During the week of October 17 to 21, the participants of the project were in Ithaca, the hometown of Odysseus.
Vathi, the island’s capital, is a picturesque town with a peculiar bay that embraces the islet of Lazaretto and its two Venetian castles. The first inhabitants appear in Ithaca in the Neolithic era (4000 – 3000 BC) but their origin is unclear. During the Mycenaean era (1600 – 1100 BC) the island had a great cultural development. The Ithacians were great sailors and explorers throughout the Mediterranean Sea. The Homeric epics reveal the way of life and customs of the inhabitants.

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On Monday, October 17, the pedagogical groups of the program, after presenting the their schools, were given a tour of the Ithaca High School.

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Then we visited the Maritime Folklore Museum of Ithaca. This museum is housed in the building of the former Electric Power Station, built in November 1923. The Maritime – Folklore Museum of Ithaca was established in 1997. The collection includes a multitude of exhibits, which exceed 2000.

The exhibits include a collection of old photographs, a collection of Ithaca ship owners’ ship paintings, nautical instruments, uniforms, as well as other evidence from Ithaca’s rich maritime history.

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On the second main floor of the Museum, we saw how people lived in the past on the island through the exhibition of old tools and characteristic objects of various professions, household utensils, weaving tools, jewelry, traditional costumes, but also furniture of the island’s bourgeoisie.

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The second day focused on the analysis of the didactic-philosophical poem Ithaca by Cavafy. Cavafy was inspired by Ithaca in Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus’ homeland and longed-for destination. Jacques Lacarriere wrote of “Ithaca” that “never has a poem said so many things in so few words.” On the occasion of this poem, the students discussed the challenges and dangers involved in traveling to the Mediterranean sea today.

The day ended with the concert of the local philharmonic. The repertoire ranged from traditional to modern rock. It was a well-executed program, which underlined the thorough preparation of the musicians.

On Wednesday, October 19, a guided tour was held in Argostoli, Kefallοnia, the capital and center of activity of the island since 1757, when there was a significant movement of population from the old capital, Agios Georgios, in order to exploit the commercial potential of the area’s bay. During the 2011 census it had 9,748 inhabitants. The old town of Argostoli had many large buildings with Italian influences in their architecture. The pre-earthquake city was characterized by many imposing mansions and palaces, with Italian influences in the architecture of its houses with Renaissance and Baroque elements. Argostoli was also the second city in Greece to be electrified.

This was followed by a visit to the cavernous cave of Melissani, which is located 2 km northwest of Sami in Kefalonia. The natural entrance to the cave is vertical. and was created by the fall of a part of the roof. An artificial entrance with steps and a long underground passage allows visiting the cave. The lake is 20 m below the surface of the ground and its water depth varies from 10 to 30 m. Stalactites with strange shapes adorn the largest part of the cave. We toured the cave in a rowboat.

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The fourth day was dedicated to a tour of the northern part of the island which has many churches and unspoiled natural landscapes. First stop at the impressive menirs or monoliths of Anogi. These are impressive isolated boulders, of limestone origin. They are scattered in the wider area of ​​Anogi, which is the most mountainous village of Ithaca built at an altitude of 550 meters, on the highest mountain of the island, Niritos. The monoliths of Anogi are one of the most important attractions of the island. The largest and most important monolith has been named “Araklis” (a derivative of “Heracles”) due to the great fame of the ancient hero. It has a spindle shape, is located 600m east of the village and is 9m high.

This was followed by a visit to the church of Panagia in Anogi. This temple is built at an altitude of 500 meters and is one of the oldest in the Balkans. It was built in parts 700 years ago and is in the style of a basilica. The interior of the church is covered with frescoes in Byzantine style. The icons of the Saints are of rare technique and testify to the incomparable talent of the painter, Antonios of Agrafon, who handed over the icons in 1680, according to the inscription on the stone iconostasis. The Ministry of Education, in 1959, declared the temple a protected site.

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The monastery of Panagia Kathariotissa was our next stop. The life of this monastery begins in the past and is lost in the tradition of Ithaca. According to tradition, some shepherds from Ioannina, chased by the Turks, fled to Ithaca. They set up their huts at the foot of Mount Neritos, in the Mazos area, four hundred meters from where the monastery is today. They thought that they had forgotten a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary that they had in their home. However, as they were burning and clearing the bushes and dry branches, they saw the icon of the Virgin Mary that they had in their house, in Ioannina, shining in the fire. They then decided to build a church on that spot, and named the depicted Panagia, “Kathariotissa”, because the icon was found in the “katha”, i.e. the dry branches and small bushes that are cut and burned to clean the place.

An important stop for us was the park in the village of Stavros. There the Italian architect Bruno Mazzoli built a model representing the palace of Odysseus. In it we saw all the parts of the palace: the market, the throne room, the royal apartments, the queen’s bedrooms, the workshops, but also the outer walls and gates of the palace. This model reinforces the view that the palace was located near the village of Stavros and the site of Homer’s School, where there are ruins of a palace. In the same park there is also the bust of Odysseus. On the front of the bust is written “ECHIN ODYSSEI” which means “prayer to Odysseus”. It comes from a votive inscription found on a fragment of a clay mask from the 2nd century BC. during the archaeological investigations in the Cave of Loizos, located outside the village of Stavros. This fragment, which is exhibited in the archaeological museum of Stavros, is considered one of the most important finds in Ithaca, as it proves that Odysseus was worshiped there for many years.

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The trip to Ithaca ended with a final stop at the statue of Odysseus and Penelope in Vathy. The statue of Odysseus is located in “Bastouni” on the waterfront of the central square in Vathi. It depicts Odysseus in two forms. In one standing, young, proud, gazing at the sea that seduced and bewitched him. In the other form, he is crouched, adrift, with the oar of his boat in his hands, taming the waves, with his sole purpose of returning to Ithaca. The unveiling of the statue, created by the Ithaca sculptor Korina Kassianou, took place in August 2011. In front of the OTE building is the statue of Penelope, patiently waiting for her Odysseus. The statue was designed by Kosmas Dovletoglou.

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Through this work, the example of the Odyssey highlighted the theme of self-awareness, the importance of creating just societies, and the important role of the Mediterranean in human action in travel, knowledge, experiences, culture and values.