Ithaca island is the second smallest of the Ionian Islands in size and population after Paxos, yet it is famous all over the world as the homeland where the resourceful Odysseus of Homer reigned.
Geography of Ithaca Island
The island lies at about 38° north and 20° east, has an area of 92.7 square kilometres and is 29 km long from its northernmost to its southernmost cape. It is about 6.5 km wide in the north and 6 km in the south, while in the middle, at the isthmus of Aetos, it narrows to just 620 m.
Ithaca is an island of tradition, history, culture and of the deep love of its people for their land. It is a place of rare beauty, with nature that is both wild and gentle and a landscape that keeps changing. Today Ithaca develops tourism without losing its charm and traditions.
Vathy, the Capital
The capital is Vathy, a picturesque town that holds the islet of Lazaretto and two Venetian castles in the embrace of its bay.
Ithaca is one of the four provinces of the prefecture of Kefalonia and had 3,084 inhabitants according to the 2001 census. The town of Vathy and the villages of Anogi, Stavros and Kioni have been declared traditional settlements, and the whole island is protected for its natural beauty.
The Name of the Island
The island took its name from Ithacus, its first inhabitant, son of Pterelaus and brother of Polyctor and Neritus, or, according to mythology, son of Poseidon and Amphimele.
According to other theories, the name comes from the word ‘ithi’ (cheerful), from the Phoenician word ‘utika’ (colony) or from the word ‘ithys’ (steep).
Ithaca Today
Today more and more visitors come to Ithaca from Greece and abroad, and they have the chance to experience a many-sided island that is identified with the homeland of Odysseus.
The cultural level of the Ithacans and of the visitors to the island is high, linked to the prestige of Ithaca since Homeric times, the good education that has always existed here, the restless and indomitable spirit of the Ithacans and their constant contact with other peoples.
In recent years new forms of economic activity have gradually appeared, such as agritourism, crafts, home production and young and female entrepreneurship. The island has much to offer, and even more to discover.
As you set out for Ithaca,
Constantine P. Cavafy, Ithaca
hope that the road is long,
full of adventures, full of knowledge.
Go to many cities of Egypt
to learn and learn again from the learned.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better that it lasts for many years,
and that you are old when you reach the island,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaca to give you riches.
Ithaca gave you the beautiful journey.
And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you will have understood by now what Ithacas mean.
