Ithaca and the Odyssey: Where Is Ithaca, and Was It Really Odysseus's Home?

Where is Ithaca, Greece? In the Ionian Sea off the west coast of Greece, just east of Kefalonia and south of Lefkada, about 270 km west of Athens as the crow flies. The crossing from Sami on Kefalonia takes 30 to 45 minutes. It is a real island you can sail to, and it is the island the Odyssey is built around: the home Odysseus spent ten years trying to reach after the Trojan War.

The case for this being Homer's Ithaca is stronger than most visitors realise. A cave on Polis Bay produced fragments of thirteen bronze tripods, the same number of tripods the Phaeacians gave Odysseus, together with a clay mask inscribed with a vow to Odysseus.

In June 2025 the University of Ioannina team digging at the School of Homer announced roof tiles and inscribed fragments naming Odysseus, which they identify as his hero shrine. Homer also names the island's neighbours, Same and Zakynthos among them, and our Ionian Islands guide covers all of them as they are today.

This guide follows the Odyssey on the ground: where Ithaca is and why some scholars place Homer's island on Kefalonia instead, the Homeric sites you can actually visit, how Odysseus's route home maps onto the Mediterranean, what Christopher Nolan's 2026 film did and did not shoot here, and how to reach the island. For hotels, tavernas and a three-day plan, our Ithaca travel guide picks up where this one stops.

Where Is Ithaca, Greece? Orientation and Geography

Ithaca (Ιθάκη, Ithaki in modern Greek) is an island in the Ionian Sea, part of the Ionian Islands region of western Greece. It sits between Kefalonia to the west and the mainland coast of Aetolia-Acarnania to the east. The island is approximately:

• 270 km west of Athens in a straight line, or about an hour's flight to Kefalonia plus the ferry
• A few kilometres across the strait from Kefalonia, which is close enough to see the villages on the far shore
• 90 km northwest of Patras, the main ferry port of the western Peloponnese
• 30 km off the mainland coast at Astakos, which has a direct ferry, and an hour by seasonal ferry south of Lefkada

The island is shaped roughly like two lobes connected by the narrow Aetos isthmus. The southern lobe is more heavily populated and contains the capital Vathy. The northern lobe contains the villages most associated with Homeric geography: Stavros, Exogi, Frikes, Kioni.

Two quick answers people search for: Ithaca is not in Athens, and it is not part of Kefalonia. It is its own island and municipality, home to about 2,900 people, with Vathy as its capital. And yes, Ithaca in upstate New York takes its name from this island; the surveyors who laid out central New York in the 1790s gave the new townships classical names.

To explore Ithaca's northern villages and hidden beaches at your own pace, compare car rental prices on Discovercars before you travel.

Altitude: The highest point is Mount Niritos (Neriton in Homer), 806 metres — the mountain that gives the island its characteristic silhouette when approached by sea.

Climate: Mediterranean, with hot dry summers and mild rainy winters. The island is notably greener than the Cyclades because of higher rainfall. Lush olive groves, pine forests, and wildflowers are everywhere in spring and autumn.

Ithaca and the Odyssey: What the Connection Actually Is

Homer's Ithaca

The Odyssey is the story of Odysseus's ten-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Homer describes the island repeatedly: rugged, wooded on the slopes of Mount Neriton, with a sheltered harbour named after the sea god Phorkys, a cave of the nymphs above that harbour, and the palace of Odysseus in the town.

The question "is modern Ithaca Homer's Ithaca?" has consumed classicists, archaeologists, and enthusiastic amateurs for 200 years. The short answer is: probably yes — modern Ithaca matches Homer's descriptions well enough, and no other island is a better candidate. The long answer involves several competing theories (including a controversial argument that Homer's Ithaca was actually the Paliki peninsula of Kefalonia) and a great deal of academic heat. Most mainstream scholarship accepts modern Ithaca.

Who Ruled Ithaca, and What Homer Says About It

In the poems Ithaca is ruled by Laertes and then by his son Odysseus, who leads the Cephallenians, the people of Ithaca and its neighbouring islands, to Troy with twelve ships. Penelope waits for him for twenty years in the palace, raising their son Telemachus, while 108 suitors eat their way through his estate; only twelve of them are Ithacans, the rest come from Doulichion, Same and Zakynthos. Homer describes Ithaca as rugged and unsuited to horses but good for goats and cattle, with a harbour named after Phorkys, a cave of the nymphs above it, the forested mountain Neriton, the spring of Arethusa where the swineherd Eumaeus keeps his pigs, and a palace in the town where Odysseus's old dog Argos lies waiting.

Ithaca or Kefalonia? The Paliki Theory

The strongest challenge to modern Ithaca comes from one line in the Odyssey, where Odysseus says his island lies low and furthest out to sea towards the west. Modern Ithaca is mountainous and lies east of Kefalonia, not west of it.

In 2005 the businessman Robert Bittlestone, with the classicist James Diggle and the geologist John Underhill, argued in Odysseus Unbound that Homer's Ithaca was the Paliki peninsula of western Kefalonia, which they believe was once a separate island cut off by a sea channel. Geological drilling since then has not produced the clear proof the theory needs, and most scholars still accept the modern island. Earlier, the archaeologist Wilhelm Dörpfeld made the same kind of case for Lefkada.

So was Odysseus from Ithaca or Kefalonia? On Homer's own terms he was king of Ithaca and leader of a small island kingdom that included Same, the ancient name tied to Kefalonia. That is why both islands claim him, and why a Sami to Ithaca ferry is the best way to judge the argument for yourself.

How Long Was Odysseus Gone?

Twenty years. Odysseus spends ten years at the siege of Troy and ten more getting home to Ithaca. Very little of the second decade is spent sailing: he is held for about seven years by the nymph Calypso on Ogygia and stays a year with Circe on Aeaea. Of the twelve ships he led out of Ithaca, none come back; he reaches home alone, carried by the Phaeacians and set down asleep on the shore near the cave of the nymphs.

Where Was Odysseus From, and Was He Spartan?

Odysseus was from Ithaca, the son of Laertes and Anticlea and king of the island and its neighbours. He was not Spartan. The Sparta connection runs through his wife: Penelope was the daughter of Icarius, brother of the Spartan king Tyndareus, which makes her a cousin of Helen. That is why Telemachus goes to Sparta to ask Menelaus for news of his father.

Odysseus's Family on Ithaca: Penelope, Telemachus, Laertes and Argos

Penelope holds off the suitors for years by promising to choose one when she finishes weaving a shroud for Laertes, then unpicking the day's work each night, until a maid betrays the trick in the fourth year. Their son Telemachus is a baby when Odysseus leaves and a grown man when he returns. Laertes has withdrawn to a farm in the country to grieve, and Odysseus's mother Anticlea has already died of longing for him; he meets her shade in the Underworld. Of everyone on the island, only his old dog Argos recognises him at once, lying neglected on a dung heap outside the palace, and dies moments later.

The Return: The Beggar, the Bow and the Suitors

Athena disguises Odysseus as an old beggar so that he can test who has stayed loyal. His nurse Eurycleia recognises him anyway, from a scar a boar gave him as a young man on Mount Parnassus. Penelope then sets the suitors a contest: string Odysseus's great bow and shoot an arrow through the holes of twelve axe heads. None of them can string it.

Odysseus does, and with Telemachus, the swineherd Eumaeus and the cowherd Philoetius he kills all 108 suitors in the hall. Whether Penelope had already guessed who the beggar was is one of the poem's open questions; she makes him prove it with a secret only the two of them share, that their bed was built around the trunk of a living olive tree.

Does Odysseus Die? What Happens After the Odyssey

Not in the Odyssey. The poem ends on Ithaca, with Athena stopping a fight between Odysseus and the families of the dead suitors. The prophet Tiresias has already told him he will die in old age, gently, a death that comes from the sea, words that can also be read as far from the sea.

A lost later epic, the Telegony, gave him a stranger end: Telegonus, his son by Circe, lands on Ithaca without knowing whose island it is and kills Odysseus with a spear tipped with a stingray spine.

Was Odysseus a Real Person?

There is no evidence that he was. No Bronze Age record names a king Odysseus, and the poems were written down centuries after the world they describe. What archaeology does show is that ancient Ithacans believed in him: they left offerings to him in the Polis Bay cave and, according to the 2025 finds at the School of Homer, honoured him at a shrine of his own. Odysseus is also the same hero as Ulysses; Ulysses comes from Ulixes, the Latin form of his name.

What Archaeology Has Found

Bronze Age remains have been found on the island, though nothing that unambiguously identifies itself as Odysseus's palace:

Polis Bay (near Stavros): The Loizos Cave on the shore of Polis Bay, excavated by the British School at Athens in the early 1930s, produced pottery from the Bronze Age onwards, fragments of thirteen bronze tripods of the 9th to 8th centuries BC, and a Hellenistic clay mask inscribed with a vow to Odysseus. In the Odyssey the Phaeacian king and his twelve chieftains give Odysseus thirteen tripods, which is why the find caused such excitement. It is the clearest evidence that Ithacans worshipped Odysseus as their local hero in antiquity. The cave roof has since collapsed and it cannot be entered.

Aetos (Alalkomenes, the local "Castle of Odysseus"): Massive walls on the summit of Mount Aetos above the isthmus. Heinrich Schliemann dug here in 1868 hoping to find Odysseus's palace. What survives is mostly a later fortified settlement, and Aetos is no longer the leading palace candidate, but the climb gives the best view of both halves of the island.

The Cave of the Nymphs (Marmarospilia): Above Dexa Bay, about 3 km northwest of Vathy and around 190 metres up the hillside. Homer describes a cave of the Naiads above the harbour where the Phaeacians set Odysseus down, with two entrances, one for mortals and one for the gods, where he hid their gifts. The Marmarospilia is the traditional match. It has been closed to visitors for some years, though the path to the entrance is signposted.

Where Was Odysseus's Palace?

Three places on Ithaca have been put forward as the palace of Odysseus: Mount Aetos above the isthmus, where Schliemann dug in 1868; Pilikata hill near Stavros, favoured by the British excavations of the 1930s; and the School of Homer near Exogi, where the University of Ioannina has excavated since 1994. None has produced proof, but the School of Homer has the strongest case today.

The School of Homer (Agios Athanasios): On the slopes below Exogi in the north, a site with massive walls, rock-cut steps, an underground cistern of the Mycenaean era and finds running from the Neolithic to Roman times. The University of Ioannina has excavated here since 1994. In 2010 its team argued that this was Odysseus's palace, and in June 2025 it announced stamped roof tiles, inscribed fragments reading Odysseus and to Odysseus, and a small bronze bust, which it interprets as the Odysseion, the hero shrine of Odysseus mentioned in an ancient inscription from Magnesia.

The palace identification is not the scholarly consensus. The shrine evidence is the strongest find yet that the site was where ancient Ithacans honoured him.

Pilikata hill: Just north of Stavros, with Bronze Age remains and views over three bays. It was the favoured palace candidate of the British excavations in the 1930s and is still argued for today, although nothing found there names Odysseus.

The Homeric Landscape in Practice

Walking or driving the island with the Odyssey in hand produces a specific kind of pleasure — the match between text and landscape is close enough to be thrilling and inexact enough to require imagination. The bay below Vathy has been proposed as the harbour of Phorkys. The high spring of Arethusa, in the southeastern hills, is where Odysseus found his swineherd Eumaeus. The archaeological site at Stavros overlooks the bay where the bronze tripods were found.

This is not the archaeology of certainty. It is the archaeology of myth — layers of possibility, tradition, and wonder.

Map of Odysseus's Journey: From Troy to Ithaca

Homer never gives coordinates, so every map of the Odyssey is a set of proposals. The ones below are the identifications travellers and scholars return to most often, from the near-certain to the hopeful. Only Troy and Ithaca have firm archaeology behind them; for the full case on each stop, see our guide to the real locations of the Odyssey.

In a straight line Troy is about 500 km from Ithaca, a voyage of days, not years. The ten years are the point of the story. Telemachus makes his own shorter journey in the opening books, sailing to King Nestor at Pylos and travelling on to Menelaus at Sparta for news of his father; Nestor's palace is one of the best-preserved Mycenaean sites in Greece, covered in our Pylos travel guide. On Corfu, local tradition says the islet of Pontikonisi is the Phaeacian ship that carried Odysseus home, turned to stone by Poseidon on its way back.

The Odyssey (2026): Was Nolan's Film Shot on Ithaca?

No. Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, released on 17 July 2026 with Matt Damon as Odysseus, Anne Hathaway as Penelope and Tom Holland as Telemachus, did not film on Ithaca. Its Greek scenes were shot in Messenia in the Peloponnese in March 2025, around Pylos, Methoni Castle, Voidokilia beach and Nestor's Cave above it, which stood in for the Cyclops' cave, and at Gialova, with further shooting at Acrocorinth. The rest of the film was made in Morocco, Sicily and the Aeolian Islands, Iceland, Scotland, Malta and on studio stages in Los Angeles.

That has not stopped the film from sending people to the real island. If you want both, the practical plan is a few days on the Messenian coast for the filming locations, then the ferry from Kyllini or Patras across to Kefalonia and Ithaca for the story itself. Our report on Ithaca in 2026 looks at what the film has done to the island's visitor numbers.

What to See: The Key Places on Ithaca

Vathy (the Capital)

Vathy (βαθύς means "deep" — the bay is unusually deep and sheltered) is the capital, main harbour, and commercial centre of Ithaca. The town wraps around the inner bay in a horseshoe of yellow, pink, and cream buildings with red-tiled roofs and a covered market arcade. The waterfront promenade has the best tavernas, cafés, and the ferries.

On the waterfront look out for the bronze Odysseus statue, which shows the hero on one side as a king and on the other as a weary man rowing home, and for the bust of Homer in the town square.

What to see in Vathy:

• The Archaeological Museum of Ithaca: Small but carefully organised, with Bronze Age finds from across the island including pottery from the Mycenaean period, objects from the Loizos Cave, and finds from Alalkomenes. Essential before exploring the mythological sites.
• The islet of Lazaretto: In the bay entrance, a small islet with a 17th-century Venetian quarantine church visible from the waterfront.
• The Folklore Museum: Documents island life from the 18th century onward — boats, costumes, tools, the social history of a small maritime community.

The Cave of the Nymphs (Marmarospilia)

The most directly Homeric site near Vathy. The cave sits above Dexa Bay, the bay usually identified with Homer's harbour of Phorkys, about 3 km northwest of town. It has two openings, as Homer describes, one for mortals and one for the gods, and stalagmite formations that gave it a long life as a place of worship.

It was Poseidon's grudge over the blinding of his son Polyphemus that kept Odysseus from this shore for ten years, and Athena who finally brought him home; our guide to the 12 Olympian gods covers both of them and the rest of the family that decided his fate.

Getting there means a short drive from Vathy and a signposted uphill walk of about half an hour. The cave itself has been closed to visitors for some years, so go for the walk and the view over Dexa Bay rather than expecting to climb inside, and ask in Vathy whether access has reopened.

Stavros and Polis Bay

Stavros is the main village of northern Ithaca — a neat, quiet hillside settlement above the bay of Polis. The Archaeological Museum of Stavros is the most important small museum on the island for the Odysseus connection: it displays the finds from the Polis Bay cave excavations, including fragments of the clay dedication to Odysseus.

The village has a bust of Odysseus in the central square, looking out over the sea, and a scale model of how his palace might have looked. Below, Polis Bay is the sheltered cove where the Loizos Cave and its bronze tripods were found; the cave roof has collapsed and it cannot be entered, but the bay is worth the walk down for a swim.

Alalkomenes (Castle of Odysseus)

On the ridge above the Aetos isthmus, accessible by a steep path from the church of St George, the archaeological site of Alalkomenes (also called "Castle of Odysseus" in the local tradition) has ancient walls, cisterns, and structural remains from multiple periods. The views from the top are spectacular — both halves of the island, the Kefalonian mountains across the channel, and the Ionian Sea extending south.

The School of Homer (Agios Athanasios)

Five minutes' drive north of Stavros on the road to Exogi, the School of Homer is the site to see if you only have time for one. The name is a local tradition with no link to Homer himself; what you find is a hillside of terraces and Cyclopean-looking walls, a rock-cut stairway and the cistern the excavators date to the Mycenaean period. It is an open site in the olive groves, so wear proper shoes and go early or late for the light. The 2025 Odysseion finds are described above in What Archaeology Has Found.

Arethusa Spring and Raven's Rock

In the south of the island a walking path leads from the outskirts of Vathy towards the Marathia plateau and the spring of Arethusa, below the cliff known as Raven's Rock, where Homer places the pig farm of the loyal swineherd Eumaeus. It is the most rewarding Odyssey walk on Ithaca: no ruins, just the landscape Homer describes. Allow half a day there and back, carry water and avoid midday in summer.

Kioni

The most beautiful village in northern Ithaca and, for many visitors, the most beautiful village in the entire island. Kioni sits at the end of a long bay ringed by wooded hills, its whitewashed houses climbing the slopes above a tiny harbour where three windmill towers survive. The bay is sheltered enough for swimming from the quay; the water is clear and warm from June through October.

Kioni is a yacht harbour in summer — the tables at the waterfront tavernas fill with sailors in the evenings. But it is not crowded in the way of a Cycladic tourist village; the access road is long and winding, and the island's general anti-development orientation keeps the atmosphere intact.

Getting to Kioni from Vathy: 25 km by road (winding mountain road, 35–40 minutes), or by water taxi from Vathy harbour (more pleasant and increasingly available in summer).

Find hotels in Ithaca on Booking.com, or compare prices on Agoda for the best deal.

Frikes

A tiny fishing village at the northern tip of the island, Frikes is even quieter than Kioni — a string of tavernas along the waterfront, a small harbour, and little else. Ferry connections to Lefkada and Kefalonia run through Frikes. It is the correct place to have a long lunch and not think about anything.

Anogi

An inland medieval village on the spine of the northern hills, Anogi has the distinctive geological feature of enormous natural rock formations (menhirs) that look, from the road, like standing stones or mythological giants frozen in stone. The most impressive is called Araklis. The 12th-century Byzantine church in the village has remarkable frescoes. The views from Anogi over both coasts of the island are among the best on Ithaca.

Exogi

The highest inhabited village on the island, Exogi looks over the Ionian Sea from the western slopes of the northern hills. Small, traditional, with a church perched at the very peak and olive groves on the terraces below. A good destination for a late-afternoon walk with the light on the sea.

The Best Beaches on Ithaca

Gidaki Beach

The most beautiful beach on the island. A crescent of white sand at the end of a narrow bay on the eastern coast, accessible only by water taxi from Vathy (20 minutes, runs in summer) or by a steep 45-minute hike down through olive groves. The isolation keeps it genuinely uncrowded. No facilities on the beach itself — bring everything you need. The water is shallow, turquoise, and warm.

Filiatro Beach

A sandy beach on the eastern coast south of Vathy, reachable by road. More accessible than Gidaki and therefore busier in high season, but still far less crowded than anything on a major Cycladic island. Good facilities in summer.

Sarakiniko Beach

Distinctive white-pebbled beach in a sheltered cove on the southeastern coast. The name (Saracen) suggests it was once a pirate anchorage. Deep, clear water ideal for snorkelling.

Platia Ammos

A remote beach near the northern tip of the island, accessible only by boat or a long hike. White pebbles, crystal-clear water, minimal development.

Afales

A long, wild, exposed beach on the northwestern coast near Platrithias — different in character from the sheltered coves elsewhere on the island, with more swell and a sense of openness toward the north.

For the full beach list, which beaches have sunbeds and which need a boat, see the beaches section of our Ithaca travel guide.

Getting to Ithaca

Ithaca has no airport, so every arrival is by sea. The closest airport is Kefalonia (EFL), near Argostoli: allow about 40 minutes by road to the port of Sami, then a 30 to 45 minute crossing to Piso Aetos on Ithaca's west coast, 15 minutes by taxi from Vathy.

From the mainland:

• Astakos (mainland) → Piso Aetos, Ithaca: the direct route from the mainland coast of Aetolia-Acarnania; sailings are limited, so check the current timetable before you plan around it
• Patras → Sami (Kefalonia) → Ithaca: the classic route from the Peloponnese, changing at Sami; seasonal services from Kyllini also run via Kefalonia

From Kefalonia:

• Sami (Kefalonia) → Piso Aetos (Ithaca): 30 to 45 minutes; several crossings daily in season, and the route most visitors use

From Lefkada:

• Nidri (Lefkada) → Frikes (Ithaca): 1.5 hours; runs in summer

Internal transport on Ithaca: There is no public bus service of note. Renting a car or scooter is strongly recommended for exploring the island beyond Vathy. Taxis operate from Vathy.

When to Go to Ithaca

Best months: June and September–October. June is warm but pre-peak-season, so accommodation and ferries are manageable. September and October offer the best combination of warm swimming weather, quiet beaches, and the island at its most itself.

July and August: The high season. The island gets significantly busier — particularly Vathy's waterfront and Kioni — but "busy" by Ithaca standards is still very quiet compared to any major tourist island. Accommodation must be booked well in advance.

Spring (April–May): The island is green and wildflower-covered; the weather is mild; the water is cool but swimmable for some. Excellent for hiking and cultural visits. Many accommodation options and restaurants open in April.

Winter: Much of the island shuts down from November to March. The ferry schedules are reduced. Some year-round residents maintain a few tavernas; the atmosphere is that of an authentic working Greek island rather than a tourist destination.

For where to stay, prices and a three-day itinerary, our Ithaca travel guide covers the practical side in detail.

Ithaca in Literature: Cavafy's "Ithaka"

No guide to Ithaca can omit Constantine Cavafy's 1911 poem "Ithaka" — one of the most widely quoted poems of the 20th century, which uses Odysseus's journey as a metaphor for any meaningful life's work:

"As you set out for Ithaka / hope the voyage is a long one, / full of adventure, full of discovery."

Cavafy's poem argues that Ithaca itself is not the point — the point is the journey toward it, the things you encounter, the wisdom you accumulate. Ithaca has nothing left to give you, says Cavafy, once you are wise enough to understand what the journey has meant.

For visitors, the poem creates a productive paradox: you come to Ithaca expecting to arrive, and find instead that the journey — the small ferries between islands, the winding mountain roads, the village squares in the evening — was itself the thing.

For Ithaca's connection to Greek mythology more broadly — including the Odyssey, Homer's geography, and how the island fits into the wider mythological map of Greece — see the Greek mythology guide.

Ithaca and the Odyssey: FAQs

Where is Ithaca, Greece?

Ithaca is an island in the Ionian Sea off the west coast of Greece, just east of Kefalonia and south of Lefkada, about 270 km west of Athens. It has no airport: most visitors fly to Kefalonia and take the 30 to 45 minute ferry from Sami to Piso Aetos.

Is Ithaca a real place?

Yes. Ithaca, called Ithaki in modern Greek, is a real island of about 2,900 people with its capital at Vathy. Most scholars accept it as the Ithaca of Homer's Odyssey, though a minority argue for the Paliki peninsula of Kefalonia or for Lefkada.

Is Ithaca the home of Odysseus?

In Homer it is, and the island has the archaeology to back the tradition: a cult of Odysseus at the Loizos Cave on Polis Bay, and inscribed fragments naming him at the School of Homer, announced in 2025. No site has been proven to be his palace.

Is Ithaca in Athens?

No. Ithaca is an island in the Ionian Sea on the opposite side of Greece, about 270 km west of Athens. From Athens the quickest route is a flight to Kefalonia and then the ferry.

What sea is Ithaca in?

The Ionian Sea, the part of the Mediterranean between western Greece and southern Italy, not the Aegean.

Who was king of Ithaca in the Odyssey?

Odysseus, son of Laertes. His wife Penelope and son Telemachus held the palace during his twenty-year absence, ten at Troy and ten on the journey home.

Was Odysseus from Ithaca or Kefalonia?

Homer says Ithaca, and that Odysseus led a small kingdom that also included Same, linked to Kefalonia, and Zakynthos. The theory that Homer's Ithaca was really Kefalonia's Paliki peninsula is still debated but is a minority view.

How far is Ithaca from Troy?

About 500 km in a straight line from Troy, in northwest Türkiye, to Ithaca. The Odyssey stretches the journey home to ten years.

Was The Odyssey (2026) filmed on Ithaca?

No. Nolan's film shot its Greek scenes in Messenia, around Pylos, Methoni and Voidokilia, and at Acrocorinth, along with locations in Morocco, Italy, Iceland, Scotland and Malta. Ithaca itself was not a filming location.

Can you visit Odysseus's palace?

You can visit the School of Homer near Stavros, which its excavators link to Odysseus, and Pilikata hill nearby. Neither is proven to be his palace, but both are open sites and are the best places to look.

How do you get to Ithaca from Athens?

Fly from Athens to Kefalonia, about an hour, then drive or take a taxi to Sami for the 30 to 45 minute ferry to Piso Aetos. Alternatively, take the ferry from Patras to Sami, or the direct ferry from Astakos on the mainland.

What is the best time to visit Ithaca?

June and September to early October: warm sea, quieter villages and full ferry timetables. July and August are busiest; April and May are best for walking the Homeric sites.

Is Ithaca, New York named after Ithaca, Greece?

Yes. The town in upstate New York was named after the Greek island in the 1790s, when the surveyors of central New York gave many townships classical names.

How long was Odysseus gone from Ithaca?

Twenty years: ten fighting at Troy and ten trying to get home, about seven of them as Calypso's captive on Ogygia and one with Circe.

Why does Poseidon hate Odysseus?

Because Odysseus blinded Poseidon's son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and then shouted his own name as he sailed away. Polyphemus asked his father for revenge, and Poseidon kept Odysseus from Ithaca for ten years.

How many suitors did Odysseus kill?

All 108 of them, with the help of Telemachus and two loyal herdsmen, after winning the contest of the bow in his own hall on Ithaca.

Does Odysseus die in the Odyssey?

No. The Odyssey ends with Odysseus alive on Ithaca. A later, lost epic called the Telegony says he was killed by Telegonus, his son by Circe.

Was Odysseus a real person?

There is no historical evidence for him, but ancient Ithacans worshipped him as their local hero, as finds at Polis Bay and the School of Homer show.

Is Ulysses the same as Odysseus?

Yes. Ulysses comes from Ulixes, the Latin name for Odysseus.

Is Ithaca worth visiting?

Yes, if you want a quiet, green Ionian island with real Homeric sites, good swimming and no big resorts. It suits two or three nights; for where to stay and what to do, see our Ithaca travel guide.

Plan Your Ithaca Trip

• Ithaca Travel Guide — where to stay, eat and a three-day itinerary
• The Real Locations of the Odyssey — every stop from Troy to Scheria
• Pylos Travel Guide — Nestor's Palace and the Odyssey filming locations
• Kefalonia Travel Guide — the neighbouring island with the closest airport
• Lefkada Travel Guide — ferry connections from Nidri
• Zakynthos Travel Guide — nearby Ionian island
• Ancient Greece Guide — the mythology context for the Odyssey
• Greek Mythology Guide — all the mythological places in Greece
• How to Plan a Trip to Greece — the full planning framework