days, while travel times could be measured in weeks or months. Lodgings available to the general public at festivals ranged from crude huts or tents to elaborate inns reserved for the Greek and Roman elite. Traders and those with connections in other cities often stayed in private homes. The influxes of tourists, particularly in Athens, created temporary economies, with vendors, prostitutes, and guides providing goods and services to the visitors. Tourism In Rome, tourists traveled to beach and mountain side resorts for different periods of the year. It was not uncommon for even middle-class Romans to own multiple villas. Warfare and settlements Warfare and state building were the two most common reasons for travel by non-elite residents of Roman and Greek society. The pinnacle of travel in name of warfare in Hellenistic society was under Alexander, but his efforts to conquer the world were preceded by a general Greek and specifically Athenian colonial process that led to the foundation of cities throughout the Mediterranean. Warfare by Alexander led to the movement of Hellenistic peoples and culture as far east as India, with settlements in Afghanistan, Egypt, and elsewhere, and led to the establishment of several descendant kingdoms: the Seleucid Empire and Ptolemaic Egypt. Immigration Immigration was also a motivation for travel, particularly to large urban centers, including Rome itself. There were few restrictions (except in wartime) on the ability of individuals and families to migrate and subsequently settle in cities, and despite stratification, there was still some level of upward mobility in Roman society. Archaeological evidence suggests that construction increased during times of heavy immigration, and that immigration increased during periods of conquest, and that it was at its lowest after the Sack of Rome by Alaric I. See also Appian Way Roman navy Notes References Classical antiquity Society of ancient Rome Roman Empire Ancient Roman culture Travel