Anatolia and Greece , the home city of the ancient Olympic games|alt=Small-scale model showing various temples and other Greek ruins It was common for ancient Romans to travel to the islands of
Lesbos,
Samos,
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, male adolescents known as were whipped at the altar. Commentators such as Plutarch or
Cicero, a 1st century BCE Roman politician, possibly viewed this ceremony as strange and morbid. The ancient Romans were drawn to attractions such as the
Colossus of Rhodes, the
Statue of Zeus at Olympia, and the
Satyr of Protogenes. The ruins of
Troy held symbolic significance for the ancient Romans due to the Roman myth that their civilization descended from the Trojans.
Julius Caesar visited the site and toured the area with a guide. Afterwards, he erected an altar to his legendary Trojan ancestors. The , the family of Julius Caesar, claimed descent from a mythical founder called
Iulus, who they identified with Ascanius. In Roman legend, Ascanius was the son of
Aeneas, a mythical Trojan hero.
Germanicus worshipped at a Trojan site believed to be the tomb of
Hector,
Hadrian restored the site thought to be the tomb of
Ajax, and
Caracalla sacrificed at the area commonly thought to be the tomb of
Achilles. 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. Greek temples functioned as the home of their respective deities through the cult statues depicting the gods. However, access to these sites was restricted according to local customs and the specific rules of each temple. Pausanias journeyed across Greece with the explicit motivation of visiting cult sites. Similarly, Cicero describes a visit to a cult statue depicting Heracles. Temples were also analogous to modern
museums; they could contain and display large collections of artifacts for sightseers. 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. Various areas throughout Greece claimed to house the tombs of mythical characters. The city of
Megara claimed that it held the remains of
Iphigenia;
Pylos claimed that it held
Nestor's remains. In some cases, multiple cities claimed to contain the remains of the same legendary figure;
Argos and
Cyprus both claimed to house the remains of
Ariadne. 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 miraculous cures for their ailments. People visited Greece to consult
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. Another type of oracle, called "oracles of the dead," were located in caves and were believed to allow one to contact the dead. Tourism in Greece assumed heightened importance during the
Second Sophistic period, a historical term referring to Greek authors from the 1st to 3rd centuries.
Dio Chrysostom, a Greek orator, claimed that Sophistic philosophers attracted tourists to Greece; some allegedly came to the
Isthmian games to glimpse
Diogenes Laertius. Second Sophistic writers emphasized classical Greek culture; their ideals possibly motivated the focus on pre-Roman sites found in the
Descriptions of Greece of
Pausanias. Pausanias, who authored a guidebook for travelers in
Greece, refrained from discussing the Roman impact on the sites he describes. This focus possibly derives from anti-Roman sentiments, Pausanias may have been influenced by his own personal tastes; he possibly focused on describing sites that he personally viewed as worthwhile. Another potential influence of Pausanias may have been a desire to record Greek monuments, many of which were decaying. were popular tourist attractions for the ancient Romans|alt=Wide shot of the Great Pyramid
Egypt Egypt was another popular destination for ancient Roman tourists. Roman writers often portrayed Egypt as exotic, mysterious, and ancient.
Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian who visited Egypt around 60 BCE, claimed that it was intriguing due to its unique traditions which were foreign and strange to the Greeks: Strabo, a 1st century BCE Roman geographer, describes a 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. The ancient Romans misconstrued
two statues in
Thebes, likely of
Amenhotep II, as depicting the
Greek mythological king
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 statues or nearby people. The statues were covered with graffiti left by Roman-era tourists. Some graffiti merely announced that the inscriber had heard the voice of Memnon or arrived at the site; others were long epigraphs written by professional
poets venerating the supposedly miraculous capacities of the statue. It was common for these inscriptions to announce the time they heard the voice of the statue. For Roman tourists, it was considered lucky to hear the noises of the statue during
dawn or to hear the audio multiple times within a visit.
Julia Balbilla, a
Roman poet and a friend of the emperor
Hadrian, wrote four poems in
Homeric style detailing her encounter with statue. The first poem describes Hadrian's visit to the statue. In the second poem, she prays for the statue to communicate with
Vibia Sabina, the emperor's wife. This prayer was unsuccessful; in the following poem, she claims that the statue refused to speak "so that the beautiful Sabina might come back here again." However, Balbilla recorded that the statue spoke to Vibia during her second visit.
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
Apis bull 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 During
summertime, the oppressive heat compelled many Romans to leave the city. 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, and watch
chariot-racing in the
Circus Maximus or
gladiatorial games in 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 near 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. 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 1st century BCE
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 ==