Pausanias was born around 110 A.D. in Magnesia of Hermus, in Asia Minor, and died in 180. Having possibly a permanent job at the library of Pergamum and a family estate, he traveled extensively to Greece, Egypt, Syria, Rome, and elsewhere from a young age.

His writing, "Description of Greece", offers rich archaeological material and was a source of abundant information for his successors regarding mythology, political history, and folk culture, as well as a guide for archaeological exploration in ancient topography during excavations in many areas of Greece.