5 ms·
Was there anything resembling tourism in 300 BC?
by exitb 6mo ago
Was there anything resembling tourism in 300 BC?
- arethuza 6mo ago"The final layers (Troy VIII–IX) were Greek and Roman cities which served as tourist attractions and religious centers because of their link to mythic tradition." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy
- gostsamo 6mo agono, but in first century bc and after that the roman world was connected enough that rich young romans were doing their version of the grand tour. Cesar managed to be kidnapped by pirates doing something like that, if I remember it correctly.
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- Gormo 6mo ago> no, but in first century bc and after that the roman world was connected enough that rich young romans were doing their version of the grand tour. So "yes", then.
- detourdog 6mo agoThere were “pilgrimages”, trade, and extended families. Joseph traveled with his brothers to Egypt long before 300 BC
- thehours 6mo agoAlexander the Great visited it in 334 BC: https://greekreporter.com/2025/09/07/alexander-the-great-visit-troy/ https://greekreporter.com/2025/09/07/alexander-the-great-vis... Edit: this was also mentioned in the article
- aaronharnly 6mo agonot exactly a tourist :) but the point stands
- spauldo 6mo agoI dunno, given the reputation we Americans have as tourists, it'd be nice to point out good ol' Alex and say, "hey, it could be worse!"
- olalonde 6mo agoThat's covered in the article.
- deleted 6mo ago[deleted]
- riffraff 6mo agonot only there was, people were still people and we have roman and greek graffiti on monuments ("X was here" and similar).
- singularity2001 6mo agoaccording to medieval reports the white limestone surfaces of the pyramids were absolutely cluttered with Egyptian Roman and other in eligible graffiti
- globnomulous 6mo agoYes, definitely. There was tourism in Greece in the Classical Period, too. Epidaurus is a good example: a major religious sanctuary, side by side with a theatre and athletics venues, all part of the thriving local economy propped up entirely by tourism. Fun fact: history's first recorded hypochondriac was a frequent patient/visitor at the temple of Asclepius in Epidaurus.
- ButlerianJihad 6mo agoIt seems that a major objective of Judaism’s monotheism and singular Temple complex was predicated on being “A Light to All Nations” and a central, exclusive focus for pilgrimage (and therefore, economic activity) during the Jewish feasts. In fact this is exactly the same situation which drives pro-Israel sentiment in modern times: pilgrimage == tourism == $$$.
- nephihaha 6mo agoThere was trading, and that alone could shift objects well away from their original locations without any contact with the original creators. There were also nomads, pilgrimages (as some have said), and African swallows.
- chmod775 6mo agoFor example the great pyramids were already a popular "tourist" destination hundreds of years before christ. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza#Historiographical_record https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza#Historio...