In Search of Homeric Ithaca by Jonathan Brown

The author examines the Odyssey in detail, draws on ancient and modern scholarly texts (some translated into English for the first time), reproduces antique and contemporary maps, and satellite imagery, quotes from the accounts of earlier travellers and topographers, sails the Ionian Sea, and above all, walks the landscape of Ithaca exploring the extent to which the island matches the Ithaca of the poem.

The result is a treasure trove of documentation and discovery. The author proposes new explanations for some age-old problems: where was Dulichium? Where did Telemachus land in Ithaca? Where was the city? Where was the palace of Odysseus? He suggests localities for them all. His analytical approach is informed by wide research into historical, literary, and archaeological sources, and is abundantly illustrated. For the first time, several Ithacan landmarks that conform closely to the words and action of the Odyssey are identified.

435 pp. • hardback • 270 illustrations • 35 maps • Satellite imagery • List of ancient writers

Published by Parrot Press (23 August 2020)