Where was Homer's Ithaca?
British School at Athens - Inaugural fundraising lecture at the British Museum
28th June 2007
Was Ithaca, the homeland of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, a real place? If so, should we rely on the description that Homer provides of an island that is low-lying and furthest out to sea on the western coast of Greece? For centuries scholars have disagreed with these lines, but recent geological discoveries on the Greek island of Cephalonia now provide strong support for the idea that Homer's description was absolutely correct all along.
On Thursday June 28, Robert Bittlestone, James Diggle and John Underhill presented their proposal and latest discoveries from the island of Cephalonia to a capacity audience of over 300 at the BP Lecture Theatre in the British Museum. The lecture was the first in a series of public events organised by the British School of Athens to broaden its outreach in London and raise funds for its activities in Greece. BSA's Carol Bell writes "Thank you very much for getting our fundraising lecture series off to such a magnificent start. The high level of attendance is a tribute to the way your multidisciplinary approach has captured the imagination of the general public. I have opened my e-mail this morning to find notes of thanks pouring in from attendees".
For further information about the search for Homer's Ithaca, see http://www.odysseus-unbound.org.
British School at Athens - Inaugural fundraising lecture at the British Museum
28th June 2007
Was Ithaca, the homeland of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, a real place? If so, should we rely on the description that Homer provides of an island that is low-lying and furthest out to sea on the western coast of Greece? For centuries scholars have disagreed with these lines, but recent geological discoveries on the Greek island of Cephalonia now provide strong support for the idea that Homer's description was absolutely correct all along.
On Thursday June 28, Robert Bittlestone, James Diggle and John Underhill presented their proposal and latest discoveries from the island of Cephalonia to a capacity audience of over 300 at the BP Lecture Theatre in the British Museum. The lecture was the first in a series of public events organised by the British School of Athens to broaden its outreach in London and raise funds for its activities in Greece. BSA's Carol Bell writes "Thank you very much for getting our fundraising lecture series off to such a magnificent start. The high level of attendance is a tribute to the way your multidisciplinary approach has captured the imagination of the general public. I have opened my e-mail this morning to find notes of thanks pouring in from attendees".
For further information about the search for Homer's Ithaca, see http://www.odysseus-unbound.org.
Comments