L' agora di Megalopoli vista da Pausania: alla ricerca del tempo perduto in una citta sinecizzata

Abstract

In his organization of the material, Pausanias is interested in a coherent recomposition of the literary evidence rather than in the precise topographical reconstruction of the different sites. The case of the agoni of Megalopolis is particularly emblematic: his itinerary does not move along the perimeter of the square, but switches, in a symmetrical and specular way, from the north and east sides to the west and south sides. In this way, the attention focuses on the sanctuary of Zeus - the beginning of the itinerary and constant reference point - and on the other major structure, the sanctuary of the Megalai Theai. Pausanias' intention is not to act as a 'guide' to a coherent topographical context, but mainly to offer a general picture, where the aim is to rescue everything which belongs to the past, generating an ideologically 'reorganized' urban landscape.