In search of Homeric Ithaca / Jonathan Brown.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brown, Jonathan, 1949- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Homer. Odyssey.

Homer.

Ithakē (Greece).

Odyssey (Homer).

Greece--Ithakē.

Greece.

Physical Description:

xi, 435 pages : colour illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Canberra ; O'Connor, ACT : Parrot Press, 2020.

Summary:

Odysseus was notoriously vague about where he lived. Ithaca was the place, he said, but his description of its whereabouts was a mixture of geography and poetry. Tradition says that it was the modern island of Ithaki in the Ionian Sea. Other theories, however, have placed it elsewhere. This book takes a close look at the traditional view, and at some of the other theories. The author examines the Odyssey in detail, draws on ancient and modern scholarly texts (some translated into English for the first time), reproduces antique and contemporary maps, and satellite imagery, quotes from the accounts of earlier travellers and topographers, sails the Ionian Sea, and above all, walks the landscape of Ithaki exploring the extent to which the island matches the Ithaca of the poem. The result is a treasure trove of documentation and discovery. The author proposes new explanations for some age-old problems: where was Dulichium? Where did Telemachus land in Ithaca? Where was the city? Where was the palace of Odysseus? He suggests localities for them all. His analytical approach is informed by wide research into historical, literary and archaeological sources, and is abundantly illustrated. For the first time, several Ithacan landmarks that conform closely to the words and action of the Odyssey are identified. The author then travels to Cephalonia, Lefkada, Corfu, Sicily, Spain, and the Azores to explore other proposed localities for Ithaca. He returns to Ithaki, and reflects on how Homer could have known the island that so closely matches the island of his poem. An ideal companion for lovers of Homer and travellers alike.

Contents:

Introduction: the Homeric perspective

Part one: - Looking for Ithaca : The realm of Odysseus

The island of Odysseus

Dulchians on the move

The Dulchian suitors

Dulchians in Ithaca

Homeric tracees on Ithaki in antiquity

Ithaca on the coins

Ithaca from the Middle Ages

Part two: - Landing on Ithaca

The last six days of Odyssey

The season of the last six days

Odysseus returns

The farm of Eumaeus

Telemachus returns

From the farm to the city

The city of Ithaca

The farm of Laertes

The palace of Odysseus

Part three : - Ithaca adrift

Introduction

Cephalonia

Lefkada

Corfu

Sicily

Spain

Denmark

The Atlantic Ocean

Part four: - Homer in Ithaca

Returning to Ithaki.

Notes:

Multiple formats will be published.

Throughout the book "Ithaki" refers to the modern island and "Ithaca" to the island of antiquity.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 409-419) and indexes.

ISBN:

9780648092520

0648092526

9780648092537

0648092534

OCLC:

1154066201