3 Review(s)

Sir James Frazer (1854-1941) is best remembered for his monumental study of ancient religion, The Golden Bough (of which the first and third editions are both reissued in this series). He also produced a translation of and commentary on the Description of Greece of Pausanias, the second-century CE traveller and antiquarian, and the first piece in this 1900 compilation of Frazer's 'sketches' is the introductory essay to that work. Short descriptions then follow of the present-day appearance of over ninety places visited by Pausanias, and the work ends with an essay on Pericles and the effect of the period of his rule on the art and architecture of Athens. This fascinating work is imbued with Frazer's enthusiasm for, and knowledge of, the topography of ancient Greece, and will be of interest not only to scholars but also to visitors to the country.