ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors focus on the neglected side of Pausanias’ work. They analyse religious practices and actions which Pausanias himself connects with the sacred travelling. The authors also analyse Pausanias’ account on sacred travelling, show that there appears a pattern quite similar with the classification of pilgrimage more generally, and especially in the Medieval West. When comparing the pre-Christian and Christian pilgrimage in Europe, one should keep in mind a difference in cultural contexts. In Christianity pilgrimage can be seen as a metaphor for the Christian life: personal journey to the sacred site represents personal life with all its suffering and even physical death, while reaching the target refers to the salvation from death. While the length of journey and its discomforts probably were on many occasions even an essential part of Christian pilgrimage, this was a rather irrelevant aspect for pre-Christian sacred travelling and lived religion.
