In ancient greeks transportation, getting from point A to point B was a challenge. With few roads in a land of mountainous, rugged terrain, overland travel was a harrowing undertaking.
Even those few road networks that did exist were often rudimentary. Typically, they were nothing more than cramped dirt paths that were difficult to navigate when the weather turned inclement or dry and dusty in the summer. The lack of first-class roads was not helped by the fact that many Greek city-states were isolated from one another, and the relationships between them were rarely cordial enough to make constructing and maintaining a highway network a top priority for any individual community.
Journeys of Antiquity: Unraveling the Secrets of Transportation in Ancient Greece
Wagons, carriages, and carts were available for transporting people or goods, but they were very expensive to own and operate. This largely limited their use to individuals of higher social status and wealth. Oxen were an alternative, but they were not as agile as horses and were comparatively slow.
The most common mode of transportation for the ancient greeks was by foot, and this method served them well. Travelers usually carried a backpack that included a sleeping bag and other essentials for the night’s stay in whatever town they were traveling to, and wore sturdy footwear. They might also carry a hat to shield themselves from the sun and a sack of food and water for meals on the road.