Wednesday, June 10, 2026

10:20 AM - 12:00 PM

Energy Transition Theatre

---

Details

Homer's epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey describe Odysseus’ 20-year journey to, and return from, the Trojan War around 3000 years ago. They include a number of Bronze Age (Mycenaean) sites, the location of which have long been sought by archaeologists and classical Greek Scholars. In contrast to other sites like Troy and Mycenae, the location of Odysseus’ homeland, Ancient Ithaca, has proved to be more elusive. Whilst a modern island bearing its name lies in the Ionian Sea, archaeological evidence is lacking to support it hosting a major Bronze Age settlement. Moreover, and significantly, the poems highlight a striking geographic inconsistency since Homer's description of its ancient counterpart states it was low lying and lay in a westerly (outboard) location relative to Same, Doulichion and Zakinthos. An array of geological and geophysical field methods have been deployed to test whether the western peninsula of Kefalonia, Paliki, is a better candidate for Odysseus' homeland, Ancient Ithaca, since its position is consistent with descriptions by Strabo’s and Homer’s poem. The initial research focused on testing whether a narrow land bridge in the Thinia Valley was submerged to create a throughgoing marine channel making Paliki a separate island. However, as the data and evidence accumulated and the marine channel theory became more challenged, another possible geologically explanation arose that was consistent with the descriptions in the texts. The talk will present the latest results of the geoscientific research, the outcomes of which solve the long-standing Classical mystery, have profound implications for classical Greek Scholarship and for archaeological investigations.

---

Speaker