ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ ΡΙΖΟΣ ΡΑΓΚΑΒΗΣ Alexandre Rizos Rangavis: Souvenirs d une Excursion en Arcadie.Paris 1857 First edition, large in Quarto, contemporary leather over boards, upper joint weak,complete 144p. and 18 full page engravings including fine views,some light scattered spotting and foxing, overall in very good condition By the 1850s, Rangavis transitioned from the dry, scientific writing of his 1842 publication to a more evocative, narrative style. He was by far one of the most powerful intellectual figures in Greece that time. The Souvenirs was an attempt to capture the soul of the Greek landscape. Arcadia, the mythical home of Pan and the setting for Virgil's pastorals, was the perfect subject for a man who was both a diplomat and a poet. Rangavis toured extensively in Arcadia, doesn't just list ruins; he describes the experience of finding them. He provides crucial observations on the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae and the ancient city of Phigalia.He is obsessed with the state of the modern Greek peasant. He looks very carefully for the ancient blood in the customs, songs, and dialects of the Arcadian mountaineers. He views the rugged topography of central Peloponnese not just as scenery, but as the protector of Greek liberty. He connects the defensive positions of ancient Arcadian cities to the hideouts of the Klephts during the Revolution. A very rare travel account by a Greek intellectual in the most rural places of Modern Greek state of the 1850s.