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Distributed for Eburon Academic Publishers

Where on Earth Is Ithaca?

A Quest for the Homeland of Odysseus

Since antiquity classicists have debated the true location of Ithaca, the island home of Homer’s mythological hero Odysseus. With Where on Earth Is Ithaca? Cees H. Goekoop expertly guides readers through the existing scholarship on the whereabouts of the island and details the evidence that still has the power to unite and divide scholars. Goekoop mines Homer’s original text to unearth a wealth of geographical clues and then offer his own theories. Where on Earth Is Ithaca? intrigues as it informs and will appeal to all who are interested in classical history.


187 pages | 34 color plates, 11 halftones, 15 maps | 5 4/5 x 8 1/5 | © 2010

Ancient Studies


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Reviews

“In this exciting book Cees H. Goekoop takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the world of the Odyssey and tries to unlock the mystery: which of the Ionian islands is Ithaca?”

Nanno Marinatos, University of Illinois at Chicago

“There are many good reasons why this book should reach a wider audience. Mr. Goekoop demonstrates the importance of analyzing the local geography from the large number of clues provided in the Odyssey. His methodology and research are outstanding.”

Robert Bittlestone, author of Odysseus Unbound

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1    Homer and Ithaca
      The Trojan War
      The situation in Ithaca
      The Odyssey
2    The dispute among Homeric experts
     
The researchers of antiquity
      The research from the nineteenth century to the First World War
      The research between the World Wars
      The research and theories after the Second World War
3    Homeric passages analysed
     
Conclusions
4    Where on Earth is Homer’s Ithaca?
      Is Ithaca itself an island?
      Choosing the correct part of an island
      Homer’s Ithaca, fatherland of Odysseus
      Conclusions

Notes
Bibliography
Index

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