View source for Ithaca (island)

{{short description|Greek island}}
{{See also|Homer's Ithaca}}
{{Infobox islands
|name             = Ithaca
|native_name      = {{lang|el|Ιθάκη}}
|native_name_lang = el
|image_name       = 20140411 ithaki094.JPG
|image_caption    = View of [[Vathy, Ithaca|Vathy]]
|image_map        = 2011 Dimos Ithakis.png
|image_map_caption= Ithaca within the Ionian Islands
|image_map_size   = 150
|coordinates      = {{coord|38|22|N|20|43|E|display=inline,title}}
|pushpin_map      = Greece
|location         = 
|archipelago      = [[Ionian Islands]]
|total_islands    = 
|area_km2         = 117.8
|highest_mount    = 
|elevation_m      = 
|country          = [[Greece]]
|country_admin_divisions_title   = [[Modern regions of Greece|Region]]
|country_admin_divisions         = [[Ionian Islands (region)|Ionian Islands]]
|country_admin_divisions_title_1 = [[Regional units of Greece|Regional unit and municipality]]
|country_admin_divisions_1       = [[Ithaca (regional unit)|Ithaca]]
|country_largest_city            = [[Vathy, Ithaca|Vathy]]
|population       = 2,862
|population_as_of = 2021
|density_km2      = 24
|website          = {{URL|www.ithaki.gr}}
}}
[[File:Odysseus -01.jpg|thumb|Head of [[Odysseus]] wearing a [[Pileus (hat)|pileus]] depicted on a 3rd-century BC coin from Ithaca]]
'''Ithaca''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|θ|ə|k|ə}} {{respell|ITH-ə-kə}}), also '''Ithaki''' ({{langx|el|Ιθάκη}} {{IPA|el|iˈθaci|}}) or '''Ithaka''' ({{langx|grc|Ἰθάκη}} ''Ithákē'' {{IPA|el|itʰákɛː|}}), is a [[Greek island]] located in the [[Ionian Sea]], off the northeast coast of [[Kefalonia]] and to the west of [[Central Greece (geographic region)|continental Greece]].

Ithaca's main island has an area of {{convert|96|km2|sqmi|sigfig=2}} and in 2021 had a population of 2,862. It is the second-smallest of the seven main [[Ionian Islands]], after [[Paxi]]. Ithaca is a separate [[Ithaca (regional unit)|regional unit]] of the [[Ionian Islands (region)|Ionian Islands]] region, and the only [[Communities and Municipalities of Greece|municipality]] of the regional unit. The capital is [[Vathy, Ithaca|Vathy]] (or Vathi).<ref name="NGS">{{cite web|url=https://art.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/74358|title=Vathi, Ithaca|publisher=National Gallery Scotland|access-date=25 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="IPS">{{cite web|url=https://ithaca.org.au/about-ithaca/vathi|title=Port Vathi|year=2015|publisher=Ithacan Philanthropic Society|access-date=25 January 2017|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202034244/https://ithaca.org.au/about-ithaca/vathi|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Modern Ithaca is generally identified with [[Homer's Ithaca]], the home of [[Odysseus]], whose delayed return to the island is the plot of the [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] the ''[[Odyssey]]''; however, many other attempts at identification have been made.

==Alternative names==
The island has been called by different names in various languages in the past:

* Thrakoniso, Thakou, Thiakou, Thiaki {{emdash}} Greek, from  the Byzantine period until before the Venetian period{{cn|date=November 2025}}
* Val di Compare, Piccola Cephallonia ({{literal translation |Small [[Kefalonia]]}}), Anticephallonia ({{literal translation |anti-Kefalonia}}) {{emdash}} Italian, Middle Ages until the beginning of the Venetian period{{cn|date=November 2025}}
* Teaki {{emdash}} Venetian period{{cn|date=November 2025}}
* Fiaki {{emdash}} Ottoman period{{cn|date=November 2025}}

==History==
The island has been inhabited since the 4th millennium BC. It may have been the capital of [[Cephalonia]] during the [[Mycenae]]an period and the capital-state of the small kingdom ruled by [[Odysseus]]. The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] occupied the island in the 2nd century BC, and later it became part of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The [[Normans]] ruled Ithaca in the 13th century, and after a short [[Turkish people|Turkish]] rule it fell into [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] hands ([[Ionian Islands under Venetian rule]]).

Ithaca was subsequently occupied by [[French First Republic|France]] under the 1797 [[Treaty of Campo Formio]]. It was liberated by a joint [[Russian Empire|Russo]]-[[Ottoman Empire|Turkish]] force commanded by admirals [[Fyodor Ushakov]] and Kadir Bey in 1798 and subsequently became a part of the [[Septinsular Republic]], which was originally established as a [[protectorate]] of the [[Russian Empire]] and [[Ottoman Empire]]. It became a French possession again in 1807, until it was taken over by the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] in 1809. Under the 1815 [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Treaty of Paris]], Ithaca became a state of the [[United States of the Ionian Islands]], a protectorate of the British Empire. In 1830, the local community requested to join with the rest of the newly restored nation-state of [[Kingdom of Greece|Greece]]. Under the 1864 [[Treaty of London, 1864|Treaty of London]], Ithaca, along with the remaining six Ionian islands, was ceded to Greece as a gesture of diplomatic friendship to Greece's new Anglophile king, [[George I of Greece|George I]]. The United Kingdom kept its privileged use of the harbour at [[Corfu]].<ref name="IonianIslands">{{cite EB1911 |first=James David |last=Bourchier |wstitle=Ionian Islands#History |display=Ionian Islands § History |volume=14 |page=729}}</ref>

===First settlers===
[[File:Olivetree 1500yrs.jpg|thumb|left|Olive tree of Ithaca that is claimed to be at least 1500 years old.]]

The origins of the first people to inhabit the island, which occurred during the last years of the [[Neolithic period]] (4000–3000 BC), are not clear. The traces of buildings, walls and a road from this time period prove that life existed and continued to do so during the [[Helladic chronology|Early Helladic era]] (3000–2000 BC). In the years 2000–1500 BC some of the population migrated to part of the island. The buildings and walls that were excavated showed the lifestyle of this period had remained primitive.{{cn|date=November 2025}}

[[File:Kefallonia IthakiWW.jpg|thumb|right|Ithaca is to the upper right of the larger [[Kefalonia]] island in this picture. The small island in the top-right corner is the uninhabited [[Atokos]] island ([[NASA]] World Wind satellite picture).]]

===Hellenistic era===
{{Further|Hellenistic Greece}}

During the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Hellenic]] prime (800–180 BC), independent organized life continued in the northern and southern part of the island. In the southern part, in the area of Aetos, the town [[Alalcomenae (Ithaca)|Alalcomenae]] was founded. From this period, many objects of important historical value have been found during excavations. Among these objects are coins imprinted with the name Ithaca and the image of [[Odysseus]] which suggest that the island was self-governed.

=== Middle Ages ===
[[File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_house_of_Orsini_(2).svg|thumb|154x154px|Arms of the [[Orsini family]], rulers of Ithaca in the 13th-14th centuries]]
Across time, the island fell to various conquerors and experienced changed circumstances, meaning the population of the island kept changing through history. Although there is no definite numerical information until the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] period, it is believed that from the Mycenaean to the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]], the number of inhabitants was several thousand, who lived mainly in the northern part of Ithaca. During the [[Middle Ages]], the population decreased due to the continuous invasions of pirates, forcing the people to establish settlements and live in the mountains. 

[[File:Leonardo-di-tocco-duke-of-zakynthos-carlo-sellitto.jpg|thumb|[[Leonardo III Tocco]], count of Cephalonia, Ithaca and Zakynthos]]
The island, often referred to with the name 'Val di Compare', followed the fortunes of its bigger neighbor [[Cephalonia]] throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, when it formed part of the holdings of various Latin rulers. In 1185, when Cephalonia and [[Zakynthos]] were captured by [[Margaritus of Brindisi|Margaritone of Brindisi]], it is most likely that Ithaca was among the territory he conquered.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Miller|first=William|title=Essays on the Latin Orient|date=2015|isbn=978-1-107-45553-5|pages=261–5|publisher=Cambridge University Press |language=en|oclc=889642379}}</ref> Later, Ithaca changed ownership together with Cephalonia, first to the [[Orsini family]] after Margaritone's death, and then to [[John, Duke of Durazzo|John of Gravina]], [[Principality of Achaea|prince of Achaia]], who conquered them from the Orsini in 1324.<ref name=":0" /> From 1333 until 1357 the islands were transferred to [[Robert, Prince of Taranto|Robert of Taranto]], who in 1357, bestowed them upon [[Leonardo I Tocco|Leonardo Tocco]], a Neapolitan courtier.<ref name=":0" /> While Ithaca had until now merely followed the fate of Cephalonia, it is under the Tocco that more specific mentions of Ithaca begin to appear in the record. In the 15th century, there was one family, the [[Galatis (family)|Galati]], with noble privileges and land interests on the island given by the [[Tocco family]].<ref name=":0" />

===Ottoman and Venetian eras===
{{Further|Ottoman Greece|Ionian Islands under Venetian rule}}

In 1479, Ottoman forces reached the islands and many of the people fled from the island out of fear of the new Turkish settlers.<ref name=":0" /> Those who remained hid in the mountains to avoid the pirates who controlled the channel between Cephalonia and Ithaca and the bays of the island. In the following five years, [[Ottoman Empire|the Turks]], [[Tocco family|Tocco]] and [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] laid claim to the islands diplomatically. Possession of the islands was finally taken by the Ottoman Empire from 1484 to 1499. During this period, the Venetians had strengthened into a major power with an organized fleet. The Venetians pursued their interest in the Ionian Islands, and in 1499 a war between the Venetians and the Turks began. The allied fleets of the Venetians and the Spanish besieged Ithaca, and the other islands. The fleets prevailed, and from 1500 onwards the Venetians controlled the islands. According to a treaty of 1503, Ithaca, Cephalonia and Zakynthos would be [[Ionian Islands under Venetian rule|ruled by the Venetians]], and [[Lefkada]] by the Ottoman Empire. By then Ithaca was almost uninhabited, and the Venetians had to grant incentives to settlers from neighbouring islands and the mainland to repopulate it.<ref name="EncBritt">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ithaca-island-Greece|title=Ithaca|date=16 July 2010|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=25 January 2017}}</ref> 1504, the Venetians ordered official the repopulation of Ithaca with tax incentives to attract settlers from neighbouring islands. The Venetian authorities found the island was already being repopulated by members of the [[Galatis (family)|Galatis]] family, who laid claim to it as their property, having received rights over Ithaca under the Tocco regime.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zapanti|first=Stamatoula|date=1998|title=Η Ιθάκη στα πρώτα χρόνια τησ Βενετοκρατίας (1500-1571)|journal=Κεφαλληνιακά Χρονικά|volume=7|pages=129–133}}</ref> However, according to historians, the island received a great population revival in the period before and after the [[Siege of Candia|fall of Candia]] when numerous people from Crete arrived there as well as the noble Karavia family (Latin: Caravia), a branch of the ancient byzantine [[Kallergis family|Kallergi family]]. This family and its followers inhabited settlements on the island, received fiefs from the [[Venetian Senate]] and indulged in a tremendously profitable maritime trade as well as piracy against the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]]. According to the French traveler [[William Leake|Leake]] during the 18th century the families of Karavias, Petalas and the Dendrinos constituted the three main factions of the island, with the Karavias controlling its most productive part. During the next centuries the island remained under Venetian control.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Leake |first=William Martin |title=Travels in northern Greece |volume=3 |url=https://archive.org/details/gri_000033125008698322  |publisher=J. Rodwell |date=1835 |publication-place=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gri_000033125008698322/page/28 28–29]}}</ref> 

===French era===
[[File:Port Bathy and Capital of Ithaca.jpg|thumb|left|Ithaca by [[Edward Dodwell]] (1821).]]

A few years after the [[French Revolution]], the Ionian area came under the rule of the [[First French Republic]] (1797–1798), and the island became the honorary capital of the [[French departments of Greece|French ''département'']] of [[Ithaque]], comprising Cephalonia, Lefkada, and part of the mainland (the prefecture was at [[Argostoli]] on Kefalonia).

[[File:Flag of the Septinsular Republic.svg|thumb|Flag of the [[Septinsular Republic]]]]
The population welcomed the French, who took care in the control of the administrative and judicial systems, but later the heavy taxation they demanded caused a feeling of indignation among the people. During this short historical period, the new ideas of system and social structure greatly influenced the inhabitants of the island. At the end of 1798, the French were succeeded by [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and Turkey (1798–1807), which were allies at that time. Corfu became the capital of the [[Septinsular Republic]], and the form of government was democratic, with a fourteen-member senate in which Ithaca had one representative.

The Ithacan fleet flourished when it was allowed to carry cargo up to the ports of the [[Black Sea]]. In 1807, according to the [[Treaties of Tilsit]] with Turkey, the Ionian Islands once again came under French rule (1807–1809 AD). The French quickly began preparing to face the British fleet, which had become very powerful, by building a fort in Vathy.

===British and modern eras===
[[File:Flag of the United States of the Ionian Islands.svg|thumb|left|Flag of the United States of the Ionian Islands (1815 to 1864).]]

In 1809 Great Britain mounted a blockade on the Ionian Islands as part of the [[Napoleonic_Wars#War_of_the_Fifth_Coalition,_1809|war against Napoleon]], and in September of that year they hoisted the British flag above the castle of Zakynthos. Cephalonia and Ithaca soon surrendered, and the British installed provisional governments. The [[Treaty of Paris (1815)]] recognised the [[United States of the Ionian Islands]] and decreed that it become a British protectorate. Colonel [[Charles Philippe de Bosset]] became provisional governor between 1810 and 1814.<ref>{{Cite web |last=British Museum |title=Col Charles Philippe de Bosset |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG101741}}</ref>

A few years later [[Greek nationalism|Greek nationalist]] groups started to form. Although their energy in the early years was directed to supporting their fellow Greek revolutionaries in the [[Greek War of Independence|revolution against the Ottoman Empire]], they switched their focus to ''[[enosis]]'' with Greece following their independence. The [[Party of Radicals (Ionian Islands)|Party of Radicals]] (Greek: Κόμμα των Ριζοσπαστών) founded in 1848 as a pro-enosis political party. In September 1848, there were skirmishes with the [[British Army|British]] garrison in [[Argostoli]] and [[Lixouri]] on [[Kefalonia]], which led to a certain level relaxation in the enforcement of the protectorates laws, and [[freedom of the press]] as well. The island's populace did not hide their growing demands for enosis, and newspapers on the islands frequently published articles criticising British policies in the protectorate. On the 15th of August in 1849, another rebellion broke out, which was quashed by [[Henry George Ward]], who proceeded to temporarily impose [[martial law]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ionion.com/english/kefalonia/culture/history/british.htm |title=British Occupation |access-date=2020-12-19 |archive-date=2021-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506125829/http://www.ionion.com/english/kefalonia/culture/history/british.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the British protectorate period prominent citizens of Ithaki participated in the secret "[[Philiki Etairia]]" which was instrumental in organizing the Greek Revolution of 1821 against Turkish rule, and Greek fighters found refuge there. In addition, the participation of Ithacans during the siege of [[Messolongi]] and the naval battles against Ottoman ships on the Black Sea and the [[Danube]] was significant.{{citation needed|date = April 2022}}

Ithaca was annexed to the [[Greek Kingdom]] with the rest of the Ionian islands in 1864.<ref name="IonianIslands" />

==Home of Odysseus==
{{Main|Homer's Ithaca}}
[[File:Francesco Hayez 028.jpg|thumb|''[[Odysseus]] at the court of Alcinous'' by [[Francesco Hayez]] (1813–1815).]]
[[File:20140411 ithaki131.JPG|thumb|Odysseus' statue in Vathy.]]

Since antiquity, Ithaca has been identified as the home of the mythological hero [[Odysseus]]. In the ''Odyssey'' of Homer, Ithaca is described thus

<blockquote>...dwell in clear-seen Ithaca, wherein is a mountain, Neriton, covered with waving forests, conspicuous from afar; and round it lie many isles hard by one another, Dulichium, and Same, and wooded Zacynthus. Ithaca itself lies close in to the mainland the furthest toward the gloom, but the others lie apart toward the Dawn and the sun—a rugged isle, but a good nurse of young men<ref>{{cite book |last1=Homer |author-link1=Homer |translator-last=Murray |translator-first=Augustus Taber |year=1919 |title=The Odyssey with an English Translation |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D9%3Acard%3D1 |chapter=9.21–27 |language=grc, en |location=London, UK |publisher=William Heinemann, Ltd. |access-date=2016-06-06 |via=[[Perseus Project|Perseus Digital Library]]}}</ref></blockquote>

It has sometimes been argued that this description does not match the topography of modern Ithaca. Three features of the description have been seen as especially problematic. First, Ithaca is described as "low-lying" ({{lang|grc|χθαμαλή}}), but Ithaca is mountainous. Second, the words "farthest out to sea, towards the sunset" ({{lang|grc|πανυπερτάτη εἰν ἁλὶ ... πρὸς ζόφον}}) are usually interpreted to mean that Ithaca must be the island furthest to the west, but Kefalonia lies to the west of Ithaca. Lastly, it is unclear which modern islands correspond to Homer's [[Dulichium|Doulichion]] and [[Same (ancient Greece)|Same]].<ref name="EncBritt" />

The Greek geographer [[Strabo]], writing in the 1st century AD, identified Homer's Ithaca with modern Ithaca. Following earlier commentators, he interpreted the word translated above as "low-lying"  to mean "close to the mainland", and the phrase translated as "farthest out to sea, towards the sunset" as meaning "farthest of all towards the north." Strabo identified Same as modern Kefalonia, and believed that Homer's Doulichion was one of the islands now known as the [[Echinades]]. Ithaca lies farther north than Kefalonia, Zacynthos, and the island that Strabo identified as Doulichion, consistent with the interpretation of Ithaca as being "farthest of all towards the north."

Strabo's explanation has not won universal acceptance. In the last few centuries, some scholars have argued that Homer's Ithaca was not modern Ithaca, but a different island.<ref name="Telegr2010">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/7962445/Greeks-discover-Odysseus-palace-in-Ithaca-proving-Homers-hero-was-real.html|title=Greeks 'discover Odysseus' palace in Ithaca, proving Homer's hero was real'|last=Squires|first=Nick|date=24 August 2010|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=25 January 2017}}</ref> Perhaps the best known proposal is that of [[Wilhelm Dörpfeld]], who believed that the nearby island of Lefkada was Homer's Ithaca, whereas [[Same (ancient Greece)|Same]] was the present-day Ithaca.<ref>Wilhelm Dörpfeld, ''Alt-Ithaka'' (1927).</ref><ref>Map of [http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/doerpfeld1927bd2/0152/image?sid=fcf216d51bfa1ce778d308c6ebc0fcb8 Homer's Ithaka], Same and Asteris according to [[Wilhelm Dörpfeld]]. Digital library of [[Heidelberg University]].</ref>

It has also been suggested that [[Paliki]], the western peninsula of Kefalonia, is Homer's Ithaca. It has been argued that in Homeric times Paliki was separated from Kefalonia by a sea channel since closed up by earthquake-induced rockfalls.<ref name=Bittlestone2005 >{{citation | last1=Bittlestone | first1=Robert | year=2005 | title=Odysseus unbound: the search for Homer's Ithaca | last2=Diggle | first2=James | last3=Underhill | first3=John | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-85357-6 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/odysseusunbounds00bitt }}</ref> However, no scientific review publications are available in support of this theory.<ref name="Telegr2010" /> Indeed, scholars have found that "all the geological and geomorphological evidence refutes this hypothesis".<ref> Kalliopi Gaki-Papanastassiou, Hampik Maroukian, Efthymios Karymbalis, and Dimitris Papanastassiou, “Geomorphological study and paleogeographic evolution of  NW Kefalonia Island, Greece, concerning the hypothesis of  a possible location of  the Homeric Ithaca,” in ''Geoarchaeology, Climate Change, and Sustainability'', Geological Society of  America, Special Paper 476, 2011, pp. 78-79</ref>

Despite any difficulties with Homer's description of the island, in classical and Roman times the island now called "Ithaca" was universally held to be the home of Odysseus; the Hellenistic identifications of Homeric sites, such as the identifications of [[Lipari]] as the island of [[Aeolus]], are usually taken with a grain of salt, and attributed to the ancient tourist trade.

[[File:The geography and antiquities of Ithaca (IA geographyantiqui00gell).pdf|thumb|The ''School of Homer'' presented in ''The geography and antiquities of Ithaca'' in 1806|page=144]]
The island has been known as Ithaca from an early date, as coins and inscriptions show. Coins from Ithaca frequently portray Odysseus, and an inscription from the 3rd century BC refers to a local hero-shrine of Odysseus and games called the ''Odysseia''.<ref>Frank H. Stubbings, "Ithaca", in Wace and Stubbings, eds., ''A Companion to Homer'' (New York, 1962).</ref> The Archaeological site of "School of Homer" on modern Ithaca is the only place in the Lefkas–Kefalonia–Ithaca Triangle where [[Linear B]] inscriptions may have been found,<ref>Litsa Kontorli-Papadopoulou, Thanasis Papadopoulos, Gareth Owens, “A possible Linear sign from Ithaki (AB09 ‘SE’)?” ''Kadmos'', Band 44 (2005), pp. 183-186</ref> near royal remains. In 2010, Greek archaeologists discovered the remains of an 8th-century BC palace in the area of Agios Athanasios, leading to reports that this might have been the site of Odysseus's palace.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/7962445/Greeks-discover-Odysseus-palace-in-Ithaca-proving-Homers-hero-was-real.html|title=Greeks 'discover Odysseus' palace in Ithaca, proving Homer's hero was real'|first=Nick|last=Squires|date=24 August 2010|access-date=27 March 2018|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://greece.greekreporter.com/2010/08/25/greek-archaelogists-discover-odysseus-palace-in-ithaca/|title=Greek archaelogists [sic] discover Odysseus' palace in Ithaca – GreekReporter.com|website=greece.greekreporter.com|date=25 August 2010|access-date=27 March 2018}}</ref>

Another archaeological feature on Ithaca is the so-called Polis Cave near Stavros in the north of the island. [[Heinrich Schliemann]] identified it as the cave that Odysseus visited on his return. [[Sylvia Benton]], who carried out research in the cave in the 1930s, also interpreted her findings as an indication of a connection to Odysseus. However, as is now known, the site served as a place of worship for many centuries, from the beginning of the Bronze Age (Early Helladic) to the Roman period, without any clear connection to a possible life environment of Odysseus. Numerous votive offerings indicate that the [[nymph]]s in particular were the target of the ritual acts in the Polis cave.<ref>Deoudi, Maria (2008). ''Ithake: Die Polis-Höhle, Odysseus und die Nymphen'' [Ithake: The Polis Cave, Odysseus and the Nymphs]. Thessaloniki: University Studio Press, {{ISBN|978-9-601-21695-9}} (see also the [https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2009/2009.11.22/ review of this work] by [[Jorrit Kelder]]).</ref>

Modern scholars generally accept the identification of modern Ithaca with Homeric Ithaca,<ref>Jonathan Brown, ''In search of Homeric Ithaca'' (Canberra: Parrot Press, 2020). [https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2841151431/view National Library of Australia, Trove]</ref> and explain discrepancies between the ''Odyssey''{{'}}s description and the actual topography as the product of lack of first-hand knowledge of the island, or as poetic licence.<ref>{{cite book |last=West |first=M. L. |author-link=Martin Litchfield West |date=2014 |title=The Making of The Odyssey |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=66 |isbn=978-0-19-871836-9}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:north ithaca.jpg|thumb|View of northern Ithaca across the isthmus of Aethos]]
Ithaca lies east of the northeast coast of Cephalonia, from which it is separated by the [[Strait of Ithaca]]. The regional unit covers an area of {{convert|117.812|km2|1|abbr=out}}<ref name=stat01>{{cite web|url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece |title=Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation) |language=el |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921212047/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-21 }}</ref> and has approximately {{convert|100|km|0|abbr=off}} of coastline. The main island stretches in the north-south direction, in length of {{convert|23|km|0|abbr=in}} and maximum width of {{convert|6|km|0|abbr=in}}. It consists of two parts, of about equal size, connected by the narrow [[isthmus]] of Aetos (Eagle), just {{convert|600|m|0|abbr=off}} wide. The two parts enclose the bay of Molos, whose southern branch is the harbor of Vathy, the capital and largest settlement of the island. The second largest village is [[Stavros, Ithaca|Stavros]] in the northern part.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greeka.com/ionian/ithaca/ithaca-geography.htm |title=Geography of Ithaca |publisher=Greeka.com}}</ref>

Lazaretto Islet (or ''Island of The Saviour'') guards the harbor. The church of The Saviour and the remains of an old [[gaol]] are located on the islet.<ref>[http://www.igougo.com/travelcontent/journalEntryOverview.aspx?EntryID=48274] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206074500/http://www.igougo.com/travelcontent/journalEntryOverview.aspx?EntryID=48274|date=February 6, 2008}}</ref>

The capes in the island include Exogi, the westernmost, Melissa to the north, Mavronos, Agios Ilias, Schinous, Sarakiniko and Agios Ioannis, to the east, and Agiou Andreou, to the south. Bays include Afales Bay to the northwest, Frikes and [[Kioni Bay]]s to the northeast, [[Molos Gulf]] to the east, and Ormos Gulf and Sarakiniko Bay to the southeast. The tallest mountain is Nirito in the northern part (806 m), followed by Merovigli (669 m) in the south.

==Administration==
{{Main|Ithaca (regional unit)}}
The island Ithaca is part of the regional unit Ithaca, which is part of the [[Ionian Islands (region)|Ionian Islands]] region. The only [[Communities and Municipalities of Greece|municipality]] of this regional unit is Ithaca.<ref name="Kallikratis">{{Cite web|url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL8-SrPzKAEPjjtIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6hq6ZkZV96FIukI0UzcPsWCK0LpLhpa7rhiWB4R5ntTnoWw7U8E1Amg.|title=ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text|language=el|publisher=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette]]}}</ref>
Ithaca is the only populated island in this municipality, which contains several other islets.

===Communities and villages===
[[File:Kioni 2006 Andrew Ogram.jpg|thumb|View of Kioni bay.]]

Aetos, Afales, Agios Ioannis, Agia Saranta, Anogi, Exogi, Frikes, Kalivia, Kathara, Kioni, Kolieri, Lachos, Lefki, Marmaka, Perachori, Piso Aetos, Platrithia, Rachi, Stavros, and Vathy.

==Notable people==
* [[Odysseus]] (13th century BC), legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey
* [[St. Joachim of Ithaca|St. Joachim Papoulakis]] (1786–1868), [[Mount Athos|Athonite]] monk and an [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] [[Saint]]
* [[Nikolaos Galatis]] (1792-1819) pre-[[Greek War of Independence|revolutionary]] figure and member of the [[Filiki Eteria]]
* [[Odysseas Androutsos]] (1788–1825), fighter in the [[Greek War of Independence]]
* [[Dionysius Rodotheatos]] (1849-1892), composer
* [[Platon Drakoulis]] (1858–1934), philosopher, writer, politician
* [[Lorentzos Mavilis]] (1860–1912), poet
* [[Ioannis Metaxas]] (1871–1941), general and dictator of Greece. His family descended from [[Cephalonia]].
* {{ill|Panagis Lekatsas|el|Παναγής Λεκατσάς}} (1911–1970), writer, journalist
* Evgenios Karavias (1752 - 1821) Eminent cleric, Scholar, Metropolitan Bishop of Anchialos, National Martyr and Saint 
* Vasilios Karavias (1733 - 1830) Militaryman, one of the pioneers of the Greek revolution in Moldo-Wallachia in 1821
* Karavias Ippokrates (1866 - 1954) Lawyer, journalist and writer. President of Parnassos Philological Association
* Karavias Dimitrios (Misolitros) Fighter of the 1821 Greek Revolution against the Ottomans in Western Greece

==See also==
* [[List of traditional Greek place names]]

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* Brown, Jonathan. ''In search of Homeric Ithaca'', Canberra, Parrot Press, 2020.
* Dervenn, Claude. ''Iles de Grèce d'Ithaque à Samothrace'', Paris, Impr. auxiliaire; J. de Gigord. (S.M.), 1939. {{in lang|fr}}
* Hetherington, Paul. ''The Greek Islands: Guide to the Byzantine and Medieval Buildings and their Art'', Londres, 2001.
* Le Noan, Gilles. ''À la recherche d'Ithaque: essai sur la localisation de la patrie d'Ulysse'', Quincy-sous-Sénart, Éd. Tremen, 2001. {{in lang|fr}}
* Schliemann, Henry. ''Ithaque, le Péloponnèse, Troie: recherches archéologiques'', Paris, C. Reinwald, 1869. {{in lang|fr}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |first=Christos I. |last=Tzakos |title=Ithaca and Homer, The Truth: The Advocacy of the Case |others=Translator: Geoffrey Cox |url=http://www.arsenis.info/Ithaca_and_Homer/Ithaca_and_Homer.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516123333/http://www.arsenis.info/Ithaca_and_Homer/Ithaca_and_Homer.html |archive-date=2007-05-16}}

== External links ==

* [http://www.ithaki.gr/ Official website] (Greek)
* {{ws|[[s:Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837/Town and Harbour of Ithaca|Town and Harbour of Ithaca]]}} an engraving by J Tingle of a painting by [[Charles Bentley (painter)|Charles Bentley]] for Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837, with a poetical illustration by [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]] that accepts Ithaca as the home of Ulysses: 'The glorious island⁠ where Ulysses was the king'. 
{{Commons category|Ithaka|Ithaca}}

{{Kallikratis-Ionian Islands}}
{{Ithaca div}}
{{Ionian Islands}}
{{Prefectures and provinces of Greece}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ithaca| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in the Ionian Islands (region)]]
[[Category:Mycenaean Greece]]
[[Category:Islands of Greece]]
[[Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece]]
[[Category:Places in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Odyssey]]
[[Category:Islands of the Ionian Islands (region)|Ithaca]]
[[Category:Provinces of Greece]]
[[Category:Septinsular Republic]]