Odysseus Unbound - Argument

Argument

The initial insight leading to the argument came from a tourist roadmap of the Paliki area, which Bittlestone purchased following a visit to the region, in preparation for another visit — one this time to the modern island known as "Ithaki" (Ithaca). Scholars for centuries have noticed that the island of Ithaki does not correspond to the detailed descriptions of the home of Odysseus offered by Homer in the Odyssey. Many explanations, from simple ignorance on Homer's part to "poetic license", have been used to account for the discrepancies.

Bittlestone had noticed, however, that the western peninsula of Kefalonia appeared to correspond with the principal clues offered by Homer, yet it is not an island. On his previous trip, though, his daughter's question, about an inland hilltop fortress on neighboring Lefkas island — "But why did they build it here?" — had led to the thought that sea levels in the area might once have been much higher, that in turn leading to the idea that higher sea levels might once have cut off the Paliki peninsula from its mainland, Kefalonia, making Paliki an island. The tourist map seemed to confirm this: on it, Bittlestone saw, the neck of land connecting Paliki to Kefalonia did appear to be very narrow and, more importantly in this mountainous region, relatively low along most of its length.

Confirmation was needed from at least two sources: philology — to ensure that the Homeric account of "Ithaca" was properly understood — and geology, to establish among other points that the narrow neck of land on Kefalonia could in fact have been the site of a sea channel, in the times of Homer and of Odysseus.

James Diggle, co-author of the study which argued that Paliki was Homer's "Ithaca", is Professor of Greek and Latin at Cambridge University and a recognized authority on Ancient Greek texts. His detailed analysis of the "clues" contained both in Homer and in Strabo and other texts was crucial to supporting the Paliki argument.

Various lists of philological clues were assembled, derived from the ancient texts, to identify specific geographic details which might correspond to modern locations. For example 26 such locations were identified "in or near Homer's 'Ithaca'":

• Ithaca — Odysseus' island off the west coast of Greece: location disputed
• Ithaca city — Its capital
• Ithaca harbor — Its harbor, adjacent to the city
• Same — The island opposite Ithaca, also known as Samos Island: location disputed
• Doulichion — Another island nearby: location disputed
• Zakynthos — One of the Ionian islands to the south: location known
• (etc.)

— and similar lists were made for "Odysseus' Palace", "Doulichion", and other locations.

A list of 32 such "clues" also was drawn up by the team, and a chart prepared, showing how other "Ithaca" locations suggested by previous theories — including the modern island of Ithaki — do not correspond, while the Paliki peninsula does:

• Clue 1 — Does Ithaca lie low and to the west, the furthest out to sea of a group of neighboring islands, called Ithaca, Samos Island, Doulichion and Zakynthos?
• Clue 2 — Does Ithaca contain a bay with two distinctive jutting headlands?
• Clue 3 — Can a ship leave Ithaca harbor driven by a stiff following wind from the west?
• Clue 4 — Is there a two-harbored island called Asteris in the straits between Ithaca and Samos Island, with windy heights that would enable an ambush to take place?
• (etc.)