As landslide followed landslide over the centuries, the debris could have extended farther across the isthmus, layer upon layer, to create the rugged hills. Suddenly I thought, crikey, there might really be a channel down there. The more he looked the more certain he became that Cephalonia had once been two islands. Bittlestone had no doubts. The scale of it is mind-blowing. Recent follow-up research, announced last year by Bittlestone, Diggle and Underhill, dramatically bolsters the case they are making.
Among other findings, teams of international scientists have shown that a foot borehole drilled on the isthmus met no solid limestone—only loose rockfall. A Greek Geological Institute survey pinpointed a submerged marine valley, consistent with a onetime sea channel between modern Paliki and Cephalonia.
But attempting to identify actual places that fit a nearly 3,year-old narrative does present problems. For one, it is by no means certain that individuals in the poem—Odysseus; his wife, Penelope; son, Telemachus; the suitors—ever existed.
Gregory Nagy is cautious. We should not force it to be a road map for a set of real events. Bittlestone has an answer for that. Not necessarily. But it is plausible that there was a Bronze Age chieftain around whom these stories grew. There was a real Troy, a real Mycenae, a real Sparta, all of which have been rediscovered by archaeologists. Most scholars agree that the Odyssey was first put into writing in the eighth or seventh century b.
But some believe, and Bittlestone concurs, that its core narrative dates as far back as the 12th century b. If you accept that the channel exists, and that Ithaca is Paliki—the external geography, so to speak—then you cannot dismiss the possibility that the other passages may reflect the internal geography of Ithaca.
On a crisp day in october, Bittlestone leads me along the route that he thinks Odysseus may have followed upon his return to Ithaca. We begin at Atheras Bay, a crescent of beach enfolded by terraced groves of olive trees. By day, the queen, a renowned weaver, worked at a great loom in the royal halls. At night, she secretly unraveled what she had done, deceiving the young suitors. The ruse failed only when Penelope was betrayed by a disloyal maidservant.
Primarily, the bow symbolizes the physical superiority of the king — an important point in a world in which the mighty prevail. But the bow also symbolizes the maturity and perhaps the character of the king. The suitors can't come close to stringing it Book 21 , illustrating the fact that none of them is capable of leading Ithaca. Prince Telemachus, trying the bow just for sport, comes close. The reader is told that Telemachus probably could string the bow on his fourth attempt, but his father signals him to desist.
We take from this passage that Telemachus is almost ready to be king but patiently and properly acquiesces to his father's judgment. Only Odysseus can string the bow on his first attempt, and he does so with ease, showing that he is the proper mate for Penelope and the only man ready to be king of Ithaca.
The sea itself is a recurring symbol throughout the epic. It is, in effect, the sea of life. Anticleia - The mother of Odysseus. She encounters him in Hades while he is there. Arete - The queen of the Phaeacians, wife of Alcinous and mother of Nausicaan. Argus - The old hunting dog of Odysseus who recognizes his master and dies. Athene - Daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom and patroness of the arts and crafts, also known as Pallas.
Odysseus is her favorite and protege. Calypso - The sea nymph who keeps Odysseus captive for nine years and who, in hope of making him her husband, offers him immortality.
Circe - The enchantress who transforms the crew of Odysseus into swine and who, when she finds that she cannot conquer Odysseus, takes him as a lover and helps him with advice and supplies on his voyage home. Demodocus - A blind bard entertains at the banquets in the palace of Alcinous. Elepnor - A young seaman in the crew of Odysseus who dies in an accident on Circe island and whose spirit reproaches Odysseus in Hades. Eumaeus - The chief swineherd of Odysseus, who remains faithful to his master during his long absence and who plays an active part in assisting Odysseus to regain his kingdom.
Eupeithes - The father of Antinous. He manifests the same rashness and disloyalty that is exhibited by his son when he leads a band of Ithacans to attack Odysseus but is quick to recognize his error and apologize. Eurycleia - The faithful and devoted old nurse of Odysseus, recognizes him by the scar on his leg. Eurylochus - One of Odysseus' officers; he is an unimaginative and sober person, who wisely avoids entering Circe's palace in Book X, but who also abets the sailors when they slaughter the cattle of Helios.
Eurymachus - The second most important suitor; he is as evil as Antinous, but far more soft and cowardly. Helen - The wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. She was the cause of the Trojan War. Hermes - Son of Zeus, the ambassador of the gods, conductor of the dead souls to Hades, and patron of travelers, merchants, and thieves. Hyperion - The god of the sun. Also known as Helios. It is his cattle which is eaten by Odysseus' crew.
Irus - A cowardly bully who is a beggar on Ithaca and a favorite of many of the suitors. Laertes - The old father of Odysseus, who lives in isolation from the demands of public life, on a small farm in the back hills of Ithaca.
He remains alert and agile, despite his age. Leucothoie - A sea nymph who helps Odysseus read the island of the Phaeacians during the storm in Book V. Melantho - One of the serving maids in the palace of Odysseus; she is a nasty and impudent young girl and is disloyal to her master, having become the mistress of Eurymachus.
Melanthius - The chief goatherd of Odysseus. In his master's absence he has ignored his duty and has ingratiated himself with the suitors by catering to their whims. Menelaus - King of Sparta, husband of Helen, and brother of Agamemnon. Like Odysseus, he too has a series of misadventures on his return home from Troy.
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