Tourism in ancient Rome

This article is about tourism in ancient Rome. For tourism of the modern city, see Tourism in Rome.

Tourism in ancient Rome was limited to the Roman upper class due to its expense and long travel times. Travel was made increasingly difficult due to shipwrecks, storms, poor maps, and a lack of modern transportation methods. Common destinations for ancient Roman tourists were Greece, Egypt, and the coast of Campania. Roman tourists sought out sites in Greece of cultural and historical importance, such as the numerous Greco-Roman temples and the athletic games such as the Olympics. Egypt was one of the most popular destinations for Roman tourists; they were enticed by their perception of Egypt as exotic and foreign. Roman travelers toured Egypt to observe sites such as the Pyramids and to visit cities such as Alexandria or Luxor. Wealthy Romans would spend the hottest parts of the year in villas outside of the city of Rome or in resort towns such as Baiae. During the same summertime months, non-Romans would travel to Rome to see the many monuments and structures throughout the city.

Roman tourists were motivated by the Roman concept of otium, or leisure time. The Romans believed that such time should be spent engaging in intellectual, artistic, or philosophical pursuits. Roman tourism was sometimes motivated by educational pursuits; these tourists sought out famed rhetoricians or teachers at their destinations. Tourists would also travel to other areas in hopes of seeing sites of historical or religious importance, such as the ruins of Troy or temples throughout the Greco-Roman world. Religious tourists sometimes hoped to attain the services of a certain god, such as medical help at a temple of Asclepius or advice from an oracle.

Methods of travel

Main article: Travel in classical antiquity

Long-distance travel was difficult to access for poorer Romans due to limited time and economic constraints. Shipwrecks, storms, poor maps, and weather conditions also presented challenges for tourists. Usage of the Roman roads was limited by the poorer quality of roads more distant from cities and towns. Roads were primarily intended for the transportation of military forces rather than for tourism.

Piracy may have also been a concern for travelers in antiquity. The status of piracy in the Roman world is difficult to discern. Roman authors frequently laud different military or political leaders, such as Pompey, for their supposed eradication of piracy. However, these claims are certainly ideological in nature; they likely served as propaganda pieces intended to justify and promote Roman leadership and governance. The existence of ancient inscriptions referencing pirates indicates that there was at least a small presence of piracy in the Mediterranean. However, piracy was likely not as widespread as Republican-era authors claimed. Most ancient authors during the Principate claimed that piracy was suppressed by the emperors. The Res Gestae, a funerary inscription for Augustus, claims that piracy had been eliminated under the Julio-Claudian dynasty due to the stability imposed by the Pax Romana. Although piracy was likely reduced during the Principate, the continued maintenance of large and expensive fleets implies that piracy remained a threat, albeit a minor one. Roman tourism peaked in the 2nd century CE due to the easier travel conditions brought by the Pax Romana.

Travelers were aided by the hospitality traditions of the Greco-Roman world. The Romans viewed hospitality, which they termed hospitium, as a moral obligation. Guidebooks and tour guides provided additional assistance to ancient Roman tourists. In Amores, Pseudo-Lucian satirically describes an incident at the Sanctuary of Dionysus where numerous opportunists beset one of the characters, offering to explain the stories behind the various sites for a price. According to Plutarch, the tour guides were notoriously loquacious. In Moralia, Plutarch wrote that "the guides went through their standard speech, paying no attention whatsoever to our entreaties to cut the talk short and leave out most of the explanations on the inscriptions and epitaphs." Varro, as quoted by Nonius, once satirically wrote a prayer invoking protection against these tour guides: "Zeus, protect me from your guides at Olympia, and you, Athena, from yours at Athens." Contemporary tour guides typically regaled tourists with myths and stories about the various attractions. Pausanias wrote, "even the guides of the Argives themselves are aware that their account is not entirely correct." Pliny wrote satirically of a character named Caius Licinius Mucianus, a gullible tourist who believed these rumors. According to Pausanias, tour guides were present in even more obscure locations such as Troezen or Patras. The availability of tour guides in these regions suggests that tourists visited these areas; they likely did not limit their travels to only the most well-known parts of Greece.

Attractions

Anatolia and Greece

Model of Olympia, the home city of the ancient Olympic games

Pausanias, who authored a guidebook for travelers in Greece, emphasized descriptions of pre-Roman sites in his work. Although this focus possibly derives from anti-Roman sentiments, Pausanias may also have wanted to appeal to the tastes of his audience; Roman tourists may have been more interested in the ancient, pre-Roman Greek sites. Pausanias may also have been influenced by a desire to record the Greek monuments, many of which were decaying. Roman tourists frequently traveled to Greece to witness the Olympic Games, the Pythian Games, the Isthmian Games, and the Nemean Games, as well as to visit Greek temples. Greco-Roman temples were enticing attractions partially due to their religious significance. These temples represented the home of the god through the statue depicting the deity. Religious rituals occurred outside the temples at altars. Temples were also analogous to modern museums; they could contain large collections of artifacts, such as the sword of Julius Caesar at the Temple of Mars in Rome. However, these temples did not collect as diverse an assortment of artifacts as modern museums; they focused on preserving the history of the local deities and communities.

Greek sanctuaries also functioned as pseudo-art-galleries. Pausanias described a room containing depictions of mythological scenes in the propylaeon of Athens. Another such display of artwork at the Temple of Hera, also mentioned by Pausanias, is said to have contained the chest of Cypselos and bronze statues of Hermes and infant Dionysus. In the Temple of Aphrodite at Knidos, the statue of the deity itself may have been an attraction. According to Pseudo-Lucian, the temple was surrounded by benches allowing visitors to sit and gawk at the statue. Similarly, Pliny claims that the statue stood in the open, allowing visitors to view it from all sides.

Temples often profited greatly from tourism; visitors were typically required to pay entrance fees—usually in food, money, or objects—to access the temples. These fees served as a source of revenue for temples. Temples of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, were often visited by individuals seeking medical advice. People visited Greece to consult the Oracle of Delphi and other "oracles of the dead," which were located in caves and were believed to allow one to contact one's dead friends and family.

It was common for ancient Romans to travel to the islands of Lesbos, Rhodes, Chios, and the islands of Ionia. Greek cities in Asia Minor and renowned cities such as Athens or Sparta were also popular tourist destinations. Sparta became a hub of tourist activity during their yearly festival in honor of Artemis Orthia. During this festival, adolescent men known as ephebes were whipped at the altar. By the time of Cicero, tourists from throughout the empire came to observe the rituals. The ancient Romans were attracted to sites such as the Colossus of Rhodes, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, and the Satyr of Protogenes. The ruins of Troy were particularly intriguing for ancient Roman tourists. Julius Caesar visited the site and toured the area with a guide. Afterward, he erected an altar to his Trojan ancestors. Similarly, Germanicus worshipped at the tomb of Hector in Troy, Hadrian restored the tomb to Ajax, Caracalla sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles.

The Egyptian pyramids were popular tourist attractions for the ancient Romans

Egypt

Egypt was the most popular destination for ancient Roman tourists. The Romans viewed Egypt as exotic, mysterious, and ancient. These perceptions were, more often than not, misconceptions. The ancient Romans misconstrued a statue in Thebes, likely of Amenhotep II, as a statue of Memnon. These statues were famed throughout the ancient world for their supposed ability to talk. Consequently, they became a popular tourist attraction. Strabo recounts visiting the statues and hearing noises; however, he remained skeptical about whether the sounds were produced by the noise or nearby people. Strabo describes another possible example of an ancient Egyptian tourist trap at Syene. Strabo writes that local boatmen would sail upstream past the first cataract of the Nile into the rapids to entertain tourists. Roman tourists were infatuated by Egyptian funerary rituals; they often requested to be mummified after their deaths. Egyptian markets for mummification and stores selling copies of the Book of the Dead catered to this market of tourists. Embalming shops were in high demand for ancient Romans; the largest of such shops was located in Memphis. Roman visitors created their own unique mummification ritual: the creation of a detailed portrait of the deceased's face. The most notable collection of these images is the Fayum portraits. Alexandria and the Pyramids were the most popular sites in Egypt. Alexandria's most popular attractions included the Serapeum, the Musaeum, and the Pharos. Sightseers would also visit the Bull of Apis in Memphis and the cities of Thebes and Luxor. Egyptian temples such as the Temple of Ptah in Memphis were open to outside visitors. Tourists would have been allowed to partake in the local rituals.

Italy

Ancient Roman villa in Baiae

Many of the common folk of ancient Rome left the city during summer due to the oppressive heat. Wealthy Romans would purchase vacation villas outside of the city of Rome, where they would spend the hottest months of the year. They could also be located on the coast of Campania in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Non-Roman tourists frequently visited Rome during summertime. They would tour the baths, chariot racing, gladiatorial games, shop at the various markets throughout the city, or see the many monuments of Rome such as the Colosseum. Stadia throughout the Roman world became popular attractions for sports tourists. Visitors often traveled to the base of the Palatine hill, where a fig tree supposedly marked the location where the cradle of Romulus and Remus was overturned.

Roman tourists frequently vacated to resorts across the shoreline from Rome to Naples. Baiae was an ancient Roman town located in modern Bacoli on the Gulf of Naples. It was a popular resort in ancient Rome, primarily during the end of the Roman Republic. The town was known for corruption, scandals, and hedonism. According to Varro, bars dotted the area, and upper-class women were said to pretend to be prostitutes. Varro wrote that in Baiae men acted like boys, and boys acted like girls. Another resort town called Puteoli was known for its danger and high night-time crime rates. It was a common practice for visitors to bring bodyguards with them. It was common to visit the areas by Herculaneum and Pompeii in the Gulf of Naples. Other popular tourist destinations included areas by the Bay of Sorrento, Cumae, and Cape Misenum. Horace, a Roman poet, described how the luxury villas in these areas were packed so tightly that "the fish were feeling cramped." For ancient Roman villa owners, traversing the shore in litters and riding on oar-propelled boats were common activities.

Countryside tourism was also popular in ancient Rome. Roman people frequently visited the Alban and Sabine hills east of Rome. Numerous lavish country estates were built in the Roman countryside. Such villas often functioned as homes and resorts; these villas were self-sufficient, containing farms, large storages of food or wine, and often other amenities such as bakeries. Many villas lacked these same luxuries and exclusively served as resort homes. Tourism in the Alps was not popular; people viewed the mountains more as obstructions rather than as attractions. However, Mount Etna was a popular attraction due to its religious significance and the view of the sunrise from the summit. There was an inn at the top of the mountain for visitors.

Motives

1st-century CE Engraving of Athena Parthenos by the philosopher Aspasius

During the reign of Augustus tourism and leisure assumed a more prominent role in Roman culture. It is unclear if people ventured on "Grand Tours" in which they traveled across the Mediterranean to see various notable tourist attractions such as Athens or Delphi. Traveling this often may have been too expensive and dangerous. However, it is known that people would travel across the Empire after winning notable battles or notable achievements. Many tourists returned home with memorabilia from their destination. It was common for ancient Roman tourists to draw sketches of themselves near famous attractions or to commission such drawings. In Athens, tourists could collect paintings, pottery, terracotta, artifacts, silver statuettes, glass bottles, and miniature figures depicting the Statue of Athena by Phidias. According to Pseudo-Lucian, tourists could acquire obscene pottery as a souvenir. In The Book of Acts, Saint Paul is described as encountering an Athenian silversmith who produced and sold silver temples of Diana. Travelers often engraved evidence of their journey in graffiti. In Egypt, an inscription was found reading "I, Lysa, slave of Publius Annius Plocannus, came here in year 35 of Caesar." Another Egyptian inscription reads "I, Gaius Numidius Eros, was here in year 28 of Caesar, returning from India, in the month Phamenoth." These inscriptions are typically found in Egypt, and are absent from sites in Greece.

Roman tourism was heavily influenced by the concept of otium, a term referring to leisure time. The Romans believed otium should be dedicated to artistically, physically, or academically beneficial activities. Tourism was often motivated by the desire to fulfill the concept of otium. Wealthy and upper-class Romans may have traveled to areas throughout Greece or Asia Minor for educational or philosophical pursuits. Greece, Massalia, and Alexandria were common destinations for tourists who intended to further their education. Many of these tourists sought high-quality teachers and rhetoricians in the areas they visited.

Educational motivations included the desire to see sights of historic or cultural significance. Many wealthy and important Romans, such as Germanicus and Septimius Severus, traveled throughout the eastern parts of the Roman Empire hoping to visit ancient and famous sites of historical importance. Pliny described this phenomenon amongst Augustan tourists: "There are a number of things in this city of ours and its environs which we have not even heard of, much less seen; yet, if they were in Greece or Egypt or Asia, we would have heard all about them, read all about them, looked over all there was to see." Similar ideas are found in the works of Seneca the Younger. Seneca commented upon Roman tourism in his essay: De Otio. He noticed that tourists hoped for excitement in their travels; they wished to escape the mundanity of ordinary life. This desire was termed curiositas, meaning “curiosity.” The word was attached to negative connotations; it referred to excessive interest in irrelevant or useless things. However, beginning in the Hellenistic period, the concept of curiosity was identified with the Greek concept of philomatheia, meaning “love of learning.” Stoic and Epicurean philosophers maintained divisive perspectives on travel due to curiosity. Although these perspectives were not unanimous amongst either philosophy, Epicurean philosophers tended to view leisure tourism more negatively than the Stoics did. Epicureans often believed that travel was dangerous and could threaten their ataraxia, or state of contentment. Stoic philosophers adopted a more positive light on travel and curiosity; they believed exploration benefited the knowledge of the tourist. Seneca spoke highly of the desire for exploration and new knowledge or experiences. However, he chastised tourists who lacked deeper philosophical pursuits in their travels.

Positive views of travel and curiosity were likely limited to male tourists. Tacitus, when describing Cornelia, a Roman woman who accompanied her husband on a campaign, describes her exploration as the negative “cupido visendi,” or “desire to see,” rather than “cupido noscendi,” meaning “desire to learn.” Tacitus may have expressed these viewpoints due to Cornelia's violation of traditional Roman gender norms. Cornelia dressed in legionary equipment and entered spaces typically restricted to men. Other instances of female travelers in Roman literature are treated with a similar negative disposition. Petronius describes a fictional woman named Tryphaena, who sails across the world in search of pleasure. Although her motivation is explained as originating from curiositas, it is likely intended to be more selfish instead of the intellectual motivations praised by Seneca.

Ancient inscriptions reveal that there were Roman pilgrims who traveled across the empire seeking sites of religious importance. One inscription from the Temple of Mandulis in Talmis references a man named Sansnos who traveled to sites throughout the empire with the hope of worshipping each god. Although the tradition of religious tourism continued following the rise of Christianity, Christian pilgrims had distinct motivations from earlier Roman religious tourists. Pagan pilgrims lacked the same desires for atonement, penance, or salvation which often motivate Christian pilgrimage. Early Christians embarked on pilgrimages to holy sites of religious importance. These pilgrimages may have even motivated the construction of ecclesiastical structures in the Holy Land. Contemporary Christian writers portray Christian pilgrims as motivated by piety. In one of the epistles of St. Jerome, he describes a Roman noblewoman named Paula zealously traveling from holy site to holy site: “Moreover, in visiting the holy places so great was the passion and the enthusiasm she exhibited for each, that she could never have torn herself away from one had she not been eager to visit the rest.” Cultural attitudes surrounding tourism changed with the rise of Christianity. Tertullian, a Christian author, argued that the pursuit of knowledge should serve the purpose of understanding or glorifying God. Similarly, Augustine cautioned against the desire of knowledge for knowledge's sake; warning that it could lead to the neglect of spiritual matters. These newer perspectives on tourism and travel are reflected in the descriptions of Paula. St. Jerome emphasizes the religious motivations for her travel, rather than any personal desires. Egeria, a Roman woman who authored an account of a pilgrimage, also emphasizes the spiritual motivations of her journey; possibly due to an attempt to avoid appearing vain or pleasure-seeking.

Medical tourism was popular in the ancient Roman world. Travelers sought the advice of oracles, particularly oracles of Apollo in Delphi, Delos, or Claros. The oracles of Heracles, the oracle of Trophonius near Lebadea, and the Temple of Fortuna at Praeneste were other oracles in high demand. Temples of Asclepius were often visited for medical reasons. Kos, the island where Hippocrates allegedly taught, housed a sanctuary of Asclepius. Similarly, the surgeon Galen practiced near a Temple of Asclepius in Pergamon. These sites were often visited by tourists seeking medical advice or treatment. One of the most prominent sanctuaries of Asclepius was located in Epidaurus. In both Classical Greece and Ancient Rome, the sick flocked to the temple seeking treatment for their ailments. Whilst remaining at the sanctuary, they lodged in a katagogion, a guest house with 160 rooms. Stelae found near the site exalt the potency of its treatments; they claim that it provided miraculous cures. These descriptions most likely do not accurately reflect the medical value of the therapies offered by the sanctuary. Following the Roman conquest of Greece, the temple remained popular. Sacred spas and springs also attracted medical tourists. One such spring was the Aquae Sulis, located in the modern city of Bath, England. Aelius Aristedes, an ancient rhetorician, traveled his experiences with medical tourism in his work: Sacred Tales. After becoming ill, Aristedes traveled across the Mediterranean; he claimed to be guided by messages sent by Asclepius. Celsus, a Roman medical scholar, advocated for long sea voyages as a treatment for tuberculosis. He believed that maritime travel could treat the disease by providing a fresh change of air. Celsus argued that the journey from Italy to Alexandria was perfect for such a trip.

See also

•  Ancient Rome portal

References

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