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106-557: The first period of existence of its Medical School was from 1824 to 1828. The second from 1844 to 1865 (when the Ionian islands united with Greece). Many of the physicians at the academy had followed the traditional path of studying in Italy, and in particular at the medical School of Bologna. Their scientific and educational activities in establishing the high level of the Medical School influenced

212-653: A clay cup found in Ischia , Italy, are the words "Nestor's cup, good to drink from." Some scholars, such as Calvert Watkins , have tied this cup to a description of King Nestor's golden cup in the Iliad. If the cup is an allusion to the Iliad , that poem's composition can be dated to at least 700–750 BC. Dating is similarly complicated by the fact that the Homeric poems, or sections of them, were performed regularly by rhapsodes for several hundred years. The Odyssey as it exists today

318-480: A 6.4-magnitude earthquake south of the island caused no injuries, but damaged the local pier and a 13th-century monastery. Zakynthos lies in the eastern part of the Ionian sea, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of the Greek ( Peloponnese ) mainland. The island of Kefalonia lies 15 kilometres (9 miles) to the north. It is the southernmost of the main group of the Ionian islands (not counting distant Kythira ). Zakynthos

424-429: A chieftain named Mentes , Athena visits Telemachus to urge him to search for news of his father. He offers her hospitality, and they observe the suitors dining rowdily while Phemius , the bard , performs a narrative poem for them. That night, Athena, disguised as Telemachus, finds a ship and crew for the true prince. The next morning, Telemachus calls an assembly of citizens of Ithaca to discuss what should be done with

530-479: A fig tree. Washed ashore on Ogygia , he remained there as Calypso's lover. Having listened to his story, the Phaeacians agree to provide Odysseus with more treasure than he would have received from the spoils of Troy. They deliver him at night, while he is fast asleep, to a hidden harbour on Ithaca. Odysseus awakens and believes that he has been dropped on a distant land before Athena appears to him and reveals that he

636-544: A force of about 1,000 heavy infantry, led by the Spartan admiral Cnemus , in an attack upon Zakynthos. Although the attackers managed to burn much of the surrounding countryside, the city itself refused to surrender and the attack ultimately failed. The Zakynthians are then enumerated among the autonomous allies of Athens in the disastrous Sicilian expedition . After the Peloponnesian War , Zakynthos seems to have passed under

742-443: A grammarian and satirist. Towards the end of the 18th century, the so-called Heptanese School of Literature developed, consisting mainly of lyrical and satirical poetry in the vein of Romanticism prevalent throughout Europe at the time. It also contributed to the development of modern Greek theatre. An important poet of this school was Zakynthian Dionysios Solomos ; another was Nikolaos Koutouzis , who also figures prominently in

848-458: A long voyage by way of Egypt. There, on the island of Pharos , Menelaus encounters the old sea-god Proteus , who tells him that Odysseus was a captive of the nymph Calypso . Telemachus learns the fate of Menelaus's brother, Agamemnon , king of Mycenae and leader of the Greeks at Troy: he was murdered on his return home by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus . The story briefly shifts to

954-412: A massive boulder and proceeded to eat Odysseus's men. Odysseus devised an escape plan in which he, identifying himself as "Nobody," plied Polyphemus with wine and blinded him with a wooden stake. When Polyphemus cried out, his neighbors left after Polyphemus claimed that "Nobody" had attacked him. Odysseus and his men finally escaped the cave by hiding on the underbellies of the sheep as they were let out of

1060-569: A particular version of the text had become canonised. The Iliad and the Odyssey were widely copied and used as school texts in lands where the Greek language was spoken throughout antiquity. Scholars may have begun to write commentaries on the poems as early as the time of Aristotle in the 4th century BC. In the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, scholars affiliated with the Library of Alexandria —particularly Zenodotus and Aristarchus of Samothrace —edited

1166-448: A pile of leaves and falls asleep. The next morning, awakened by girls' laughter, he sees the young Nausicaä , who has gone to the seashore with her maids after Athena told her in a dream to do so. He appeals for help. She encourages him to seek the hospitality of her parents, Arete and Alcinous . Alcinous promises to provide him a ship to return him home without knowing the identity of Odysseus. He remains for several days. Odysseus asks

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1272-451: A re-telling of the Odyssey set in Dublin , is divided into eighteen sections ("episodes") which can be mapped roughly onto the twenty-four books of the Odyssey . Joyce claimed familiarity with the original Homeric Greek, but this has been disputed by some scholars, who cite his poor grasp of the language as evidence to the contrary. The book, and especially its stream of consciousness prose,

1378-685: A result a Greek-Norwegian educational collaboration is being established on the island. Science Park Zakynthos is a collaboration between the Technological Educational Institute of the Ionian Islands (TEI), the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB), and the Therianos Villas and Therianos Family Farm on Zakynthos. Among the most famous Zakynthians is the 19th-century poet Dionysios Solomos , whose statue adorns

1484-466: A type scene in the Odyssey. Two important parts of an omen type scene are the recognition of the omen, followed by its interpretation . In the Odyssey , all of the bird omens—with the exception of the first—show large birds attacking smaller birds. Accompanying each omen is a wish which can be either explicitly stated or only implied. For example, Telemachus wishes for vengeance and for Odysseus to be home, Penelope wishes for Odysseus' return, and

1590-409: A very specific type scene that accompanies it. Throughout the epic, the testing of others follows a typical pattern. This pattern is: Omens occur frequently throughout the Odyssey . Within the epic poem, they frequently involve birds. According to Thornton, most crucial is who receives each omen and in what way it manifests. For instance, bird omens are shown to Telemachus, Penelope, Odysseus, and

1696-486: A world beyond man and that influences the fact he cannot return home. These beings that are close to the gods include the Phaeacians who lived near the Cyclopes, whose king, Alcinous, is the great-grandson of the king of the giants, Eurymedon , and the grandson of Poseidon. Some of the other characters that Odysseus encounters are the cyclops Polyphemus , the son of Poseidon; Circe, a sorceress who turns men into animals; and

1802-549: Is twinned with: Odyssey The Odyssey ( / ˈ ɒ d ɪ s i / ; Ancient Greek : Ὀδύσσεια , romanized :  Odýsseia ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer . It is one of the oldest works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. Like the Iliad , the Odyssey is divided into 24 books . It follows the Greek hero Odysseus , king of Ithaca , and his journey home after

1908-448: Is about 40 kilometres (25 miles) long and 20 kilometres (12 miles) wide, and covers an area of 405.55 km (156.58 sq mi). Its coastline is approximately 123 km (76 mi) long. According to the 2011 census, the island has a population of 40,759. The highest point is Vrachionas , at 758 metres (2,487 feet). Zakynthos has the shape of an arrowhead , with the "tip" (Cape Skinari) pointing northwest. The western half of

2014-433: Is discovered by the housekeeper Eurycleia when she recognizes an old scar as she is washing his feet. Eurycleia tries to tell Penelope about the beggar's true identity, but Athena makes sure that Penelope cannot hear her. Odysseus swears Eurycleia to secrecy. The next day, at Athena's prompting, Penelope maneuvers the suitors into competing for her hand with an archery competition using Odysseus's bow. The man who can string

2120-533: Is especially remarkable when contrasted with the Iliad , which centres the exploits of soldiers and kings during the Trojan War. The Odyssey is regarded as one of the most significant works of the Western canon . The first English translation of the Odyssey was in the 16th century. Adaptations and re-imaginings continue to be produced across a wide variety of media . In 2018, when BBC Culture polled experts around

2226-436: Is indeed on Ithaca. She hides his treasure in a nearby cave and disguises him as an elderly beggar so he can see how things stand in his household. He finds his way to the hut of one of his own slaves, swineherd Eumaeus , who treats him hospitably and speaks favorably of Odysseus. After dinner, the disguised Odysseus tells the farm laborers a fictitious tale of himself. Telemachus sails home from Sparta, evading an ambush set by

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2332-465: Is likely not significantly different. Aside from minor differences, the Homeric poems gained a canonical place in the institutions of ancient Athens by the 6th century. In 566 BC, Peisistratos instituted a civic and religious festival called the Panathenaia , which featured performances of Homeric poems. These are significant because a "correct" version of the poems had to be performed, indicating that

2438-404: Is ordered to release him by the messenger god Hermes , who has been sent by Zeus in response to Athena's plea. Odysseus builds a raft and is given clothing, food, and drink by Calypso. When Poseidon learns that Odysseus has escaped, he wrecks the raft, but helped by a veil given by the sea nymph Ino , Odysseus swims ashore on Scherie , the island of the Phaeacians. Naked and exhausted, he hides in

2544-402: Is that he will eat him last. Calypso also exemplifies poor guest-friendship because she does not allow Odysseus to leave her island. Another important factor to guest-friendship is that kingship implies generosity. It is assumed that a king has the means to be a generous host and is more generous with his own property. This is best seen when Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, begs Antinous, one of

2650-453: The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey . Both Odysseus and Gilgamesh are known for traveling to the ends of the earth and on their journeys go to the land of the dead. On his voyage to the underworld, Odysseus follows instructions given to him by Circe, who is located at the edges of the world and is associated through imagery with the sun. Like Odysseus, Gilgamesh gets directions on how to reach

2756-535: The Odyssey , stating that its first inhabitants were the son of King Dardanos of Arcadia, called Zakynthos, and his men. Before being renamed Zakynthos, the island was said to have been called Hyrie. Zakynthos was then conquered by King Arkesios of Kefalonia , and then by Odysseus from Ithaca . Zakynthos participated in the Trojan War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships which, if accurate, describes

2862-574: The Iliad , Alexander Pope began to translate the Odyssey because of his financial situation. His second translation was not received as favourably as the first. Emily Wilson , a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania , notes that as late as the first decade of the 21st century, almost all of the most prominent translators of Greek and Roman literature had been men. She calls her experience of translating Homer one of "intimate alienation." Wilson writes that this has affected

2968-682: The Ionian Islands , it receives sizeable amounts of precipitation during the winter while the summers are mostly hot and sunny. The average annual temperature stands at around 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) while humidity is fairly high throughout the year, even during the summer months. Famous landmarks include the Navagio beach , a cove on the northwest shore isolated by high cliffs and accessible only by boat. Numerous natural "blue caves" are cut into cliffs around Cape Skinari; they are accessible only by small boats, which are popular amongst tourists. Keri , on

3074-601: The Odyssey alone spans nearly 2,000 oversized pages in a twentieth-century edition. The first printed edition of the Odyssey , known as the editio princeps , was produced in 1488 by the Greek scholar Demetrios Chalkokondyles , who had been born in Athens and had studied in Constantinople. His edition was printed in Milan by a Greek printer named Antonios Damilas. Since the late 19th century, many papyri containing fragments of

3180-576: The Odyssey and the Iliad , published together in 1616 but serialised earlier, were the first to enjoy widespread success. The texts had been published in translation before, with some translated not from the original Greek. Chapman worked on these for a large part of his life. In 1581, Arthur Hall translated the first 10 books of the Iliad from a French version. Chapman's translations persisted in popularity, and are often remembered today through John Keats ' sonnet " On First Looking into Chapman's Homer " (1816). Years after completing his translation of

3286-572: The Odyssey have been found in Egypt, some with content different from later medieval versions. In 2018, the Greek Cultural Ministry revealed the discovery of a clay tablet near the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, containing 13 verses from the Odyssey 's 14th book. While it was initially reported to date from the 3rd century AD, the date is unconfirmed. George Chapman 's English translations of

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3392-746: The Pisans in 1099, it was captured by Margaritus of Brindisi in 1185, and thereafter formed part of the County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos . A Latin bishopric was installed on the island, alongside the Orthodox one. By 1460, and during the reign of Mehmed II , the Ottoman Turks eventually controlled most of the Peloponnese with the exception of the remaining Venetian-controlled towns of Argos , Nafplio , Monemvassia , Methoni , and Koroni . After

3498-680: The Slavic invasions of the 6th–7th centuries, as no Slavic names are attested on the island. During the middle Byzantine period (7th–12th centuries), Zakynthos belonged to the Theme of Cephallenia , and the local bishopric was likewise a suffragan of Cephallenia (and later of the Metropolis of Corinth ). In 880, the Aghlabids raided Zakynthos, but were defeated by the Byzantine navy under Nasar . Plundered by

3604-491: The Trojan War . After the war, which lasted ten years, his journey from Troy to Ithaca, via Africa and southern Europe, lasted for ten additional years during which time he encountered many perils and all of his crewmates were killed. In his absence, Odysseus was assumed dead, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus had to contend with a group of unruly suitors who were competing for Penelope's hand in marriage. The Odyssey

3710-612: The United States of the Ionian Islands until the Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece in 1864. During the Axis occupation of Greece , Mayor Loukas Karrer and Bishop Chrysostomos Dimitriou refused German orders to turn in a list of the members of the town's Jewish community for deportation to the death camps. Instead they hid all (or most) of the town's Jewish people in rural villages. According to some sources, all 275 Jews of Zakynthos survived

3816-533: The Venetian form, traditionally Latinized as Zacynthus ) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea . It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands , with an area of 405.55 km (156.6 sq mi), and a coastline 123 km (76 mi) in length. The name, like all similar names ending in -nthos , is pre- Mycenaean or Pelasgian in origin. In Greek mythology , the island was said to be named after Zacynthus ,

3922-499: The eighth circle of hell , where Odysseus appends a new ending to the Odyssey in which he never returns to Ithaca and instead continues his restless adventuring. Edith Hall suggests that Dante's depiction of Odysseus became understood as a manifestation of Renaissance colonialism and othering , with the cyclops standing in for "accounts of monstrous races on the edge of the world", and his defeat as symbolising "the Roman domination of

4028-462: The lotus-eaters who gave his men their fruit which caused them to forget their homecoming. Odysseus had to drag them back to the ship by force. Afterward, Odysseus and his men landed on a lush, uninhabited island near the land of the Cyclopes . The men entered the cave of Polyphemus , where they found all the cheeses and meat they desired. Upon returning to his cave, Polyphemus sealed the entrance with

4134-496: The Greek medical science as a whole. In particular, George Therianos (Prof of General and Comparative Anatomy and Experimental Physics) from the island of Zante (Zakynthos) met the Earl of Guilford in 1825 in England and was given the position of professor of the academy's Medical School. Giovanni Carandino (Ioannis Karantinos), who had already learnt mathematics with Charles Dupin at

4240-541: The Heptanese School of Painting. Others include Georgios Tertsetis (1800–1873), politician, poet, and historian. The 1998 novel 'Fugitive Pieces' by Canadian author Anne Michaels includes a section set on Zakynthos during the Nazi occupation. The young Jewish narrator, Jakob Beer, is hidden in a rural home. He notes that while he enjoyed the luxury of a room, 'thousands were stuffed into baking stoves, sewers, garbage bins. In

4346-592: The Homeric poems, wrote commentaries on them, and helped establish the canonical texts. The Iliad and the Odyssey remained widely studied and used as school texts in the Byzantine Empire during the Middle Ages . The Byzantine Greek scholar and archbishop Eustathios of Thessalonike ( c.  1115  – c.  1195/6 AD ) wrote exhaustive commentaries on both of the Homeric epics that became seen by later generations as authoritative; his commentary on

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4452-487: The Zakynthos town contains a small Venetian castle. Zakynthos is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. The seat of administration is Zakynthos , the main town of the island. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform , the regional unit Zakynthos was created out of the former prefecture Zakynthos ( Greek : Νομός Ζακύνθου ). The prefecture had

4558-545: The blind singer Demodocus to tell the story of the Trojan Horse , a stratagem in which Odysseus had played a leading role. Unable to hide his emotion as he relives this episode, Odysseus at last reveals his identity. He then tells the story of his return from Troy. Odysseus recounts his story to the Phaeacians. After a failed raid against the Cicones , Odysseus and his twelve ships were driven off course by storms. Odysseus visited

4664-406: The bow and shoot an arrow through a dozen axe heads would win. Odysseus takes part in the competition, and he alone is strong enough to string the bow and shoot the arrow through the dozen axe heads, making him the winner. He then throws off his rags and kills Antinous with his next arrow. Odysseus kills the other suitors, first using the rest of the arrows and then, along with Telemachus, Eumaeus, and

4770-550: The cannibalistic giants, the Laestrygonians. Throughout the course of the epic, Odysseus encounters several examples of xenia ("guest-friendship"), which provide models of how hosts should and should not act. The Phaeacians demonstrate exemplary guest-friendship by feeding Odysseus, giving him a place to sleep, and granting him many gifts and a safe voyage home, which are all things a good host should do. Polyphemus demonstrates poor guest-friendship. His only "gift" to Odysseus

4876-471: The cave. As they escaped, however, Odysseus taunted Polyphemus and revealed himself. The Cyclops prayed to his father Poseidon, asking him to curse Odysseus to wander for ten years. After the escape, Aeolus gave Odysseus a leather bag containing all the winds except the west wind, a gift that should have ensured a safe return home. Just as Ithaca came into sight, the sailors opened the bag while Odysseus slept, thinking it contained gold. The winds flew out, and

4982-520: The citadel. It was afterwards restored to Philip V of Macedon. The Roman general Marcus Fulvius Nobilior finally conquered Zakynthos in 191 BC for Rome. In the Mithridatic War , it was attacked by Archelaus, the general of Mithridates, but he was repulsed. In 459, the island was plundered by the Vandals under Geiseric , who carried off 500 local aristocrats. Zakynthos appears to have been spared from

5088-570: The collapse of the Hexamilion , which was supposed to act as a defense across the Isthmus of Corinth , and hence, protect the Peloponnese, Leonardo III Tocco made an agreement with Venice to accept 10,000 refugees from this region. Leonardo III Tocco and his realm were increasingly vulnerable to Ottoman Turkish attacks. These refugees consisted of Greeks, Arvanites , and some Venetian officials. Zakynthos

5194-511: The cowherd Philoetius, with swords and spears. Once the battle is won, Telemachus also hangs twelve of their household maids whom Eurycleia identifies as guilty of betraying Penelope or having sex with the suitors. Odysseus identifies himself to Penelope. She is hesitant but recognizes him when he mentions that he made their bed from an olive tree still rooted to the ground. She embraces him and they sleep. The next day, Odysseus goes to his father Laertes 's farm and reveals himself. Following them to

5300-542: The crawlspaces of double ceilings, in stables, pigsties, chicken coops'. The narrative refers to Mayor Karrer and Archbishop Chrysostomos's refusal to collaborate with the Germans. The island is covered by a network of roads, particularly the flat eastern part, with main routes linking the capital with Volimes in the north, Keri in the south, and the Vassiliki peninsula in the west. The road between Volimes and Lithakia connects

5406-428: The crew overriding Odysseus's wishes to remain away from the island. Zeus caused a storm that prevented them from leaving, causing them to deplete the food given to them by Circe. While Odysseus was away praying, his men ignored the warnings of Tiresias and Circe and hunted the sacred cattle. Helios insisted that Zeus punish the men for this sacrilege. They suffered a shipwreck, and all but Odysseus drowned as he clung to

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5512-515: The end of the Odyssey . For instance, one example is that of Agamemnon's homecoming versus Odysseus'. Upon Agamemnon's return, his wife Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus, kill Agamemnon. Agamemnon's son, Orestes , out of vengeance for his father's death, kills Aegisthus. This parallel compares the death of the suitors to the death of Aegisthus and sets Orestes up as an example for Telemachus. Also, because Odysseus knows about Clytemnestra's betrayal, Odysseus returns home in disguise in order to test

5618-452: The farm is a group of Ithacans, led by Eupeithes , father of Antinous, who are out for revenge for the murder of the suitors. A battle breaks out, but it is quickly stopped by Athena and Zeus. The Odyssey is 12,109 lines composed in dactylic hexameter , also called Homeric hexameter. It opens in medias res , in the middle of the overall story, with prior events described through flashbacks and storytelling. The 24 books correspond to

5724-583: The geopolitical situation in early Greece at some time between the Late Bronze Age and the eighth century BC. In the Odyssey , Homer mentions 20 nobles from Zakynthos among a total of 108 of Penelope's suitors. The Athenian military commander Tolmides concluded an alliance with Zakynthos during the First Peloponnesian War , sometime between 459 and 446 BC. In 430 BC, the Lacedaemonians led

5830-569: The homeland of Odysseus, which may or may not be the same island that is now called Ithakē (modern Greek: Ιθάκη ). The wanderings of Odysseus as told to the Phaeacians, and the location of the Phaeacians' own island of Scheria, pose more fundamental problems, if geography is to be applied: scholars, both ancient and modern, are divided as to whether any of the places visited by Odysseus (after Ismaros and before his return to Ithaca) are real. Both antiquated and contemporary scholars have attempted to map Odysseus's journey but now largely agree that

5936-433: The host's home. Another theme throughout the Odyssey is testing. This occurs in two distinct ways. Odysseus tests the loyalty of others and others test Odysseus' identity. An example of Odysseus testing the loyalties of others is when he returns home. Instead of immediately revealing his identity, he arrives disguised as a beggar and then proceeds to determine who in his house has remained loyal to him and who has helped

6042-522: The insolent suitors, who then scoff at Telemachus. Accompanied by Athena (now disguised as Mentor ), the son of Odysseus departs for the Greek mainland to the household of Nestor , most venerable of the Greek warriors at Troy , who resided in Pylos after the war. From there, Telemachus rides to Sparta , accompanied by Nestor's son . There he finds Menelaus and Helen , who are now reconciled. Both Helen and Menelaus also say that they returned to Sparta after

6148-423: The island is a mountainous plateau and the southwest coast consists mostly of steep cliffs. The eastern half is a densely populated fertile plain with long sandy beaches, interrupted with several isolated hills, notably Bochali which overlooks the city and the peninsula of Vasilikos in the northeast. The peninsulas of Vassilikos to the north and Marathia to the south enclose the wide and shallow bay of Laganas on

6254-522: The island is the Rimada , a 16th-century romance in verse about Alexander the Great . Notable early writers include Tzanes Koroneos, author of Andragathemata of Bouas , a work of historical fiction; Nikolaos Loukanis , a 16th-century Renaissance humanist; Markos Defaranas (1503–1575), possibly the author of the Rimada ; Pachomios Roussanos (1508–1553), a scholar and theologian; and Antonio Catiforo (1685–1763),

6360-425: The island of Ithaca with his mother Penelope and the suitors of Penelope , a crowd of 108 boisterous young men who each aim to persuade Penelope for her hand in marriage, all the while reveling in the king's palace and eating up his wealth. Odysseus's protectress, the goddess Athena , asks Zeus , king of the gods , to finally allow Odysseus to return home when Poseidon is absent from Mount Olympus . Disguised as

6466-452: The island of Thrinacia and that failure to do so would result in the loss of his ship and his entire crew. He then meets his dead mother Anticleia and first learns of the suitors and what happened in Ithaca in his absence. Odysseus also converses with his dead comrades from Troy. Returning to Aeaea, they buried Elpenor and were advised by Circe on the remaining stages of the journey. They skirted

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6572-559: The island with dense vegetation. The principal agricultural products are olive oil , currants , grapes and citrus fruit. The Zante currant is a small sweet seedless grape that is native to the island. The Bay of Laganas is the site of the first National Marine Park and the prime nesting area for loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta ) in the Mediterranean. Zakynthos has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa ) with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, rainy winters. Like most of

6678-459: The land of the Sirens . All of the sailors had their ears plugged up with beeswax, except for Odysseus, who was tied to the mast as he wanted to hear the song. He told his sailors not to untie him as it would only make him drown himself. They then passed between the six-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis . Scylla claimed six of his men. Next, they landed on the island of Thrinacia, with

6784-412: The land of the dead from a divine helper: the goddess Siduri , who, like Circe, dwells by the sea at the ends of the earth, whose home is also associated with the sun. Gilgamesh reaches Siduri's house by passing through a tunnel underneath Mt. Mashu , the high mountain from which the sun comes into the sky. West argues that the similarity of Odysseus' and Gilgamesh's journeys to the edges of the earth are

6890-542: The landscapes, especially of the Apologia (Books 9 to 11), include too many mythic aspects as features to be unequivocally mappable. Classicist Peter T. Struck created an interactive map which plots Odysseus's travels, including his near homecoming which was thwarted by the bag of wind. Scholars have seen strong influences from Near Eastern mythology and literature in the Odyssey . Martin West notes substantial parallels between

6996-425: The last 548 lines of the Odyssey , corresponding to Book 24, are believed by many scholars to have been added by a slightly later poet. The events in the main sequence of the Odyssey (excluding Odysseus's embedded narrative of his wanderings) have been said to take place in the Peloponnese and in what are now called the Ionian Islands . There are difficulties in the apparently simple identification of Ithaca,

7102-579: The letters of the Greek alphabet ; the division was likely made after the poem's composition, by someone other than Homer, but is generally accepted. In the Classical period , some of the books (individually and in groups) were commonly given their own titles: Book 22 concludes the Greek Epic Cycle , though fragments remain of the "alternative ending" of sorts known as the Telegony . The Telegony aside,

7208-490: The loyalty of his own wife, Penelope. Later, Agamemnon praises Penelope for not killing Odysseus. It is because of Penelope that Odysseus has fame and a successful homecoming. This successful homecoming is unlike Achilles , who has fame but is dead, and Agamemnon, who had an unsuccessful homecoming resulting in his death. Only two of Odysseus's adventures are described by the narrator. The rest of Odysseus' adventures are recounted by Odysseus himself. The two scenes described by

7314-524: The main port there is a connection to the port of Kyllini , which is the usual place of arrival to the island by sea from the mainland. From the port of Agios Nikolaos there is a connection to the island of Kefalonia . Ionian University 's Department of Environment has been located on Zakynthos since 2003. It has developed laboratory and field station infrastructures in Zakynthos and the Strofades islets . Freshwater resources on Zakynthos are limited, and as

7420-542: The main town square. The Italian poet Ugo Foscolo was born in Zakynthos: he wrote the sonnet " A Zacinto " dedicated to the island. The famous Renaissance surgeon and anatomist Andreas Vesalius died on Zakynthos after being shipwrecked while making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His body is thought to have been buried on the island but the site has been lost. Early 19th-century poet and playwright Elizabeth Moutzan-Martinegou

7526-477: The narrator are Odysseus on Calypso's island and Odysseus' encounter with the Phaeacians. These scenes are told by the poet to represent an important transition in Odysseus' journey: being concealed to returning home. Calypso's name comes from the Greek word kalúptō ( καλύπτω ), meaning 'to cover' or 'conceal', which is apt, as this is exactly what she does with Odysseus. Calypso keeps Odysseus concealed from

7632-449: The oldest works of extant literature commonly read by Western audiences. As an imaginary voyage , it is considered a distant forerunner of the science fiction genre, and, says science fiction scholar Brian Stableford , "there are more science-fictional transfigurations of the Odyssey than of any other literary text". In Canto XXVI of the Inferno , Dante Alighieri meets Odysseus in

7738-423: The original Greek, the word used is hai , the feminine article, equivalent to "those female people". The influence of the Homeric texts can be difficult to summarise because of how greatly they have affected the popular imagination and cultural values. The Odyssey and the Iliad formed the basis of education for members of ancient Mediterranean society. That curriculum was adopted by Western humanists, meaning

7844-753: The original Ionian Academy established by the French during their occupation of the Septinsular Republic (1807–1824), was sent by Lord Guilford to study at the École Polytechnique in Paris, France, in Italy and in England between 1820 and 1823, and became the director of the school of Mathematics at the academy. The academy gave Public courses in Sciences, Ethics and humanities, it offered subjects like, Physiology, Botany, political economy and Penal and Civil law. George Bowen

7950-459: The poem was performed by an aoidos or rhapsode and was more likely to be heard than read. Crucial themes in the poem include the ideas of nostos (νόστος; "return"), wandering, xenia (ξενία; "guest-friendship"), testing, and omens. Scholars still reflect on the narrative significance of certain groups in the poem, such as women and slaves, who have a more prominent role in the epic than in many other works of ancient literature. This focus

8056-414: The popular conception of characters and events of the Odyssey, inflecting the story with connotations not present in the original text: "For instance, in the scene where Telemachus oversees the hanging of the slaves who have been sleeping with the suitors, most translations introduce derogatory language ("sluts" or "whores") [...] The original Greek does not label these slaves with derogatory language." In

8162-512: The port of Kyllini on the mainland. Another ferry connects the village of Agios Nikolaos to Argostoli on Kefalonia. Minor uninhabited islands around Zakynthos included in the municipality and regional unit are: Marathonisi, Pelouzo, Agios Sostis in the Laganas bay, Agios Nikolaos near the eponymous harbor on the northern tip, and Agios Ioannis near Porto Vromi on the western coast. The mild Mediterranean climate and plentiful winter rainfall endow

8268-529: The result of the influence of the Gilgamesh epic upon the Odyssey . In 1914, paleontologist Othenio Abel surmised the origins of the Cyclops to be the result of ancient Greeks finding an elephant skull. The enormous nasal passage in the middle of the forehead could have looked like the eye socket of a giant, to those who had never seen a living elephant. Classical scholars, on the other hand, have long known that

8374-493: The rural population's growth rate is higher than that of the urban population in Zakynthos. Out of the 507 births, 141 were in urban areas and 366 were in rural areas. Out of the 407 deaths, 124 were in urban areas and 283 were in rural areas. Since Zakynthos was under the rule of the Venetian Republic, it had closer contact with Western literary trends than other areas inhabited by Greek people. An early literary work from

8480-455: The same territory as the present regional unit. In the same reform, the current municipality Zakynthos was created out of the six former municipalities: In 2006, there were 507 births and 407 deaths. Zakynthos is one of the regions with the highest population growth in Greece. It is also one of the only three prefectures (out of 54) in which the rural population has a positive growth rate. In fact,

8586-562: The son of the legendary Arcadian chief Dardanus . Zakynthos is a tourist destination, especially amongst British tourists, with an international airport served by charter flights from northern Europe. The island's nickname is "the Flower of the Levant", bestowed upon it by the Venetians , who ruled Zakynthos from 1484 to 1797. The ancient Greek poet Homer mentioned Zakynthos in the Iliad and

8692-462: The south of the island, is a mountain village with a lighthouse. The whole western shore from Keri to Skinari contains rock formations including arches. Northern and eastern shores feature numerous wide sandy beaches, some of which attract tourists in summer months. The largest resort is Laganas . Marathonissi islet (also known as "Turtle Island") near Limni Keriou has tropical vegetation, turquoise waters, beaches, and sea caves. Bochali hill above

8798-452: The southeast part of the island. The capital, which has the same name as the prefecture, is the town of Zakynthos . It lies on the eastern part of the northern coast. Apart from the official name, it is also called Chora (i.e. the Town, a common denomination in Greece when the name of the island itself is the same as the name of the principal town). The port of Zakynthos has a ferry connecting to

8904-574: The storm drove the ships back the way they had come. Aeolus, recognizing that Odysseus had drawn the ire of the gods, refused to further assist him. After the cannibalistic Laestrygonians destroyed all of his ships except his own, Odysseus sailed on and reached the island of Aeaea , home of witch-goddess Circe . She turned half of his men into swine with drugged cheese and wine. Hermes warned Odysseus about Circe and gave Odysseus an herb called moly , making him resistant to Circe's magic. Odysseus forced Circe to change his men back to their human forms and

9010-521: The story of the Cyclops was originally a folk tale , which existed independently of the Odyssey and which became part of it at a later date. Similar stories are found in cultures across Europe and the Middle East. According to this explanation, the Cyclops was originally simply a giant or ogre, much like Humbaba in the Epic of Gilgamesh . Graham Anderson suggests that the addition about it having only one eye

9116-487: The suitors wish for the death of Telemachus. There is no scholarly consensus on the date of the composition of the Odyssey . The Greeks began adopting a modified version of the Phoenician alphabet to write down their own language during the mid-8th century BC. The Homeric poems may have been one of the earliest products of that literacy, and if so, would have been composed some time in the late 8th century BC. Inscribed on

9222-411: The suitors, for food and Antinous denies his request. Odysseus essentially says that while Antinous may look like a king, he is far from a king since he is not generous. According to J. B. Hainsworth, guest-friendship follows a very specific pattern: Another important factor of guest-friendship is not keeping the guest longer than they wish and also promising their safety while they are a guest within

9328-437: The suitors, who have only just realized that Telemachus is gone. Angry, they formulate a plan to ambush his ship and kill him as he sails back home. Penelope overhears their plot and worries for her son's safety. In the course of Odysseus's seven years as a captive of Calypso on the island Ogygia , she has fallen deeply in love with him, even though he spurns her offers of immortality as her husband and still mourns for home. She

9434-418: The suitors. Telemachus and Penelope receive their omens as well in the form of words, sneezes, and dreams. However, Odysseus is the only character who receives thunder or lightning as an omen. She highlights this as crucial because lightning, as a symbol of Zeus, represents the kingship of Odysseus. Odysseus is associated with Zeus throughout both the Iliad and the Odyssey. Omens are another example of

9540-442: The suitors. After Odysseus reveals his true identity, the characters test Odysseus' identity to see if he really is who he says he is. For instance, Penelope tests Odysseus' identity by saying that she will move the bed into the other room for him. This is a difficult task since it is made out of a living tree that would require being cut down, a fact that only the real Odysseus would know, thus proving his identity. Testing also has

9646-720: The suitors. He disembarks on the coast of Ithaca and meets Odysseus. Odysseus identifies himself to Telemachus (but not to Eumaeus), and they decide that the suitors must be killed. Telemachus goes home first. Accompanied by Eumaeus, Odysseus returns to his own house, still pretending to be a beggar. He is ridiculed by the suitors in his own home, especially Antinous . Odysseus meets Penelope and tests her intentions by saying he once met Odysseus in Crete. Closely questioned, he adds that he had recently been in Thesprotia and had learned something there of Odysseus's recent wanderings. Odysseus's identity

9752-506: The supremacy of Sparta because in 374 BC, Timotheus, an Athenian commander, on his return from Kerkyra, landed some Zakynthian exiles on the island and assisted them in establishing a fortified post. These exiles must have belonged to the anti-Spartan party as the Zakynthian rulers applied for help to the Spartans who sent a fleet of 25 to the island. The importance of this alliance for Athens

9858-399: The text was so much a part of the cultural fabric that it became irrelevant whether an individual had read it. As such, the influence of the Odyssey has reverberated through over a millennium of writing. The poem topped a poll of experts by BBC Culture to find literature's most enduring narrative. It is widely regarded by western literary critics as a timeless classic and remains one of

9964-516: The war. Both were later recognized as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem . In contrast, over 80% of Greek Jews were deported to death camps and murdered in the Holocaust . Zakynthos was hit by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake on 12 August 1953 , destroying most of the buildings on the island. Subsequently, all buildings have been strengthened to protect against further tremors. On 26 October 2018,

10070-690: The western Mediterranean". Some of Ulysses's adventures reappear in the Arabic tales of Sinbad the Sailor . The Irish writer James Joyce 's modernist novel Ulysses (1922) was significantly influenced by the Odyssey . Joyce had encountered the figure of Odysseus in Charles Lamb 's Adventures of Ulysses , an adaptation of the epic poem for children, which seems to have established the Latin name in Joyce's mind. Ulysses,

10176-400: The western half of the island. The island has one airport, Zakynthos International Airport , on former GR-35, offering connecting flights with other Greek airports and numerous tourist charters. Opened in 1972, it is located 4.3 km (2.7 mi) from Zakynthos . Zakynthos also features two ports, the main port located in the capital, and another in the village of Agios Nikolaos . From

10282-460: The world and unable to return home. After leaving Calypso's island, the poet describes Odysseus' encounters with the Phaeacians—those who "convoy without hurt to all men" —which represents his transition from not returning home to returning home. Also, during Odysseus' journey, he encounters many beings that are close to the gods. These encounters are useful in understanding that Odysseus is in

10388-438: The world to find literature's most enduring narrative, the Odyssey topped the list. The Odyssey begins after the end of the ten-year Trojan War (the subject of the Iliad ), from which Odysseus (also known by the Latin variant Ulysses), king of Ithaca , has still not returned because he angered Poseidon , the god of the sea. Odysseus's son, Telemachus , is about 20 years old and is sharing his absent father's house on

10494-547: Was also born there. The Museum of Solomos and Eminent Zakynthians , located on St Mark's plaza, includes local art from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as sculptures, musical instruments contemporary to the eminent Zakynthians, and ceramics. In particular, it features Dionysios Solomos and Andreas Kalvos . Since the mid-1980s, Zakynthos has become a hub for 18-to-30-year-old tourists, leading to Alykanas and Laganas (formerly quiet villages) becoming hotbeds of clubbing hotels, nightclubs, bars and restaurants. Zakynthos

10600-788: Was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1478 but conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1482. It remained in Venetian hands, as part of the Venetian Ionian Islands , until the Fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. It then passed successively under French rule , became part of the autonomous Septinsular Republic in 1800, and returned to the French in 1807. Seized by the British in 1809, it formed part of

10706-460: Was invented to explain how the creature was so easily blinded. Homecoming (Ancient Greek: νόστος, nostos ) is a central theme of the Odyssey . Anna Bonafazi of the University of Cologne writes that, in Homer, nostos is "return home from Troy, by sea". Agatha Thornton examines nostos in the context of characters other than Odysseus, in order to provide an alternative for what might happen after

10812-486: Was originally composed in Homeric Greek in around the 8th or 7th century BC and, by the mid-6th century BC, had become part of the Greek literary canon. In antiquity , Homer's authorship of the poem was not questioned, but contemporary scholarship predominantly assumes that the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed independently and that the stories formed as part of a long oral tradition . Given widespread illiteracy,

10918-991: Was president of the Academy 1847-1851 and later first governor of Queensland. After the union of the Ionian Islands to the Kingdom of Greece in 1864, the Ionian Academy was closed to support the newly established University of Athens . Parts of the staff moved to Athens and also the library was brought there. 39°37′15″N 19°55′24″E  /  39.62087°N 19.92341°E  / 39.62087; 19.92341 Zante Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos ; Greek : Ζάκυνθος , romanized :  Zákynthos [ˈzacinθos] ; Italian : Zacinto [dzaˈtʃinto] ) or Zante ( / ˈ z æ n t i / , US also / ˈ z ɑː n t eɪ / , Italian: [ˈdzante] ; Greek : Τζάντε , romanized :  Tzánte [ˈdza(n)de] ; from

11024-416: Was seduced by her. They remained with her for one year. Finally, guided by Circe's instructions, Odysseus and his crew crossed the ocean and reached a harbor at the western edge of the world, where Odysseus sacrificed to the dead . Odysseus summoned the spirit of the prophet Tiresias and was told that he may return home if he is able to stay himself and his crew from eating the sacred livestock of Helios on

11130-413: Was that it provided them with a source of tar . Tar is a more effective protector of ship planking than pitch (which is made from pine trees ). The Athenian trireme fleet needed protection from rot, decay and the teredo , so this new source of tar was valuable to them. The tar was dredged up from the bottom of a lake (now known as Lake Keri ) using leafy myrtle branches tied to the ends of poles. It

11236-524: Was then collected in pots and could be carried to the beach and swabbed directly onto ship hulls . Alternatively, the tar could be shipped to the Athenian naval yard at Piraeus for storage. Philip V of Macedon seized Zakynthos in the early 3rd century BC, when it was a member of the Aetolian League. In 211 BC, the Roman praetor Marcus Valerius Laevinus took the city of Zakynthos with the exception of

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