The archaeologist and painter Edward Dodwell (1767-1832) was born in Dublin to an ancient and wealthy Irish family, and studied Classics and Archaeology at Trinity College Cambridge. Being in possession of a large fortune and free from professional commitments, he dedicated himself to the study of Mediterranean cultures.

In 1801 he sailed to the Ionian Islands and the Troad with Atkins and the well-known traveller William Gell. In 1805 he visited continental Greece in the company of the painter Simone Pomardi. He subsequently lived in Naples and Rome, and married a woman thirty years his junior. He was a distinguished member of various European cultural societies. While exploring the mountains of Italy in 1832, Dodwell fell ill and died. His large archaeological collection, of coins, 115 bronzes and 143 vases, kept for a time in his house in Rome, was later sold to the Munich Glyptothek.

A prolific writer and a proficient artist, Dodwell reveals in his entire oeuvre, unique for his era, the multifaceted talent of an archaeologist with a thirst for knowledge, a critical spirit and aesthetic sensitivity. He conveys for the first time the actual discovery of a place, the journey becoming a way of exploring and reading the landscape, in which monuments, history, contemporary people and well-documented information each find their place.

The journey related in the two volumes of this edition, rich in archaeological and topographical material, also includes an immense wealth of information on Greek public and domestic life during the years before the War of Independence. Dodwell departed from Venice at the end of April 1801, with an intelligent educated Greek from Santorini, whom he had met in Italy, as his interpreter. Within a month, sailing across the Adriatic, he arrived with his companions at Corfu, which was then under Russian-Turkish occupation. He continued his journey on to Paxi, Parga and Leucas and wrote about the ruins, the products, the villages and Cape Leucata, from where, tradition had it, the poetess Sappho plunged into the abyss, devastated by her unrequited love for Phaon. Dodwell then crossed the straits to Preveza, where he visited the antiquities at Nicopolis, and then sailed to Ithaca, in search of more antiquities. He described the geography and economy of this island. He finally reached Cephalonia, thus completing his first journey in Greek territory, in the company of William Gell.

In 1805, in the company of painter Simone Pomardi, Dodwell voyaged from Messina in Sicily to Zacynthos, of which he described the villages, the population and the products. He then he sailed across to Missolonghi. He wrote on Ali Pasha’s extortions, the products peculiar to the region, the River Achelous and the Echinades islands. In continuation, Dodwell reached Patras, where he was accommodated by the consul Nicolaos Stranis, whose home was for many years as a meeting place for European visitors. While touring the city, he confirmed his theoretical knowledge on the environs and described in detail the urban tissue and architecture, for example stressing that Greek houses are whitewashed and Turkish houses painted red, as well as the economy, mentioning also the export products of the region. He visited the castle, the famous large cypress, the church of St Andrew and the holy-water source ("hagiasma"), of which he provides a view drawn by his companion Pomardi. He notes the presence of a number of black slaves in the town, where he tried moreover to obtain antiquities. In Patras, Dodwell once more sets himself the task of recreating historical memory. His route in the city highlights contemporary Greek reality, while the documentation he provides, both from ancient authors and testimonies of earlier travellers, defines the knowledge of the place.

Due to an epidemic in the Peloponnese at that time, Dodwell opted to travel to Athens via Naupactus, Galaxidi, where he watched the Carnival celebrations, and Amphissa, where he stayed at the house of a doctor from Cephalonia and visited the voevod. He climbed Parnassus, stopped over at Chrisos and lodged in the village of Castri, from where he visited the Castalian Spring and the few Delphic antiquities visible at the time. By way of Arachova and Distomo, Dodwell came to the oracle of Trophonius in Livadeia, and thence to other villages in Boeotia (Orchomenus, Aliartos, Thespiae). He arrived in Athens via Eleutherae and the plain of Eleusis on 26 March 1805, while Lord Elgin's crews were pillaging the sculptures of the Acropolis monuments.

Dodwell stayed in Athens until September of the same year, visiting virtually the whole of Attica (Penteli, Phyli, Acharnae, Kiphissia, Brauron, Porto Rafti, Thoricus, Laurium, Sounion, Piraeus), Aegina and Salamis. Apart from archaeological issues, he wrote also on the dances, music and games of the Greeks, as well as on insects and birds.

He made his way again to Thebes, Copais, and Thermopylae, visited Lamia, Stylis, Almyros, Volos and Pelion, recording every ancient city or remains he encountered on his way. He continued on to Larissa and Ambelakia, where he was impressed by the inhabitants’ high standard of living and refinement, as well as the cotton-dyeing industry.

Dodwell returned to Athens by crossing the Plain of Thessaly, touring Lilaia, Amphicleia, Phocis and Boeotia, and then Chalcis and Marathon. He stayed in Athens throughout the summer. In December 1805, Dodwell toured the Argolid and Corinthia, the monastery at Daphni, Eleusis of the ancient mysteries, Megara, the Isthmus of Corinth, the Acrocorinth, Cenchreae, Nemea and its vineyards, Argos with its acropolis and ancient theatre, Mycenae and the Treasury of Atreus, Tiryns and Nauplion, Epidaurus and the remains of the sanctuary of Asclepius, Troezen, Methana and Poros. Afterwards, on his way to Aegion, Dodwell passed through Sicyon and Xylocastro, staying in the inns on this route. From Patras he went to Olympia, arriving on 24 January 1806, after visiting all the villages of Achaea and Elis, which he describes in his text. He went to see the ruins of Messene, Megalopolis and Bassae, and ended up in Sparta at the end of February. He then crossed Arcadia and Achaea again, (Tegea, Tripolis, Mantineia, Orchomenos, Stymphalia, Pheneus, Calabryta, Mega Spilaion) and reached Patras, from where he sailed to the Ionian Islands in spring. He arrived in Rome on 18 September 1806.

Dodwell himself drew about four hundred views of locations and monuments. Recently, dozens of his hitherto unknown drawings have been discovered and published. He made use of the "camera obscura" and attempted to combine the scientific documentation of ancient remains with artistic engravings. He accomplished this aim in all three of his published works, which became fundamental manuals for all subsequent travellers to Greece. Even today, his works are useful aids to archaeological research.

The edition includes coloured lithographs (aquatints), based on Dodwell's drawings, and texts on each image, written by Dodwell himself (in French and English). As stated in the prologue, from a total number of approximately a thousand drawings, nearly sixty were originally selected to be published in this special technique of colouring and engraving, but the final number had to be limited for financial reasons. These drawings were a supplement to Dodwell's travel account, and it is necessary to read Dodwell's text to properly identify people and events. These works testify to the author's wish to record reality faithfully, and at the same time capture the charm of everyday life details.

Written by Ioli Vingopoulou

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  Title page. Allegory of Greece under Ottoman rule.

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  Panoramic view of Ithaca island with the port and town of Vathy.

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  Dinner at Crisso, near Delphi, in the house of the bishop of Salona.

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  The Kastalian spring in Delphi.

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  Parnassus mountain.

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  The site of the acropolis of Orchomenos in Boeotia, on Cephisus river, from the south. Arvanite women occupied in agricultural tasks.

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  The Catabothra (underground water cave) of Lake Copais, in Boeotia.

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  View of the Parthenon from the Propylaea. Seated on the ground is Disdar Aga,the governor of the fortress of Acropolis. He has just been surprised by another member of the guard as he was sipping a glass of wine which he took from the travellers.

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  The west front of the Parthenon and the Erechtheion, from the Propylaea.

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  The Erechtheion from the southwest. In the distance, on the left, a group of Turkish musician who customarily performed on the Acropolis every day at three o'clock in the afternoon.

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  Gathering of devout Muslims at the Tower of the Winds in Athens, which was used as a tekije (dervish lodge). Sixteen ostrich eggs hang from the ceiling to avert the evil eye. A depiction of the first stage of the whirling dervishes' ritual: the faithful praise God and Prophet Muhammad.

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  The dance of the dervishes at the Tower of the Winds in Athens, which was used as a tekije (dervish lodge). Sixteen ostrich eggs hang from the ceiling to avert the evil eye. A depiction of the final stage of the whirling dervishes' ritual: The two main dancers whirl while holding each other by the sash. In green, wearing a white turban, the Sheich or head of the Dervishes, who animates the dancers with his voice and by playing the tambour.

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  The bazaar of Athens. On the forefront, on the right, an emancipated African slave. On the doorway, the owner of the coffeehouse who is brigning a tray with coffee to the Ottoman governor Disdar Aga. Disdar Aga is sitting on the stairs, dressed in red, and next to him sits another Turkish aga. Standing at the entrance of the coffeehouse, the Greek voivode (governor) of Salamis island, who is conversing a Greek Baratario (protegé of a foreign power). At the centre of the picture, three Turkish women covered with long white veils. According to Edward Dodwell's description, the rest of the women depicted are Arvanite. Standing, on the right, a devout Muslim in green costume, an indication that he has made the pilgrimage to Mecca.

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  The Gate of Mesogeia or Gate of Boubounistra, which was situated at the present-day junction of Amalias avenue with Othonos street. In the background, the fountain of Boubounistra.

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  View of the temple of Olympian Zeus and Ilissus river.

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  Athens from the feet of Lycabettus Hill.

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  South-east view of the temple of Poseidon at Sounion.

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  The temple of Aphaia on Aegina island. The peasants who supplied the travellers with provisions during the latter's stay at the site.

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  The interior of the temple of Aphaia at Aegina island.

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  The Monastery of Panagia Faneromeni on Salamis island.

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  The pass of Thermopylae. The mounted figures at the centre are the armed escorts of Edward Dodwell, whose mission was to protect the travelling party from the bandits who were prowling the pass of Thermopylae.

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  Village of Portaria on Mount Pelion.

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  The Hyperian fountain at Pherae in Thessaly.

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  View of the plain of Larissa from settlement close to the city. Snapshot of everyday life at the village.

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  View of Mount Olympus between Larissa and Baba village.

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  Sepulchre of Hassan Baba, at the entrance of the Vale of Tempe.

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  The Gate of the Lions at Mycenae.

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  Plain of Ancient Olympia.

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  The temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae. On the left, the Turkish and the Tatar attendants of Edward Dodwell.

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  Lake Stymphalia in Corinthia.

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  The Monastery of Mega Spilaion in Achaia.