice, or to pray to a god, or even to have a "spiritual awakening". In recent years, however, many of these religious sites have become popular destinations not only for the pilgrim but also for the average tourist. In fact when Forbes Traveler magazine released a list of "The Fifty Most Visited Tourist Attractions in the World", a religious site, namely the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, appeared at number nine on the list with an estimated twelve million visitors per year.1 In recent years, scholars have noted that many travelers to religious sites, even those traveling on tradition pilgrimage routes such as the Camino to Santiago de Compostella in Spain, possess characteristics that have traditionally been associated with the tourist in addition to their inherent characteristics as pilgrims. These travelers carry cameras, sightsee at surrounding attractions, marvel at the physical features of the sites themselves, and even buy souvenirs. Many of these religious sites not only attract practicing followers of their specific religion, but also attract visitors from outside of their religion as well. It is for these reasons that many sites are now considered tourist destinations in addition to being religious sites. 1 Sandra Larriva and Gabe Weisert, http://www.forbestraveler.com/best-lists/most-visited-tourist-attractions- story.html. Created: April 25, 2007. Accessed: April 24, 2009. Many lists of this type exist and although none of them is completely accurate, as they use a variety of different and sometimes suspect sources to compile their data, the information is used here not to say which sites are the most attractive in the world nor to say exactly how many people visit each site, each year, but to argue that certain types of sites, namely religious ones, are popular. Forbes Traveler notes that the Notre Dame data was taken the Office du Tourisme et des Congres http://en.parisinfo.com/IMG/pdf/CPJrq_culturelle_2005.pdf. 2 Preston 1992: 43 notes that sightseeing and "tourist activities are common interludes on pilgrimage journeys". Djgance 2006: 40 also notes that even in medieval times, "souvenirs were sold at the major shrines" and that this tradition has continued today. 2 Not only have scholars noted that traditional pilgrims now exhibit more tourist like qualities, they have also noticed that many traditional tourists are exhibiting some of the qualities formerly reserved to describe the pilgrim. Many tourists going to a place of personal importance, such as an Elvis fan going to Graceland or a golfer going to the Old Course at St. Andrews, have a sort of spiritual awakening on their journey and can therefore be viewed as a kind of secular pilgrim.3 Due to the uncertainty surrounding the current understanding of these terms, scholars such as Vukonic have avoided labeling certain travelers as tourists and others as pilgrims and have instead used the term "religious tourist" to describe those travelers that seem to bridge the gap between the traditional understanding of what is a pilgrim and what is a tourist.4 Traveling to sites of religious importance is not a new phenomenon.