French Odysseys: Greece in French Travel Literature from the Renaissance to the Romantic Era

by Professor Olga Augustinos

In French Odysseys Olga Augustinos offers the first comprehensive treatment of French travel literature about Greece--from the mid-sixteenth-century arrival of the first French travelers to the outbreak of the Greek Revolution in 1821. The result not onlyprovides a composite portrait of Greece over two and a half centuries but also offers a revealing look at the evolving values and perceptual framework of the travelers themselves. Augustinos begins by exploring the dramatic differences between French travel writing of the early modern era and previous accounts of medieval religious pilgrimages. In place of otherworldly invocations of the grace of divine providence came emphasis on visual perception and precise observation as a means of understanding the physical universe. After 1750, in keeping with developments in European literature, travelogues became infused with sentimental musings, picturesque portrayals of natural sites and monuments, and lyrical effusions that injected a personal, subjective note into what had previously been factual narratives. 1994

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994