How to Travel: An Ancient Guide for the Modern Tourist
May 2026 · Princeton University Press
Ebook
224
Pages
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About this ebook
A transporting anthology of ancient Greek and Roman travel writings that capture the thrill of exploration and discovery—from Europe to the Holy Land and Egypt to India
At long last, a travel guide to the ancient world for the modern tourist—written by the ancients themselves. How to Travel gathers classic texts from Greek and Roman writers to explore what today’s readers can learn from ancient encounters with unfamiliar peoples, places, and customs.
The Greek historian Herodotus (ca. 484–425 BCE) is one of the most famous travelers of antiquity. His Histories, which chronicle his and others’ encounters with foreign peoples and places, have fascinated readers for millennia, and have much to teach about the secrets of good travel. In How to Travel, Herodotus and Tacitus take us on tours of Central Asia, Egypt, and Germania, while pilgrims like Pausanias and the Christian nun Egeria guide us through Greece and the Holy Land. Readers are whisked away to India to experience the ways of forest-dwelling sages and to the far reaches of Africa. And as if Earth weren’t enough, the satirist Lucian takes us to the Moon. But this whirlwind tour of antiquity is more than a pleasure cruise. Seneca cautions travelers that, go as far as we may, we can never escape ourselves. Gratitude, Egeria says, is the traveler’s proper response for the privilege. And Homer reminds us that, ultimately, there’s no place like home.
Featuring vivid new translations, an inviting introduction, and the original Greek and Latin texts on facing pages, How to Travel captures the thrill of exploration and discovery—and how new experiences, fresh vistas, and foreign cultures can change the traveler.
At long last, a travel guide to the ancient world for the modern tourist—written by the ancients themselves. How to Travel gathers classic texts from Greek and Roman writers to explore what today’s readers can learn from ancient encounters with unfamiliar peoples, places, and customs.
The Greek historian Herodotus (ca. 484–425 BCE) is one of the most famous travelers of antiquity. His Histories, which chronicle his and others’ encounters with foreign peoples and places, have fascinated readers for millennia, and have much to teach about the secrets of good travel. In How to Travel, Herodotus and Tacitus take us on tours of Central Asia, Egypt, and Germania, while pilgrims like Pausanias and the Christian nun Egeria guide us through Greece and the Holy Land. Readers are whisked away to India to experience the ways of forest-dwelling sages and to the far reaches of Africa. And as if Earth weren’t enough, the satirist Lucian takes us to the Moon. But this whirlwind tour of antiquity is more than a pleasure cruise. Seneca cautions travelers that, go as far as we may, we can never escape ourselves. Gratitude, Egeria says, is the traveler’s proper response for the privilege. And Homer reminds us that, ultimately, there’s no place like home.
Featuring vivid new translations, an inviting introduction, and the original Greek and Latin texts on facing pages, How to Travel captures the thrill of exploration and discovery—and how new experiences, fresh vistas, and foreign cultures can change the traveler.
About the author
Herodotus (ca. 484–425 BCE), the paradigmatic travel writer of antiquity, was born in Halicarnassus, the modern Turkish city of Bodrum. His investigations into other countries and cultures, the Histories, is the oldest work of Greek prose to survive intact. M. D. Usher is the Lyman-Roberts Professor of Classical Languages and Literature at the University of Vermont. His previous books include How to Be a Farmer, How to Say No, and How to Care about Animals (all Princeton).
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