As we know, since the time of Wilhelm Dörpfeld, Lefkada also claims to be Homeric Ithaca.
Today, one of the most important researchers in this direction is Babis Katsimpas, a graduate in Environmental Sciences (Geographer, Ecologist) from the University of Denver, Colorado. He is also a graduate Civil Engineer.
What distinguishes him from others, what sets him apart from other supporters of Lefkada as Homer's Ithaca is that he approaches Corfu as Homeric Scheria. In the image, we see his view of the Homeric world in the neighborhood of Odysseus.
THE CONTROVERSY - CONTRAST WITH THE HOMERIC ITHACAS OF LEFKADA
a. The Kefallinians are an indigenous people of Kefalonia https://homericithaca.com/threads/21/.
In the first of the two previous chapters, while our main goal was to prove that rarely in the past was the small island next to Kefalonia called ITHACA, Virgilius undertook to 'quietly execute' the theories of Lefkada, stating that after Ithaca in the depths was, in the Homeric era, Lefkada and the temple of Apollo on it!
At least this is how AENEAS saw the islands!
You may ask me, isn't the Aeneiada a 'made-up' epic? Did Aeneas really exist?
And if he saw something, how did Virgilius learn about it?
Perhaps this description fits the 'tastes' of the Romans?
...That is, with what they saw during their circumnavigation of the Ionian, and not Aeneas?
Again, the theories of Lefkada 'fall soft'.
Virgilius' description is useful for us and for the historical data regarding the naming of Lefkada during the Roman era, but useless concerning HOMERIC GEOGRAPHY...
And while I was ready to move on to those elements that pose an even greater problem for today's Ithaca, I will momentarily open a parenthesis and talk about two major deviations (I refuse to call them forgeries) from an ethnological and geographical perspective, in which theories of Lefkada fall:
1. The CEPHALONIANS, as a people, where do they originate from and
2. The GLOOM (ΖΟΦΟΣ) and where the west is.
Because many Kefalonians do not know it, I inform them here that:
1st Regarding the theories of Lefkada, KEFALLINIANS are a people of Acharnania!!!!
2nd Regarding the theories of Lefkada, the west falls north of the group of Ionian islands with the most WESTERN island being LEFKADA!!!
We had proven with the help of Nikos Livadas in the book THE ISLAND WITH THE STRAIGHT LINES, that the mainland coast (ακτή ηπείροιο) for the Homeric Ithaca of Paliki was the main body of Cephalonia, where Philoetius grazed the herds of Odysseus, there, under Thinaia (Θηναία - with the Homeric name from thēn - θην), towards the valley of kRITONOU. This came out effortlessly and also matched with the ferries, that is, the rafts, with which this shepherd transported livestock products for the suitors across to Livadi (Homeric city) possibly through the hollow (κοίλο) bay, avoiding the rocks of Skavdolith.
Source: Karydi E. E., 2005, The Controversy about Homer and Homeric Ithaca, Athens: ΣΕΕΠΙ, page 238
On the contrary, the theories concerning Lefkada accomplish this from the peninsula of Palairos towards somewhere, across, to Lefkada.
In order for this to fit, and since Philotios grazed from a young age across in the Land of Cephalonians (Κεφαλλήνων ενί δήμω, Odyssey υ 210) and crossed with the ferrymen every day...
...He indeed transported freely grazing oxen and semi-free goats, while the Lefkadian researchers sought the homeland of the Cephalonians in Acharnania!...
However, I, like all the indigenous populations on this, the largest island of the Ionian Sea, know that it is an indigenous race with ancient origins and not a people that came from elsewhere.
The origin of a people is not determined by the interests of their neighbors.
I repeat once again for all the Cephalonians to understand: The theories from Lefkada assert that KEFALLINIANS are a people of ACARNANIA!
On this, I will not say much, except that two out of three place names in Cephalonia have Homeric origins, and that quite a few in the regions of Achaea and Elis as well....
The Cephalonians are an indigenous people who contributed to the formation of the character of the Homeric period due to Southern influences... Relations, that is, with Elis (of Zeus) and the Achaeans, which is why they collaborated so closely with the peoples of the Peloponnese during the campaign of Troy and certainly with the Sea Peoples during the raid in the Nile. The relations of Odysseus with the mainland or Sterea Hellas regions nearby are, on the other hand, quite incidental. Even the "great bride fair" of that time in Sparta was established. The Epeians from Elis gradually infiltrated towards the Echinaries and the palace of Odysseus in Ithaca.
This Southern penetration was later halted by the supposed DESCENT of the Dorians.
Despite being half descended from Parnassus (grandfather Autolycus), Telemachus flees to the Peloponnese to seek information about his father, as if Homer wants to introspect the roots of his heritage. Just like towards the end of the Odyssey, when Laertes is brought back, recalling his youthful accomplishments and the roots from the Taphians.
And one last thing, which introduces what we want to conclude:
... Odysseus in the false narratives always claims to be Cretan. It's as if Homer knows something, as if he is continuously passing on a code to us, again and again. …As if he wants to help us decipher the inquiry.
THE ISLAND WITH STRAIGHT LINES (ΤΟ ΝΗΣΙ ΜΕ ΤΙΣ ΕΥΘΕΙΕΣ), Athens 2004, p. 207:
-There is a village called MINYES near Argostoli and an area called MINOUS near Lixouri.
-Doubled axes were found in Kefalonia.
-Kefalonian fir wood (abies) was found in the palace of Knossos as well as in Pylos...
... The Egyptians referred to the Cretans as K E F - T I O U. (On the line HERAKLION - TUMPARKI, see KNOSSOS - PHAISTOS, many names have been preserved with the word Kefalés for hills with monuments, like that of TZELEPI for the archaeological site).
... If a Keftiou comes from the sea (αλς αλός), he will be called KEF-ALOS (genitive).
CONCLUSION: Since KEFALLINIA is the only local name that contains the word HELLENES (with 2 lambdas)... The KEF as the first synthetic element delineates the overall origin of the name KEF-ELLENES (ΚΕΦ-ΕΛΛΗΝΕΣ), meaning CRETAN-GREEKS = KEFALLINES (ΚΕΦΑΛΛΗΝΕΣ) or CEPHALONIANS... !
ΚΕΦΑΛΛΗΝΕΣ
As much as the word gloom (ζόφος) means west - and this has been very well analyzed by N. Livadas - just as the Lefkadian approach to gloom will be misleading. For surely everyone knows that Lefkada is to the north of the group of islands in the central Ionian.
Something more here as an introduction to the next article about Lefkada as Homer's Ithaca.
During Telemachus's departure from Ithaca for Pylos and Sparta (see rhapsodies b'(2), d'(4) and o'(15)), the wind described is ZEPHYR (from the west or northwest).
With such a wind from Lefkada, how would the ship leave the little harbor in Nidri and head towards Pylos? It would be swept away, long before reaching the Gulf of Patras, onto the rocks of Palairos!
This is a detail...
...A detail that perfectly serves the theories of Paliki, so that Telemachus's ship, exiting the extended port ΠΟΛΥΒΕΝΘΗ, large in area harbor of Livadi, can easily pass the difficult Schinari of Zakynthos!
Let us now study all of this in detail.
b. The Zephyr of Telemachus' departure for Pylos. https://homericithaca.com/threads/23/
«Τοῖσιν δ᾿ ἴκμενον οὖρον ἵει γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη,
ΑΚΡΑΗ ΖΕΦΥΡΟΝ, κελάδοντ᾿ ἐπὶ οἴνοπα πόντον»…
Odyssey Book 2, β 420-421
... And the bright-eyed Athena sends a favorable wind to them,
the unbridled Zephyr, so that it sings as the sea swells ...
Zephyros is the only wind that can generally cover the journey from the Homeric Ithaca of PALIKI to Pylos:
To leave our harbor (ΗΜΕΤΕΡΟ), which faces east, the ship needs a west wind...
To traverse the extended port ΠΟΛΥΒΕΝΘΗ, large in area harbor (from Livadi to Vardiani) until it comes out off the coast of today’s airport in Kefalonia, it needs a north-west wind...
To then head towards the Shinari of Zakynthos, it needs a clear west wind and finally...
To reach Pylos, it will align northwest - southeast. The helmsman will assist with these changes.
All other candidate Ithacas have a 'common point'. They generally need more of the north wind and less of the west - ZEPHYROS for this route.
Homer, to emphasize this point, mainly has in mind the specific route south of Kefalonia with Shinari and the other dangers, which, as we will see, Telemachus avoids on the return journey.
c. Duration of the journeys in the TELEMACHIA. https://homericithaca.com/threads/24/
Telemachus' journey to Pylos fits our theory.
Just before Telemachus departs from Sparta for the journey back to Ithaca, he receives a visit from the goddess Athena and hears her instructions:
Athena at the Louvre.
«Ἄλλο δέ τοί τι ἔπος ἐρέω, σὺ δὲ σύνθεο θυμῷ.
Μνηστήρων σ᾿ ἐπιτηδὲς ἀριστῆες λοχόωσιν
ἐν πορθμῷ Ἰθάκης τε Σάμοιό τε παιπαλοέσσης,
ἱέμενοι κτεῖναι πρὶν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἱκέσθαι.
Ἀλλὰ τά γ᾿ οὐκ ὀίω· πρὶν καί τινα γαῖα καθέξει
ἀνδρῶν μνηστήρων, οἵ τοι βίοτον κατέδουσιν.
Ἀλλά ΕΚΑΣ ΝΗΣΩΝ ΑΠΕΧΕΙΝ ἐυεργέα νῆα,
ΝΥΚΤΙ Δ’ ΟΜΩΣ ΠΛΕΕΙΝ· πέμψει δέ τι οὖρον ὄπισθεν
ἀθανάτων ὃς τίς σε φυλάσσει τε ῥύεταί τε.
Αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν ΠΡΩΤΗΝ ΑΚΤΗΝ ΙΘΑΚΗΣ ἀφίκηαι,
νῆα μὲν ἐς πόλιν ὁτρῦναι καὶ πάντας ἑταίρους
αὐτός δὲ πρώτιστα συβώτην εἰσαφικέσθαι,…»
Odyssey ο' (15) 27-38
... And I will tell you one more thing, and keep it in mind.
The best of the suitors are deliberately waiting for you
in the strait of Ithaca and the steep Samos,
wanting to kill you before you reach your homeland.
But of course, I do not believe that; and before any land covers
the suitors, the men who are wasting your livelihood.
But far from the islands at a distance, the ship... be careful,
and let at night to sail uniformly and continuously; and for you,
a certain immortal who watches and protects you will send fair winds back.
Once you reach the FIRST COAST of ITHACA,
urge the ship and companions to head to the city,
and your first task is to reach the shepherd for pigs. ...
The ''far from the islands at a distance'' is described on the map, even the ''far from Zakynthos''.
The phrase "and at night to sail uniformly and continuously" as well as "with a favorable wind from behind" will be studied shortly. The way that "you reach the first shore of Ithaca" is described and due to this peculiar route, it seems that PALIKI is the HOMERIC ITHACA, since the first shore on the northern side is Atheras, which looks straight towards CORFU.
Moreover, the "far from the islands ... to sail uniformly and continuously at night" reveals that once it catches the 'quick islands' (Echinades), it has the whole night ahead of it.
As we will see: Katakolo at 19:00, Oxies before midnight, alignment of Oxies - Atokos - Arkoudi, sighting Fiskardo, course off Lefkata and at 5:53 Atheras!
Just as when Telemachus set out from Ithaca to Pylos, Athena sent him a favorable (ούριο) wind, so too from Pylos, when he was returning to Ithaca, she sent him... not the Zephyr, but a southern (warm) wind!
«Τοῖσιν δ᾿ ἴκμενον οὖρον ἴει γλαυκώπις Ἀθήνη,
ΛΑΒΡΟΝ ἐπαιγίζοντα δι᾿ αἰθέρος, ὅφρα τάχιστα
νηῦς ἀνύσειε θέουσα θαλάσσης ἁλμυρόν ὕδωρ.
Βὰν δὲ παρὰ ΚΡΟΥΝΟΥΣ καὶ ΧΑΛΚΙΔΑ καλλιρέεθρον.
Δύσετό τ᾿ ἠέλιος σκιόωντό τε πᾶσαι ἀγυιαί,
ἡ δὲ ΦΕΑΣ ἐπέβαλλεν ἐπειγομένη ΔΙΟΣ ΟΥΡῼ,
ἠδὲ παρ᾿ ΗΛΙΔΑ ΔΙΑΝ, ὅθι κρατέουσιν ΕΠΕΙΟΙ.
ΕΝΘΕΝ Δ’ ΑΥ ΝΗΣΟΙΣΙ ΕΠΕΠΡΟΕΗΚΕ ΘΟΗΣΙΝ,
ὁρμαίνων, ἤ κεν θάνατον φύγοι ἦ κεν ἁλῴη…»
Odyssey ο' (15) 292-300
... And to them, the bright-eyed (γλαυκώπις) Athena sends a favorable wind,
warm and ethereal, falling from above, so that very swiftly
the ship, as it rushed, cut through the salty water of the sea.
They passed by the Crounous and the beautiful shores of Chalcis.
And the sun set, and all the paths were filled with shadows,
and this one passed by the Phaees, pushed by the favorable wind of Zeus,
near the divine Elis, which the Epeians have a state.
And from there, it turned toward the swift little islands,
close to the shore, to escape death or to be lost. ...
In contrast to KALYPSO, who sent back from Odysseus's raft a mild wind (λιαρό), that is, moderately warm, here ATHENA sends a hot wind (ΛΑΒΡΟΝ).
This confirms what we wrote in THE ISLAND WITH THE STRAIGHT LINES, that the raft from GOZO aligned towards Corfu on a southwest-northeast course, while here Telemachus aligns from south to north, as now the wind is purely SOUTHERN AFRICAN.
I believe that the Springs (Κρουνοί, Crounous) and Chalkida are the sources and the beautiful beach of Kaiafa.
We also observe that
a) The journey was coastal.
b) Right after are the Phees, which we locate in Katakolo after on-site research, due to the grayish color of the cape.
c) At this moment, it seems that Telemachus sails around Ilia or Elis, which was probably dedicated to ZEUS (ILIDA DIAN, DIOS OURON) since those years. After the Phees, the Sun sets, and unfortunately, Zakynthos across is not mentioned.
DETAILED STUDY:
We will now attempt to calculate the return time of Telemachus from Pylos in order to finally determine to "which" Ithaca he headed.
To compute the time duration of the journey Pylos - Ithaca, we will examine its three parts from different angles.
PART A: Daytime sailing from Pylos.
PART B: Night sailing to the Θόες islands (swift little islands-ECHINADES).
PART C: Night sailing ECHINADES - ITHACA.
This sailing lasted the remainder of Telemachus's last day in the Peloponnese, plus until dawn the next day.
On the day he took the return ship from the port of Pylos of EKGLIANOU, he had set off at dawn from the Phares (Φηρές).
Two present-day locations claim PHARES. Thouria, 10 kilometers or ARFARA 18 kilometers north of Kalamata.
But what is the time distance between Phares and Pylos?
Let's go backwards:
On the day that Telemachus, together with Nestor's son, Pisistratus, were starting from Pylos through Phares to prehistoric Sparta (in PELANA), the following took place:
With the rising of the Sun, Nestor got up and headed towards the thrones at the entrance.
After about an hour and having been surrounded by his children, he welcomed Telemachus close to him.
Then Nestor ordered to bring a bull from the fields for the sacrifice and the remaining - except for two - Cephalonian sailors from Telemachus's ship (here MEGATHYMOS!).
All this setup takes about an hour and a half.
The ritual and the sacrifice of the bull likely last just as long.
It takes half an hour for the good Polycaste to bathe Telemachus,
... To have the meal, which seems to have been a lunch, and to complete it in an hour with the departure for Sparta.
TOTAL five and a half to six and a half hours.
From the blossoming brambles of Odysseus' return, we conclude that we are in mid-April and dawn begins at 5:50. (Moreover, the Suitors' slaughter took place on the day corresponding to the Easter festival).
Thus, Telemachus' departure happened between 11:00 and 12:00, and after he arrived at Phare with the sunset, it would take about seven and a half hours until 19:00 when the Sun sets in April.
It takes just as long when he returns.
Having set off from Phare at dawn, he bids farewell to Peisistratus at 13:20 and then, while he orders to sail urgently for Ithaca, he meets Theoclymenus as he completes the last libations of departure, and thus this seer is perceived as part of the sacred setting.
This event delays him and departing at 14:00 he reaches Katakolo at 19:00.
TIMES: PYLOS - KATAKOLO, 50 miles along the coast - 5 hours.
From there to the Thoes islands (Echinades) he covers the 38 miles at night at a slower speed and is off the Oxia shortly before midnight, in almost 5 hours.
He then aligns Oxia - Atokos - Arkoudi, sighting Fiskardo, thus avoiding the ambush of Asterida (between Cephalonia and the steep Thiaki), passes by Lefkata offshore and ends up at Athera by dawn. Five and a half hours - 44 miles.
Because Telemachus' ship is not of the TECHNOLOGY OF THE PHAEACIANS, it moves only at 8 miles per hour during the night.
It seems, therefore, that some THEORIES about HOMERIC ITHACA are disproven not with the help of the ODYSSEY but due to the TELEMAQUIA.
Theories that assume that TELEMACHUS landed at SKALA or POROS weaken because the Telemaquia 'directs' the ship towards the Echinades.
The same mistake would be made by a hypothesis that would lead the ship towards the Schinari of Zakynthos, towards the LASSI of Argostoli, towards the POLYVENTHI harbor of Livadi, and towards the WEST side of Paliki, because all of these move in the opposite direction of the THOES ISLANDS (=fast little islands), a name that originates from the fact that due to their size, when ships pass by them, they REMAIN QUICKLY BEHIND.
We are faced with a simple mathematical equation or even before the SIMPLE METHOD OF THREE!
DAILY ROUTE ...... PYLOS – KATAKOLO: 50.0 miles were completed in .. 5 hours.
DAILY ROUTE KATAKOLO – EXINADES: 37.8 miles will be completed in X hours?
Average speed 10 miles per hour.
Nighttime speed correction = 7.5 miles per hour. Therefore, the journey from KATACOLON to EXINADES (off the OXIES) which is 37.8 miles, takes 5 hours.
The distance between:
Let’s not delay Telemachus any further so that he doesn’t leave behind the OXIES after midnight.
... And finally, Athera of Palliki in Cephalonia at five forty-nine in the morning.
...This coincides so scandalously that one might suppose two things:
Either that Pallas instigated this investigation, as the local goddess of Palliki, wanting to support it just as scandalously as she supported her 'friend' Odysseus.
...Or that at least THEN she guided Telemachus with such precision on his journey!
The reader will already have understood why in the book THE ISLAND WITH THE STRAIGHT LINES we distinguished only Lefkada.
It is apparent here how right we were, as long as we subtract one hour from the clock of Telemahia.
Of course, the ZEPHYR of departure would either not grant chances of departure from Lefkada to Pylos or would send the ship to AMFILOCHIA via VONITSA, whether the Corinthians had already turned the ISTHMUS of Lefkada into a CANAL or whether the VOULKARIA system allowed it!
For the other theories, all that is needed is to place Telemahia in the FANTASTIC of the ODYSSEY!
However, as Nikos Livadas used to say, '...if it is a creation of Homer’s imagination, then no serious person should take the stories of someone else seriously.'
...And he meant of course that since these are fantasies, then Ithaca, any Ithaca, places Telemahia let’s say in the fantastic, it is therefore SELF-EXCLUDED and does not exist...
...And the Samian and Ikarians will have every reason to consider Sami as SAMOS, Ithaca as IKARIA and Asterida as the FOURNOUS, which also have AMFIDHIMA HARBOURS!
