New theory suggests Homer's Ithaca was a peninsula, not an island
A long-standing theory proposes that the Ithaca described in Homer's Odyssey was not the modern Ionian island of Ithaca, but rather the Paliki peninsula on the island of Cephalonia. The theory, popularized by the late Robert Bittlestone in his 2005 book Odysseus Unbound, is supported by classicists Mary Beard, Peter Green, James Diggle, and geologist John Underhill. They argue that geological evidence and textual analysis of the Odyssey indicate that Paliki was periodically separated from Cephalonia by a lake or water channel, making it effectively an island in antiquity. The theory has been revisited in an article on the online journal Antigone, coinciding with renewed interest in the Odyssey due to Christopher Nolan's upcoming film.
Key facts
- The theory that Homer's Ithaca was the Paliki peninsula on Cephalonia was first proposed in 1903 by Gerasimos Volterras.
- Robert Bittlestone's 2005 book Odysseus Unbound popularized the theory.
- Classicists Mary Beard and Peter Green have endorsed the theory.
- James Diggle and John Underhill published a new article on Antigone journal supporting the theory.
- Geological core samples from the Thinia valley show marine flooding 400,000 to 290,000 years ago, not 1200 BCE.
- Diggle and Underhill reinterpret Strabo's description of an isthmus 'submerged from sea to sea' as a lake, not a sea channel.
- The theory suggests that ancient Ithaca was called Dulichium, a name later transferred to the modern island of Ithaca.
- The Odyssey never explicitly calls Ithaca an island, using terms like 'land' (gaia) instead.
Entities
Artists
- Homer
- Ugo Foscolo
Institutions
- University of Cambridge
- University of Aberdeen
- Antigone journal
- Fondazione Valla
Locations
- Ithaca
- Cephalonia
- Paliki
- Thinia valley
- Zacynthos
- Dulichium
- Same
- Greece
- Ionian Sea
- Argostoli
- Katochori