which is KEFALONIA and Municipality of Homeric Ithaca which is PALIKI OF KEFALONIA.
Some of the many strongest arguments for Kefalonia, and especially Paliki, as Homeric Ithaca.
4. ATHERAS, the beach where the Phaeacians brought Odysseus.
…And due to distances within the island, due to the distance from Homeric Ithaca, due to its proximity to Thesprotia and Dodona, weather phenomena, sea currents, climatic conditions, and due to the distance from the islands of the Matriarchal society in Malta and Gozo. ... It is north of Ithaca; the Phaeacians come to leave Odysseus on a beach they knew beforehand, and so some theories collapse on their own because they do not accept the true nature of the Phaeacians.
«… ἔνθ᾿ οἵ γ᾿ εἰσέλασαν, πρὶν εἰδότες, ἡ μὲν ἔπειτα
ἠπείρῳ ἐπέκελσεν, ὅσον τ᾿ ἐπὶ ἥμισυ πάσης,
σπερχομένη, τοῖον γὰρ ἐπείγετο χέρσ᾿ ἐρετάων…»
From Scheria-Corfu, the Phaeacians bring Odysseus to a beach with firm sand, which they had known beforehand (Od. 13.113) directly, and the ship, with the momentum of the rowers, comes halfway onto the shore (Od. 13.114-115). This beach is Atheras.
was dragged onto the shore, almost half of it,
from the great momentum, because the rowers had quick hands ...
Odyssey 13.114-115
"... 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. ..."
The northern harbor of Homeric Ithaca faces directly towards Scheria of the Phaeacians, that is, Corfu.
On this beach, the grain size of the sand allowed half of the ship to be dragged onto the shore with the momentum of the rowers. This only applies to Atheras in Paliki, Cephalonia.
first lifted Odysseus from the hollow ship with him,
together with linen and shining rope,
and then laid him on the sand, swathed in sleep,
and they raised the gifts which the noble Phaeacians
had given him for going home, through the noble-minded Athena. (like noble-minded Cephallines)...
Odyssey 13.116-121
Since we are talking about Palliki, at the end of 15th rhapsody we encounter again the best argument for the landing beach in Ithaca, from Athera, where, as we saw in section ν', the ship, with the momentum of the rowers, came half onto the shore. This happens due to the fine composition of the sand, which comes from the seabed, and this can only occur on northern beaches. Because only northern winds have the power to bring the seabed ashore.
... And they pushed it, lifting it (from the sand), they sailed toward the city, ...
Odyssey 15.553
Ανώσαντες, that is, they raised upwards and pushed. This happens when the ship is stuck in the sand, JUST LIKE IN ATHERA. Because that is how the beach is there. Ships are not moored. You lift them a little and by pushing them you ‘‘drive’’ them away.
And while the Afales in Thiaki and Assos of Eryssos in Kefalonia face north, the theories of Poros and Lefkada are rejected.
With this argument, not only the theories about Sibothon and Nydri, the Lefkada theory, are refuted, but also the theory of Paxos, because it is too close and not ‘‘a night’s journey’’ from the unladen ship. Of the remaining theories, those that consider the Phaeacians imaginary are incompatible with Homeric thought.
Excellent aerial photograph of Athera Bay, which gives us the opportunity to substantiate our view that it is the harbor of Phorcys, where the Phaeacians disembarked Odysseus. The landscape perfectly matches the Homeric descriptions, and the locations are at points whose distances correspond fully in time to the movements of the characters.
So we have:
- A well-ventilated and sunny hill suitable for Eumaeus' pigsty, at a proper distance from the coast, with an existing circular stone foundation for fencing and flora (e.g., thorny wild pears and oaks) suitable for the enclosure and shelters.
A RESPONSE from Makis Lykoudis in a discussion about THE POINTS OF THE HORIZON in Atheras.
Makis Lykoudis: GEORGE L. MARGARITIS The arrival port of Telemachus in Ithaca from Pylos.
After the journey was made according to the instructions of the goddess Athena, Telemachus's ship approaches the shore (Odyssey ο’ 15.495-500):
The berthing was done by rowing with the bow of the ship touching the land. It is certainly a sandy beach; otherwise, the ship would have collided with or run aground on rocks and would have been destroyed.
The crew went down to the seashore and had a meal. After the meal, Telemachus gave the crew instructions on where they should sail (Od. ο’ 15.503): “Now you, take the black ship toward the city.
Before the ship set sail, however, Apollo sends an omen (Odyssey ο’ 15.525-528): "And as soon as he said these things, a bird flew over from his right side, a hawk, swift messenger of Apollo, which had a squab in its talons, and scattered its feathers on the ground, between the ship and Telemachus."
Similar incidents are encountered elsewhere in the epics. Placing the East on the right, the most indisputable point on the horizon, the point from which the divine sun, identified with the dawn, makes its appearance, we have the West on our left, the North directly ahead, and the South behind us.
The same orientation is applied today on all maps, where symbols similar to the one depicted show the points of the horizon.
In our case, the incident takes place between the position of Telemachus and the ship. After the wings are scattered between Telemachus and the ship and he watches it, he cannot but be facing the sea. According to the above-mentioned orientation, which is a prerequisite for the correctness of the omen, the hawk flying on his right must be towards the east. If the East is on his right, his face is turned northward, and therefore the sea is to the north, as is the entrance to the harbor.
