Odysseus speaks to old Laertes. Just yesterday, he has killed the suitors and taken refuge in the estate of the former king. Already, the suitors' parents have held a meeting and are heading against them to take revenge. Athena intervenes and transforms Laertes into a young and capable man. Those around him are impressed:
made you in appearance so noble in body for them to see you».
To this, Laertes responded with emotion:
«May Zeus, my father, and Athena and Apollo grant,
that when I took Nerikos, a well-built city,
leader of the Cephallenians on the coast of the land,
I myself had been yesterday in our own palaces
with armor on my shoulders, standing to fight
with the suitor men, whose knees I would also have bent
within the great hall, and you… you will ease your mind». …
Odyssey ω΄ - 24. 373-382
The city of Nerikos in the Odyssey:
In the photos, we see the well-built walls of the unknown, until now, city of Nērikon, which was conquered by Laertes when he was young and became king of the Cephalenians, uniting their strength and likely with the assistance of the Epeians of Elis and Dulichium.
The so-called Cyclopean walls at Krani, Cephalonia, near Argostoli, at the end of the Koutavos lagoon, are the very same walls that once protected the city of Nērikon.
This identification was made by Nikos Livadas, who noticed the similarity of the names Nērikos and Nērīto, and because the city is at the foot of the mountain. One is the city and the other is the large, deeply shadowed, and magnificent mountain of Homeric Ithaca, namely Ainos.
Odysseus speaks to old Laertes. He has just, yesterday, killed the suitors and taken refuge in the estate of the former king. The parents of the suitors have already held a meeting and are heading against him to take revenge. Athena intervenes and transforms Laertes into a young and vigorous man. Those around him are impressed:
The suffix -ikos indicates origin from a maternal word, as we say Piraeus: Piraïkós, meaning it belongs to and derives from there. Therefore, the city of Nērikos also bears a name that comes from Mount Nērīto.
ou see, dear friends, in the photos, our unforgettable collaborator Nikos Livadas Toumasatos—my Homeric father—on the walls of Krani, and how proud he was of it, like Laertes. He even said in his book "Cephalonia, the Revelation of Homeric Ithaca. Homer and Odysseus the Cephalonians":
“The long and well-built walls of this city stretch over a distance of 30 stadia, approximately 5.5 kilometers. The city of Nirikos is essentially located at the foot of Mount Niritos, that is, Ainos.
A careful and thorough approach to the Homeric descriptions (i.e., by himself) brings to light findings that have remained unknown for 3,500 years and, most importantly, shows that the information left to us by the poet is confirmed.
The mapping of Homeric places and islands creates a map that will be verified once the first findings are made, provided that the necessary conditions are fulfilled.”
After two decades, we too follow in the footsteps of Nikos Livadas. One of our first approaches in this field was with Makis Livadas, and immediately after Nikos's death, with the philologist and writer Mrs. Angeliki Zolota.
Just as Makis followed his father, so too, that day, the tour was carried out with little Francisco capturing it with his camera.
For us, this discovery holds the same value as the words of Laertes that we mentioned at the beginning… And the great success of taking control of this Nyriko city with the Kefallinians under his leadership.
εἶδός τε μέγεθός τε ἀμείνονα θῆκεν ἰδέσθαι.’’
τὸν δ’ αὖ Λαέρτης πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα·
‘‘αἲ γάρ, Ζεῦ τε πάτερ καὶ Ἀθηναίη καὶ Ἄπολλον,
οἷος Νήρικον εἷλον, ἐϋκτίμενον πτολίεθρον,
ἀκτὴν ἠπείροιο, Κεφαλλήνεσσιν ἀνάσσων,
τοῖος ἐών τοι χθιζὸς ἐν ἡμετέροισι δόμοισι
τεύχε’ ἔχων ὤμοισιν ἐφεστάμεναι καὶ ἀμύνειν
ἄνδρας μνηστῆρας· τῶ κέ σφεων γούνατ’ ἔλυσα
πολλῶν ἐν μεγάροισι, σὺ δὲ φρένας ἔνδον ἰάνθης.’’ ...»
Odyssey 24(ω΄) 373-382
... And one might ask, my dear friends, how and why we place both the city of Níriko and Philoítios opposite Homeric Ithaca, opposite Paliki, etc., mainly in the central part of Kefalonia and not, say, in Epirus?...
This is what we do, we place them as “ἠπείροιο”, that is, on the mainland in front of Paliki. As for whether there was a connection between the Homeric word “ἤπειρος” and today's Epirus of Dodona and Ioannina, there is none! Because, on the one hand, when Odysseus found himself in Pheidon the Thesprotian, and on the other hand, when he visited Dodona itself, we never encountered this word.
In the Odyssey, the word “ἤπειρον” and its derivatives appear more than 19 times, five of which refer to arrival on Ithaca itself, even though, as is well known, it is not located in Epirus, four times referring to the main body of Cephalonia (our contentious points), six times when sailors land on islets and rock islets of the Odyssey's “Fictional” world, and only four times when they disembark on a mainland coast, some land, larger than Ithaca, e.g., among the Lotos-Eaters or the Cicones.
So, let's take a look at all 19 points that "caught my eye."
ἤπειρον - ἐπ᾿ ἠπείρου - ἤπειρόνδε - ἐν ἠπείρῳ - ἠπείροιο
"...τῷ ἴκελος πολέεσσιν ὀχήσατο κύμασιν Ἑρμῆς.
ἀλλ᾿ ὅτε δὴ τὴν νῆσον ἀφίκετο τηλόθ᾿ ἐοῦσαν,
ἔνθ᾿ ἐκ πόντου βὰς ἰοειδέος ἤπειρόνδε ..."
But when he finally reached the distant island,
there he stepped from the violet-like sea onto the land ...
Odyssey ε'(5) 54-56
"...τόφρα δ᾿ ἄρ᾿ οἰχόμενοι Κίκονες Κικόνεσσι γεγώνευν,
οἵ σφιν γείτονες ἦσαν, ἅμα πλέονες καὶ ἀρείους,
ἤπειρον ναίοντες, ἐπιστάμενοι μὲν ἀφ᾿ ἵππων..."
for they were many and brave neighbors,
they stayed deep inland, knowing the horses. ...
Odyssey ι'(9) 47-49
"... αὐτὰς δ᾿ ἐσσυμένως προερέσσαμεν ἤπειρόνδε. ..."
Odyssey ι' 73
"... γαίης Λωτοφάγων, οἵ τ᾿ ἄνθινον εἶδαρ ἔδουσιν,
ἔνθα δ᾿ ἐπ᾿ ἠπείρου βῆμεν καὶ ἀφυσσάμεθ᾿ ὕδωρ, ..."
where we landed on a shore and drew water, ...
Odyssey ι' 84-85
τὴν δ᾿ αἶψ᾿ ἤπειρόνδε παλιρρόθιον φέρε κῦμα, ..."
and the tidal wave immediately carried it toward the shore, ...
Odyssey ι' 484-485
"... «‘σχέτλιε, τίπτ᾿ ἐθέλεις ἐρεθιζέμεν ἄγριον ἄνδρα;
ὃς καὶ νῦν πόντονδε βαλὼν βέλος ἤγαγε νῆα
αὖτις ἐς ἤπειρον, καὶ δὴ φάμεν αὐτόθ᾿ ὀλέσθαι. ..."
And now that he aimed at the sea, he sent the ship
immediately back to the shore, and now we see that we are going to be lost ....
Odyssey ι' 494-496
ἔνθα δ᾿ ἐπ᾿ ἠπείρου βῆμεν καὶ ἀφυσσάμεθ᾿ ὕδωρ, ..."
there we went ashore there and drew water, ...
Odyssey κ'(10) 55-56
"... νῆα μὲν ἂρ πάμπρωτον ἐρύσσατε ἤπειρόνδε, ..."
Odyssey κ' 403
"... ἔνθ᾿ οἵ γ᾿ εἰσέλασαν, πρὶν εἰδότες: ἡ μὲν ἔπειτα
ἠπείρῳ ἐπέκελσεν, ὅσον τ᾿ ἐπὶ ἥμισυ πάσης,
σπερχομένη: τοῖον γὰρ ἐπείγετο χέρσ᾿ ἐρετάων:
οἱ δ᾿ ἐκ νηὸς βάντες ἐϋζύγου ἤπειρόνδε
πρῶτον Ὀδυσσῆα γλαφυρῆς ἐκ νηὸς ἄειραν
αὐτῷ σύν τε λίνῳ καὶ ῥήγεϊ σιγαλόεντι,
κὰδ δ᾿ ἄρ᾿ ἐπὶ ψαμάθῳ ἔθεσαν δεδμημένον ὕπνῳ,
ἐκ δὲ κτήματ᾿ ἄειραν, ἅ οἱ Φαίηκες ἀγαυοὶ
ὤπασαν οἴκαδ᾿ ἰόντι διὰ μεγάθυμον Ἀθήνην. ..."
dragged itself onto the shore, as much as it is from the whole half,
from all the momentum. For the rowers had quick hands.
And they too jumped from the level ship onto the shore.
first lifted Odysseus from the hollow ship
along with a linen cover and a shining cloak,
and then placed him on the sand, wrapped in sleep,
and they lifted up the belongings which the noble Phaeacians had given him
as he went home, through thoughtful-hearted (μεγάθυμον) Athena. ...
Odyssey ν'(13) 113-121
"... ἦ πού τις νήσων εὐδείελος, ἦέ τις ἀκτὴ
κεῖθ᾿ ἁλὶ κεκλιμένη ἐριβώλακος ἠπείροιο;» ..."
like the end of a fertile land in the sea?" ...
Odyssey ν' 234-235
"... Ἦ γάρ οἱ ζωή γ’ ἦν ἄσπετος· οὔ τινι τόσση
ἀνδρῶν ἡρώων, οὔτ’ ἠπείροιο μελαίνης
οὔτ’ αὐτῆς Ἰθάκης· οὐδὲ ξυνεείκοσι φωτῶν
ἔστ’ ἄφενος τοσσοῦτον· ἐγὼ δέ κέ τοι καταλέξω.
Δώδεκ’ ἐν ἠπείρῳ ἀγέλαι· τόσα πώεα οἰῶν, ..."
among heroes, not to dark mainland,
nor to Ithaca itself; not even twenty people together
could compare to one; yet I will recount it to you.
There were twelve herds on the mainland; so many flocks of sheep, ...
Odyssey ξ'(14) 96-100
"... ἢ τόν γ’ ἐν πόντῳ φάγον ἰχθύες, ὀστέα δ’ αὐτοῦ
κεῖται ἐπ’ ἠπείρου ψαμάθῳ εἰλυμένα πολλῇ, ..."
lie wrapped in much sand on the shore, ...
Odyssey ξ' 135-136
"... νῆα μὲν οἵ γε μέλαιναν ἐπ’ ἠπείροιο ἔρυσσαν, ..."
Odyssey π'(16) 325
"... Αἶψα δὲ νῆα μέλαιναν ἐπ’ ἠπείροιο ἔρυσσαν, ..."
Οδύσσεια π' 359
"... πέμψω σ’ ἠπειρόνδε, βαλὼν ἐν νηὶ μελαίνῃ,
εἰς Ἔχετον βασιλῆα, βροτῶν δηλήμονα πάντων, ..."
to King Echetus, destroyer of all mortals. ...
Odyssey σ'(18) 84-85
"... ἐν δήμῳ· τάχα γάρ μιν ἀνάξομεν ἠπειρόνδε
εἰς Ἔχετον βασιλῆα, βροτῶν δηλήμονα πάντων». ..."
to King Echetus, the destroyer of all mortals». ...
Odyssey σ' 115-116
"... παῦροι δ' ἐξέφυγον πολιῆς ἁλὸς ἤπειρόνδε
νηχόμενοι, πολλὴ δὲ περὶ χροὶ̈ τέτροφεν ἅλμη, ..."
and much brine had been brewed upon their skin, ...
Odyssey ψ΄(23) 236-237
«... οἷος Νήρικον εἷλον, ἐυκτίμενον πτολίεθρον,
ἀκτὴν ἠπείροιο, Κεφαλλήνεσσιν ἀνάσσων, ..».
on the coast of the mainland, ruling over the Cephallenians, ...
Odyssey ω΄(24) 377-378
Ultimately, any shore we have in front of us to disembark, even on a small islet, in the Homeric dialect is called 'ήπειρος - continent', so this argument does not help any Ithaca to be superior to the others. All Ithacas have some land in front of them.
However, it helps those Ithacas that for so many years had problems with the beaches of Acarnania, because it finally frees them from the 'web' of Acarnania and Palairos.
No Odysseus, whether from Kefalonia or from Thiaki, needs to see Acarnania as a continent, which in fact is separated from Epirus by the Ambracian Gulf.
Friends of the Lefkada theories, keep this land opposite to yourselves, it does not concern us.
