Paliki, Homer's "Ithaca"
Homer's "Ithaca" page
Map of Paliki (now) & surroundings: Homer said his Ithaca was "to the west, the furthest out to sea", and "low-lying"... (click the image to enlarge)
* Homer's "Ithaca"
"Where was Homer's 'Ithaca'?" -- The central character of Homer's epic, the Odyssey long was thought to have been fictional: Odysseus, and Achilles and Agamemnon and Hector and the many other "heroes" of that epic, and of Homer's other epic his Iliad, all were thought by many to be simply the products of a poet's imagination -- not real people, or even based upon real people -- and the stories and locations described in the epics were thought to be imaginary as well. Yet there were many "local" claims, that some Homeric hero long ago had inhabited this or that contemporary region or village, and there were the extremely detailed geographic descriptions in the epic itself: both invited investigation of the enticing possibility that Homer's heroes might have been real, and at least that the location of the sites described in the epics might be found.
Then came Heinrich Schliemann, who tracked down several of the more famous "myths & legends" surrounding these heroes: many locations around the Mediterraneanwere claimed to have been the heroes' "homes", such as the ruins at Mycenae, and the little hill in western Turkey now known as Hissarlik, at 39|57|27.94|N,26|14|19.30|E (Wikimapia), (Google Earth) -- Schliemann's work and excavations proposed, to a very sceptical world, that Homer's Agamemnon had lived at Mycenae, and that Troy itself indeed had existed at Hissarlik. Much work has been done to identify other Homeric sites, as well: the palace of Nestor at Pylos, at 37|01|39.00|N,21|41|41.00|E, (Wikimapia), (Google Earth), for example, has been the subject of much scholarly research, archaeological work, and controversy.
Where was Homer's "Ithaca"?
There have been many suggestions as to where, exactly, the "Ithaca" described in great detail in Homer's Odyssey, the home of Odysseus, might have been located: as many, perhaps, as the theories which once fought among themselves over whether Troy ever really existed, and if so where it was. Theories on the location of "Homer's 'Ithaca'" were formulated as early as the 2d c. BC to as recently as AD 2003.
Each approach to identifying a location has been different, varying in degrees of scientific procedure, empirical investigation, informed hypothesis, wishful thinking, fervent belief, and sheer fantasy. Each investigator and each investigation merits interest, as an indicator both of the temper of the times in which a particular theory was developed, and of the perennial interest in Homer's Odyssey, and his character Odysseus, and the possible facts of the latter's life, or at least of a life like his might have been. The processes of theory-building and scientific inquiry change: interestingly, some of the latest "Homer's 'Ithaca'" approaches most resemble some of the earliest. But some other things -- such as interest in epics, and in their heroes -- remain the same, over time.
Leading Precursors : theorists, and their theories, on the location of "Homer's 'Ithaca'" --
(In order by date, earliest first:)
Eratosthenes (276BC-194BC)a.
Demetrius of Scepsis (near Troy) -- writing mid-2d c. BC (near Troy) -- source used by Strabo (below).
Pfeiffer, Rudolf. History of Classical Scholarship: From the Beginnings to the End of the Hellenistic Age (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1968) pp. 249-51 ; see Bittlestone/Diggle/Underhillb: James Diggle at p. 508.
Apollodorus of Athens (born ca.180 BC) -- writing mid-2d c. BC -- source used by Strabo (below), and Apollodorus also relied upon Demetrius of Scepsis (above).
Jacoby, Felix. Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker II B (Berlin : Weidmann, 1929) 244, F 154-207.
Pfeiffer, Rudolf. History of Classical Scholarship: From the Beginnings to the End of the Hellenistic Age (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1968) pp. 249-51. See Bittlestone/Diggle/Underhillb: James Diggle at p. 508.
Strabo (63/64BC - ca.24AD).
Jones, P.V. Strabo : Geography (Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 1917-1932) Series : Loeb Classical Library.
Ithaki's name -- Ithaki island long has been a favorite candidate for the location of Homer's "Ithaca" -- at 38|24|06.00|N,20|41|55.00|E, (Wikimapia), (Google Earth) -- since Byzantine or at least Venetian times, apparently, recalling the heavy "classical Greek" influence in Constantinople, and the reception in Venice (see Biblioteca Marciana, Venezia) of Greek manuscripts at the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.
A correspondent writes: (on The WELL, see europe.ind.59.915, 922)
"From http://www.ithaki.org/about.htm but I wouldn't take it all as true:
"There are various interpretations as to the origin the name Ithaca; it is believed that it comes from:
Ithacos, the hero from mythology
the greek word "ithy" which means cheerful [in my dictionary it's the adverbial form of "ithys"; see below]
the greek adjective "ithys" which means abru [sic; the dictionary shows the meaning I'm familiar with of "straight, upright" as in, er, ithyphallic]
the Phoenician word "utica" which means colony
"The name Ithaca has remained unchanged since ancient times but it has been noticed that in written documents of different periods it was referred to other names such as:
Nerikii (7th century B.C.)
Val di Compare (Valley of the Bestman), Piccola (Small) Cephallonia, Anticephallonia (Middle Ages till the beginning of the Venetian period)
lthaki nisos (island), Thrakoniso, Thakou, Thiakou (Byzantine period)
Fiaki (Turkish period)
Teaki (Venetian period) and
Thiaki (before the Venetian period, also called so by the sailors and has remained the name used by the inhabitants).
"I had never heard for example of 'Ithacos, the hero' though I see he's described as a son of Poseidon elsewhere. One problem I suspect is the different dialects the name passed through in ancient times: northwest Greek and Dorian to the Ithaca natives, Ionian to the first transcriber of the written Odyssey, and whatever dialect Homer spoke."
William Gell -- writing in 1807 -- he believed Homer's "Ithaca" was on the Aetos isthmus of Ithaki island (see also Ithaki's name), facing east, in or near the bay of Vathy.
Gell, William. The Geography and Antiquities of Ithaca (London : Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme, 1807).
William M. Leake -- writing in 1835 -- he thought "Ithaca" was on the northwestern coast of Ithaki island (see also Ithaki's name), near Polis Bay.
Leake, William M. Travels in the Morea with a Map and Plans (London : John Murray, 1830).
Leake, William M. Travels in Northern Greece (London : John Murray, 1835).
Wilhelm Dörpfeld (December 26, 1853 - April 25, 1940) -- he thought "Ithaca" was on Lefkas, at 38|42|59.00|N,20|38|00.00|E (Wikimapia), (Google Earth).
Dörpfeld
Dörpfeld, Wilhelm. Alt-Ithaka, ein Beitrag zur Homer-Frage. Studien und Ausgrabungen aus der insel Leukas-Ithaka. Unter Mitarbeit von Peter Goessler [u.a.] (Osnabrück : Zeller, 1965) Ed. Neudruck der Ausg. 1927.
G. Volterras -- writing in 1903 -- he believed Paliki once may have had "Strabo's channel" at the isthmus which now separates Paliki and Cephalonia (see Bittlestone/Diggle/Underhill, below).
Volterras, G. Kritiki Meleti peri Omerikis Ithakis [A Critical Study of Homeric Ithaca] (Athens : [self?], 1903).
A.E.H. Goekoop -- writing in 1908 -- he believed "Ithaca" was on southwestern Cephalonia island, on the St. George hilltop near Mazarakata village, at 38|08|07.36|N,20|31|29.29|E (Wikimapia), (Google Earth), southeast of the city of Argostoli, which is at 38|10|23.55|N,20|29|26.78|E (Wikimapia), (Google Earth), and that the Ithaca harbor was at Minies, at 38|02|42.98|N,20|18|26.06|E, (Wikimapia), (Google Earth), near the modern airport.
Goekoop, A.E.H.. Ithaque La Grande (Athens : Beck & Barth, 1908).
Lord Rennell of Rodd -- writing in 1927 -- believed "Ithaca" was on Ithaki island (see also Ithaki's name).
Rennell, J.R. Homer's Ithaca : A Vindication of Tradition (London : Arnold, 1927).
W.A. Heurtley and Sylvia Benton -- believed "Ithaca" was on Ithaki island (see also Ithaki's name), and their excavations at the Polis Bay harbor turned up 8th-9th c. BC artifacts.
C.H. Goekoop -- writing in 1990, grandson of A.E.H. Goekoop (above) -- he thought "Ithaca" was on Cephalonia, but in the northern Erissos region, near the town of Fiscardo, at 38|27|38.58|N,20|32|41.95|E, (Wikimapia), (Google Earth).
Goekoop, C.H.. Op zoek naar Ithaka (Weesp : Heureka, 1990).
Euangelos Sp. Tsimaratos -- published posthumously in 1998 -- he thought "Ithaca" was in central Cephalonia, but he agreed with Strabo about Paliki's once having been cut off from Cephalonia.
Tsimaratos, E.S.. Poia I Omeriki Ithaki? [Which is Homeric Ithaca?] (Athens : Etaireias Meletes Ellenikes Historias, 1998).
J.V. Luce -- (1920- ) -- writing in 1998 -- he believed "Ithaca" was on Ithaki island (see also Ithaki's name).
Luce, John Victor. Celebrating Homer's landscapes : Troy and Ithaca revisited (New Haven : Yale University Press, 1998) ISBN 0300074115.
Gilles le Noan -- writing in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 -- he suggested Paliki as the location of "Ithaca", but discounted the geology supporting "Strabo's channel".
le Noan, Gilles. À la recherche d'Ithaque : essai sur la localisation de la patrie d'Ulysse (Quincey-sous-Senart : Editions Tremen, 2001).
le Noan, Gilles. La ferme d'Eumée : Nouvelle recherche sur l'Ithaque Homérique (Quincey-sous-Senart : Editions Tremen, 2003) http://perso.wanadoo.fr/editions.tremen/catalogue/Eumee.html.
À la recherche d'Ithaque [Ressource électronique] Edition : 2d. ; Type de ressource électronique : Multimédia (Quincy-sous-Sénart : éd. Tremen, grav 2003) Description matérielle : 1 disque optique numérique (CD-R) : coul., son. ; 12 cm + 1 f. ; Note : Configuration requise : PC Pentium 90 MHz ; 24 Mo de mémoire vive ; Windows 95 ; 5 Mo de disque dur libre ; résolution 800 x 600 en 65000 coul. ; Internet Explorer 4 ; Note : Réunit 4 textes intégraux, des extraits de relations de voyage écrits par A. Thevet, J. Spon et G. Wheler, Coronelli, L. Lacroix, Isambert et Joanne, De Loubeau, des photographies et des cartes.
le Noan, Gilles. The Ithaca of the sunset (Quincey-sous-Senart : Editions Tremen, 2005). 5 maps, index, 126 pages, 14 x 22,5 cm ; ISBN 2-913559-44-1. http://perso.wanadoo.fr/editions.tremen/GB/Books/IthacaSunset.html.
[Publisher's note:][tr. JK] "In À la recherche d'Ithaque, we considered the possibility that the modern island of Ithaki could not be the Homeric 'Ithaca', and that instead that must be sought on the peninsula of Paliki, the western part of the neighboring island of Cephalonia. The current study takes up, again, this question of the location of Homeric Ithaca. It develops and deepens certain certain matters considered in the preceding work, such as the site of Oikopeda, and the ideas of a Greek and Cephalonian author, little-known in France, G. Volterras."
[Reviewed by Janine Kaminski in Connaissance hellénique (avril 2004) no. 260 99, pp.2-3:] [tr. JK]
"The location of Homeric Ithaca always has been a subject of controversy, some finding it on modern-day Ithaki, others on Cephalonia, still others anywhere else...
"The author here is in the second group: his argument rests in the first place on the description given by Homer of Ithaca in the Odyssey 9.21-26 : according to these verses, Ithaca is found πανυπερτατη, lying low, προς ξοφον and the other islands Doulichion (modern Ithaki), Samos (ancient name of Cephalonia) and Zakynthos towards the dawn and the sun προς ηω τ ηελιον τε. Homeric Ithaca therefore cannot be modern Ithaki: instead Ithaca was, according to this author, the modern Paliki peninsula separated from Cephalonia by the gulf of Argostoli and the isthmus of Ayia Kiriaki.
[Samuel Butler renders Homer's Odyssey 9.12-26 Ithaca description: "I live in Ithaca, where there is a high mountain called Neritum, covered with forests; and not far from it there is a group of islands very near to one another - Dulichium, Same, and the wooded island of Zacynthus. It lies squat on the horizon, all highest up in the sea towards the sunset, while the others lie away from it towards dawn." http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0218&query=book%3D%239. JK]
"The second point discussed is the term νησος, 'island' : the author shows that in the Homeric era that could have signified a peninsula, as in the name for the Peloponnesus, πελοποννεσος; in the same way the term αμφιαλος, the name for Ithaca, does not signify that it is surrounded by the sea (which Homer describes using the term περιρρυτος, the name for Crete) but simply that Ithaca had the sea on two sides.
"Having located Ithaca on the modern peninsula of Paliki, the author tries to find the different specific sites identified there by Homer, by considering their relationships to one another, the distances which separate them, their names, their archaeological evidence. Thus ancient Pale, of which there are archaeological signs, 1000 meters north of Lixouri, was the capital and the site of the Palace of Odysseus. The farm of Eumaeos was in the surroundings of the village of Chavdata, three hours' walk from the palace, the time taken by Eumaeos to arrive per Odyssey 14 ; in a place named Karabostasi, a putting-in place for boats north of Pale, he finds the remains of an ancient port today covered with eroded soil and sediment, and, at Vigglanas (from vigilo, Latin for "I see, I survey", in Greek βιγλιζω, βιγλα, some hills near Lixouri, the Hill of Hermes from which Eumaeos saw in detail the return of a ship to port (Odyssey 16).
"Some locations remain a mystery, such as the 'Grotto of the Nymphs' or even the 'Palace of Odysseus' ; but the concern of the author, as it is of all who attempt this, is to have the Homeric text agree with the geographic realities ; in reality, 'modern-day Ithaki is not Homeric Ithaca precisely because, if one accepts this identification, the Homeric text which we have cited no longer makes sense' (G. Volterras)."
Christos Tzakos -- writing 1999-2002 -- he believed "Ithaca" was on Ithaki island (see also Ithaki's name).
Tzakos, Christos. "Concerning Homeric Ithaki: Asteris", in Odusseia issue 95 (1999).
Tzakos, Christos. "kefa-ll-ines Kefa-ll-inia Kefa-ll-onia", in Odusseia issue 70-2 (2000).
Tzakos, Christos. Ekthesi Synoptiki peri Omerikis Ithakis [A Brief Essay on Homeric Ithaca] (Athens : Angelos Eleutheros, 2002).
Robert Bittlestone, James Diggle & John Underhill -- working in 2003 -- they believe Paliki is the location of "Ithaca", see Odysseus Unbound website, Odysseus Unbound.
Bittlestone, Robert, with James Diggle and John Underhill. Odysseus Unbound: The Search for Homer's Ithaca (Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 2005) ISBN 0521853575 ; see Odysseus Unbound website.
And some other ideas: theories about the location of Odyssean wanderings have includedc --
(caveat: the links which follow tend to go inactive more than most, and then they pop up again -- every attempt will be made to keep them current, but if they're temporarily dead the entry still is retained, to show the great variety of "Ithaca" locations which have been proposed)
The Baltic & Estonia
the Crimea
Atlantis (2008: not connecting)
America / Bermuda (2008: not connecting)
Culloden Moor in Scotland
The Gog Magog hills of Cambridgeshire...
(Footnotes)
a Several of the floruit dates above are taken from Wikipedia articles about the writers.
b Bittlestone, Diggle & Underhill (2005), cited above, Chapter 9 generally.
c Bittlestone, Diggle & Underhill (2005), cited above, at page 39, note 2.
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