Tomb of Odysseus Found
- From: magentashadow@xxxxxxxxx (Terry McCombs)
- Date: 27 Sep 2005 01:30:24 GMT
The url for this story is
http://maderatribune.1871dev.com/news/newsview.asp?c=167178 .
Archeologists make historic discovery
By Thomas Elias - Columnist - The Madera
Island of Kefalonia, Greece - The tomb of Odysseus has been found, and
the location of his legendary capital city of Ithaca discovered here on
this large island across a one-mile channel from the bone-dry islet that
modern maps call Ithaca.
This could be the most important archeological discovery of the last 40
years, a find that may eventually equal the German archeologist Heinrich
Schliemann's 19th Century dig at Troy. But the quirky people and
politics involved in this achievement have delayed by several years the
process of reporting the find to the world.
Yet visitors to Kefalonia, an octopus-shaped island off the west coast
of Greece, can see the evidence for themselves at virtually no cost.
The discovery of what is almost certainly his tomb reveals that crafty
Odysseus, known as Ulysses in many English renditions of Homer's "Iliad"
and "Odyssey," was no mere myth, but a real person. Plus, passages in
the "Odyssey" itself suggest that modern Ithaca and its main town of
Vathi probably were not the city and island of which Homer wrote.
Rather, this small village of Poros on the southeast coast of Kefalonia
now occupies part of a site that most likely was the much larger city
which served as capital of the multi-island kingdom ruled by Odysseus
and his father Laertes.
Archeologists have long and often times looked for evidence of Odysseus
on modern Ithaca, but never found anything significant from the Bronze
Age. This led many scholars to dismiss Homer's version of Ionian island
geography as strictly a literary creation.
But two pieces of fairly recent evidence suggest archeologists were
looking in the wrong place. In 1991, a tomb of the type used to bury
ancient Greek royalty was found near the hamlet of Tzannata in the hills
outside Poros. It is the largest such tomb in northeastern Greece, with
remains of at least 72 persons found in its stone niches.
One find there is particularly telling. In Book XIX of the "Odyssey,"
the just-returned and still disguised Odysseus tells his wife (who may
or may not realize who she's talking to; Homer is deliberately
ambivalent) that he encountered Odysseus many years earlier on the
island of Crete. He describes in detail a gold brooch the king wore on
that occasion.
A gold brooch meeting that precise description lies now in the
archeological museum at Argostoli, the main city on Kefalonia, 30 miles
across the island from Poros. Other gold jewelry and seals carved in
precious stones excavated from the tomb offer further proof the grave
outside Poros was used to bury kings.
Greek archeologists also found sections of ancient city walls extending
for miles through the hills around and well beyond Poros. These surround
both the village and a steep adjacent hill which bears evidence it once
served as an acropolis, what the Greeks called hilltop forts in most of
their major cities. The stones of the walls date to about 1300 B.C., the
approximate time of events described in the "Iliad" and "Odyssey."
Most likely, the royal capital at Ithaca was a much larger city than
Poros or any other town on either modern Ithaca or Kefalonia. It would
have needed a major source of water.
There is none on modern Ithaca, but streams abound near Poros, where
there is also a small man-made lake. This area had the necessary water.
The island now called Ithaca likely did not.
Several other ancient settlements found elsewhere on Kefalonia also
suggest the island was a major population center at the time of
Odysseus.
And Homer described two major landmarks near ancient Ithaca: He says it
sat beneath an impressive mountain, the "tree-clad Mt. Neriton," which
dominated views from the "wine-dark sea" for many miles around.
That description fits Mt. Aenos, just above Poros, the highest peak in
the Ionian islands. Homer also describes the legendary Cave of the
Nymphs as within a day or two walk from the city of Ithaca.
A spacious, dark cave with large stalactites and deep blue water
matching Homer's description is currently a tourist attraction about 15
miles northwest of Poros.
Why hasn't all this been reported before? Because of local politics and
economics. The most active promoter of the Poros area as Homeric Ithaca
is the current mayor, who at one time was governor of the prefecture
(county or small state) including both Ithaca and Kefalonia.
Gerasimos Metaxas, an author and amateur archeologist who gladly shows
visitors remains of the ancient city call and innards of the tomb, was
defeated for reelection as governor when he began promoting the
Poros-as-Ithaca idea in Greek publications. Why?
If Poros is Ithaca, who would ever go to the barren island now using the
name? And if tiny Poros ever gets a huge tourist and cruise ship influx,
what happens to Argostoli, now the center for those trades on Kefalonia?
As a result, the entire find has never been reported in the non-Greek
press. And so far, major world media show little or no interest in the
tale. But for lovers of Homer's sagas, there's now no place more
appealing than Kefalonia.
.
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