Odysseus journey

Overview

It is a common belief that the Odyssey, tells the story of the return trip of Odysseus to his home island, Ithaca, after the end of the Trojan war. But, is this so?

In this story, it is argued that the Odyssey tells the story of a forward trip of Odysseus to the American continent, and then, of the return trip back to his home, the Atlantic Ithaca .

Key to the “decoding” of Odysseus journey is that after 12 stops he reached Ogygia , the island of Calypso , and from there, in just two steps, he reached Ithaca. By “unwinding back” the string of events prior to reaching Ogygia, and based on the geographic interpretation of the descriptions provided in the epic, we pin down on the map one by one the presumed individual stops of the journey.

Where does the journey start from?

According to the epic, the journey starts from Troy , and then continues with references to “known landmarks” like Maleas and Cythera . But, since as is argued in another story of this series, Troy is not located in Asia Minor, these references cannot be part of the journey, and are considered to serve other purposes .

The backwards unwinding of the trip from Ogygia, seems to end at Giblartar, and that's where our story begins, with Lotus-eaters as the first stop.

At the Lotus-eaters

“Thence for nine days' space I was borne by direful winds over the teeming deep; but on the tenth we set foot on the land of the Lotus eaters, who eat a flowery food” [ Od 9.82 ]

The presumed path shown on the map is about 1.400 km which means a cruising speed of 150 km per day for 9 days, which is aligned with the cruising ability of a ship of the bronze age .

Odysseus' comrades, coming to the land for refueling, meet the Lotus-eaters and try those “flowers”, with the well-known results: oblivion.

“I sent forth some of my comrades to go and learn who the men were, who here ate bread upon the earth; two men I chose, sending with them a third as a herald. So they went straightway and mingled with the Lotus-eaters, and the Lotus-eaters did not plan death for my comrades, but gave them of the lotus to taste. And whosoever of them ate of the honey-sweet fruit of the lotus had no longer any wish to bring back word or to return, but there they were fain to abide among the Lotus-eaters, feeding on the lotus, and forgetful of their homeward way” [ Od 9.88 ]

The Lotus

The poet probably refers to the herb with the scientific name Datura stramonium , which is particularly widespread in the region of Asturias .

The herb belongs to the family of Solanaceae , whose members have been used since antiquity as hallucinogens. Today, its cultivation is forbidden, and its use subjects one to prosecution.

Theophrastus in his work “ Enquiry into Plants ” refers to the plant as follows:

"The kind which produces madness has a white hollow root about a cubit long. Of this three twentieths of an ounce in weight is given, if the patient is to become merely sportive and to think himself a fine fellow; twice this dose if he is to go mad outright and have delusions; thrice the dose, if he is to be permanently insane; (and then they say that the juice of centaury is mixed with it); four times the dose is given, if the man is to be killed" [9.11.6]

Leaving the Lotus-eaters

Odysseus quickly gathers his comrades to continue their journey:

"These men, therefore, I brought back perforce to the ships, weeping, and dragged them beneath the benches and bound them fast in the hollow ships... and I bade the rest of my trusty comrades to embark with speed on the swift ships, lest perchance anyone should eat of the lotus and forget his homeward way. So they went on board straightway and sat down upon the benches, and sitting well in order smote the grey sea with their oars" [ Od 9.98 ]

At the Cyclopes

“Thence we sailed on, grieved at heart, and we came to the land of the Cyclopes, an overweening and lawless folk, who, trusting in the immortal gods, plant nothing with their hands nor plough” [ Od 9.105 ]

With no information for the sail time from the previous station to Cyclopes, the “decoding” of the location is based on the reasonably expected direction of the route following the ocean currents (specifically, the local Rennell current of the Biscay Bay which follows the route depicted on map, for the period from October to March) the expected travel time based on the supply needs, and the geographic and geomorphological characteristics described in detail for this position.

“Now there is a level isle that stretches aslant outside the harbor, neither close to the shore of the land of the Cyclopes, nor yet far off, a wooded isle” [ Od 9.116 ]

The “safe harbor” where Odysseus and his companions landed was probably on the island of Inis Mór .

Inis Mór

The characteristic of a “level island” fits perfectly with the topography of Inis Mór as can be seen in the picture: it is oblong, low and flat with a maximum altitude of about 100 meters.

“and in it, too, is a harbor giving safe anchorage, where there is no need of moorings, either to throw out anchor-stones or to make fast stern cables, but one may beach one's ship and wait until the sailors' minds bid them put out, and the breezes blow fair” [ Od 9.136 ]

The description of the harbor of the island as a safe one, protected from winds so that there is no need for the ships to anchor because they are able to reach the beach, fits the character of the natural harbor of Inis Mór in the Kilronan area, which is a shallow and sandy beach.

“Now at the head of the harbor a spring of bright water flows forth from beneath a cave, and round about it poplars grow” [ Od 9.140 ]

The spring of water should be the spring of Kilcaran, which is located 500 meters from the harbor, and is the main source of water on the island up until the present day.

To the Cyclopes

“And we looked across to the land of the Cyclopes, who dwelt close at hand, and marked the smoke, and the voice of men, and of the sheep, and of the goats” [ Od 9.166 ]

“But when we had reached the place, which lay close at hand, there on the land's edge hard by the sea we saw a high cave, roofed over with laurels, and there many flocks, sheep and goats alike, were wont to sleep” [ Od 9.181 ]

The cave of the Homeric narrative was presumably be the Doolin Cave , which today is a geological attraction. The entrance to the cave is very close to the coast, and the sailing distance to this point is “not far away” from the island opposite.

“Round about it a high court was built with stones set deep in the earth, and with tall pines and high-crested oaks” [ Od 9.184 ]

Today's entrance bears the characteristics of the narrative. As for the tall pines that are absent today, a recent study provides evidence that the area was wooded at the time of Odysseus' visit, and home to herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats.

The Cyclope's cave

“So we entered the cave and gazed in wonder at all things there” [ Od 9.218 ]

Leaving the Cyclopes

“And when we had gone a little way from the cave and the court, I first loosed myself from under the ram and set my comrades free” [Od 9.462 ]

At the Aeolus

“Then to the Aeolian isle we came, where dwelt Aeolus, son of Hippotas, dear to the immortal gods, in a floating island, and all around it is a wall of unbreakable bronze, and the cliff runs up sheer” [ Od 10.1 ]

“Thence we sailed on, grieved at heart, glad to have escaped death, though we had lost our dear comrades” [ Od 9.566 ]

The cave's Great Stalactite is the longest known free-hanging stalactite in Europe, the third largest in the world.

Tindhólmur of the Faroe island complex is most probably the island of Aeolus, since it meets a number criteria:

• It is located on the course of the North Atlantic current from south to north, leading from the previous stop, the Cyclopes, to the islands of Faroe.
• It is located at a reasonable distance from the previous stop, i.e. about the same distance travelled from the Lotus-eaters’ stop to the Cyclopes stop.
• It has the physiographic characteristics of the Homeric description for the “cliff that runs up sheer” as can be seen in the picture.
• The island qualifies as “floating”, since according to information in the Færinge Saga , many of the Faroe islands, were floating! This, according to Katrina Johannesen , resident of the neighboring Mykines island, has a simple explanation:
• The weather conditions of the area make it a real “island of Aeolus” (i.e. a windy island)! The following description relates to the neighboring island Mykines being located next to Tindhólmur, obviously the description also applies there: “The weather on Mykines is extreme. Both compared to the rest of the Faroe and compared to the rest of Europe. The highest speed of wind measured on the Faroe is 180 km/h recorded at the Lighthouse on the Holm [depicted in the picture, with Tindhólmur at the far back] both on the 7 th of March 1997 and the 15 th of January 1999. The same day in March 1997 the worst blow of wind was measured to 240 km/h.” “That there have been legends of floating islands is easy to understand, if one ever has been standing at a Faroese coast and seen how the tidal currents are passing by with great speed. What is moving, the water or the land? ... Especially at spring tide, it can be impressive, with the water passing by at a speed of about 9 Knots. One can really get the impression of being on board a fast moving vessel.” Interestingly, the name of Mykines is pronounced exactly as the famous Greek city of Mycenae , while there is no clear explanation on how this name was given to the island .

The wallet of the winds

Aeolus gives the famous “wallet of winds” to Odysseus:

“He gave me a wallet, made of the hide of an ox nine years old, which he flayed, and therein he bound the paths of the blustering winds; for the son of Cronos had made him keeper of the winds, both to still and to rouse whatever one he will. And in my hollow ship he bound it fast with a bright cord of silver, that not a breath might escape, were it never so slight” [ Od 10.19 ]

The wind traders

Interestingly, the tradition of Aeolus' practices continued for many centuries later by the “wind traders” in the same geographic area!

“In the old days of sailing ships it was a common thing for a sea Captain to “buy the wind” for his voyage, though, strangely enough, the only people supposed to deal in it were the Icelanders... In every port in Iceland one or more “wind wizards” were to be found, who were ready to sell a favorable wind for the next six months or a year to any sea Captain willing to invest in something he could not see... The wind merchant muttered certain words into it, tying a knot in the handkerchief at the end of each incantation... When a certain number of knots had been tied the handkerchief was given to the Captain with a strict charge to keep it knotted and guard it with extraordinary care until he arrived at the desired port, and at each port a knot was to be taken out”

Towards the “native land”

Having the west wind in his sails, Odysseus continues the journey by heading east:

“But for my furtherance he sent forth the breath of the West Wind to blow, that it might bear on their way both ships and men. Yet this he was not to bring to pass, for we were lost through our own folly” [ Od 10.25 ]

At the “native land”

Odysseus and his comrades are cruising for nine days and nights. The length of the presumed route shown is 1000 km, so the mean cruising speed for the nine days would be 110 km per day, which is within the range of with the navigational capacity of a bronze-age ship .

“For nine days we sailed, night and day alike, and now on the tenth our native land came in sight, and lo, we were so near that we saw men tending the beacon fires” [ Od 10.28 ]

Why does Odysseus call the land they were heading, present day Norway, as “native land”? And what are these “beacon fires” that they saw?

Native land?

In the late 19 th century a new and complete land registry was compiled in Norway, under the supervision of the Norwegian philologist and archaeologist Olaf Rygh .

In this cadastral , farms with the names of apparent Greek origin are listed, with notable examples of:

• “Naust”, “Naustdal”, “Nausene”, “Naustvik”, with “naus”, meaning “ship” in Greek
• “Alsos”, meaning “small forest” in Greek
• “Missingnen”, “Missingerne”, “Myking”, potentially corrypted forms of “Mycenae”
• “Hellenes”, meaning “Greeks” in Greek
• “Parnassus”, the name of a famous mountain in Greece

Odysseus at Parnassus

This Parnassus, located in today's Snaasen municipality in Trøndelag county of Norway, is probably the reason for Odysseus calling the land "native"!

When Odysseus was still an infant, his maternal grandfather Autolycus went to Ithaca from his home in Parnassus to meet his newly-born grandson:

“And for my part, when he is a man grown and comes to the great house of his mother's kin at Parnassus, where are my possessions, I will give him thereof and send him back rejoicing” [ Od 19.409 ]

So, when Odysseus came of age, he went to Parnassus to receive gifts from his grandfather. During the visit, Odysseus went hunting with them, when he had the well-known, unfortunate accident of being bitten by a wild boar:

“But as soon as early Dawn appeared, the rosy-fingered, they went forth to the hunt, the hounds and the sons of Autolycus too, and with them went goodly Odysseus. Up the steep mountain Parnassus, clothed with forests, they climbed, and presently reached its windy hollows. The sun was now just striking on the fields, as he rose from softly-gliding, deep-flowing Oceanus when the beaters came to a glade” [ Od 19.428 ]

Interestingly, close to that area, bones of wild boars dating back to the early Iron Age have been found , thus confirming the existence of these animals during the era that Odysseus presumably had visited the region.

The beacon fires

The beacon fires that Odysseus and his crew saw as they approached the "native land" probably belong to the network of "varder" or "veter", an ancient, more than thousand-year-old tradition in Norway as a warning of war :

“The tradition of the old warning guards can be traced back to the middle of the 10 th century, when Håkon den gode Adalsteinsfostre established an army system for the whole country, known as Leidangen... An important part of the defense system was the warning system, with veter (fire guards) on the high mountains, so that one could see from one to the other, as it is called by Snorre Sturlason in Håkon den godes saga...

On the guard, everyone was to be awake, and the varden (cairn) was lit If the guards saw three or more enemy ships... In Trøndelag, people have preferred to call it våttå, and these form have remained in many of the names on the warning sites until today, as a clear testimony of a very special function of defense significance”

The network of våttå beacons in the area of Trøndelag is depicted on the map.

It is unknown how long back in time this våttå tradition goes (the painting depicts våttå in action in saga-ages).

The testimonies from the Odyssey, but also of another work of the same age, the Hymn to Hermes , which is the subject of another story of this series, provide evidence of the use of this warning network since antiquity.

Back to Aeolus

They never arrived in the “native lands” because Odysseus' comrades had second thoughts about the gifts that Aeolus had given him. Considering that the wallet contained treasures, and while Odysseus was asleep, they untied the knots, and the strong winds –the famous “winds of Aeolus”– were released:

“They loosed the wallet, and all the winds leapt forth, and swiftly the storm-wind seized them...

But the ships were borne by an evil blast of wind back to the Aeolian isle; and my comrades groaned” [ Od 10.47 ]

At the Laestrygonians

After a six-days’ voyage from the island of Aeolus, they arrive at Telepylos, the country of Laestrygonians:

“So for six days we sailed, night and day alike, and on the seventh we came to the lofty citadel of Lamus, even to Telepylus of the Laestrygonians, where herdsman calls to herdsman as he drives in his flock, and the other answers as he drives his forth. There a man who never slept could have earned a double wage, one by herding cattle, and one by pasturing white sheep; for the out goings of the night and of the day are close together” [ Od 10.80 ]

The length of the presumed route shown is 700 km, so the mean cruising speed for the six days would be 116 km per day, which is within the range of with the navigational capacity of a bronze-age ship .

The special feature of the area, according to the Homeric text, is that the duration of the day is twice as long as the night, since if one did not need to sleep, he could work two shifts.

From this information alone, the geographic location of the area as well as the time of the year that it was visited, can be inferred: the area must be somewhere around the 63 rd north parallel (depicted in yellow), and the season must be summer, where the daily sunshine is as follows:

• mid-May: 18 hours
• mid-June: 20 hours
• mid-July: 18 hours

The combination of data relating to the hours of sunshine data, along with the the six-day distance from the previous stop, point unambiguously to Iceland, and specifically to island of Heimaey , which meets the visual conditions to be called Telepylos.

“When we had come thither into the goodly harbor, about which on both sides a sheer cliff runs continuously, and projecting headlands opposite to one another stretch out at the mouth, and the entrance is narrow” [ Od 10.87 ]

The entrance of the harbor of Telepylos (which etymologically means the “remote Pylos”) is surrounded by high rocks, which is very similar to the entrance of the harbor of the Greek city of Pylos, as can be seen in the pictures (Heimaey on the left, Pylos on the right).

The Artacia spring

Odysseus sends out a team of scouts, probably to find sources of water and food supplies:

“Now when they had gone ashore, they went along a smooth road by which wagons were wont to bring wood down to the city from the high mountains. And before the city they met a maiden drawing water, the goodly daughter of Laestrygonian Antiphates, who had come down to the fair-flowing spring Artacia, from whence they were wont to bear water to the town. So they came up to her and spoke to her and asked her who was king of this folk, and who they were of whom he was lord. And she showed them forth with the high-roofed house of her father” [ Od 10.103 ]

Interestingly, one of the contemporary local folk tales of the island, is centered around the story of Herjólfur , the only one of the islanders who had a good source of water near his town and his daughter Vilborgu. They were living in a valley (which has since been called Herjólfsdalur) surrounded on three sides by high mountains, and facing the sea south, to the west on Heimaey.

The parallels in Homer’s story of the daughter of the Laestrygonian king with the Icelandic myth of Vilborgu, the daughter of Herjolfur, and the prominent role of the water springs in the island’s life are impressive and perhaps not coincidental.

Leaving the Laestrygonians

The meeting with the locals did not have the best outcome:

“Straightway [glorious Antiphates] seized one of my comrades and made ready his meal, but the other two sprang up and came in flight to the ships. Then he raised a cry throughout the city, and as they heard it the mighty Laestrygonians came thronging from all sides, a host past counting, not like men but like the Giants. They hurled at us from the cliffs with rocks huge as a man could lift, and at once there rose throughout the ships a dreadful din, alike from men that were dying and from ships that were being crushed” [ Od 10.116 ]

Interestingly, “lestir” in Old Norse means “the breaker, the wrecker”, making it possible that the name Laestrygonians, has been derived from the concatenation of “lestir” and “gonos” which means “offspring” or “seed” in Greek, so Laestrygonians would mean “those with the destruction in their nature”, which fits to their behavior.

At the Circe

The next stop of Odysseus and his commrades takes place on the island of Circe.

“And we came to the isle of Aeaea, where dwelt fair-tressed Circe, a dread goddess of human speech, own sister to Aeetes of baneful mind; and both are sprung from Helius, who gives light to mortals, and from Perse, their mother, whom Oceanus begot” [ Od 10.135 ]

We are given absolutely no information on how they got there from the Laestrygonians. The location of the island is inferred indirectly from the direction of the ocean currents and, in particular, the subsequent movements of Odysseus which, as we will see in detail below, refer to the area of the Norwegian and Greenland seas.

The topological conditions for the location of Circe’s island are met by island Jan Mayen , which today belongs to Norway.

The topological conditions for the location of Circe’s island are met by island Jan Mayen , which today belongs to Norway.

Jan Mayen today is virtually uninhabited, the sole inhabitants being the staff of a monitoring station that is established there. The northern part of the island is occupied by Beerenberg , an active volcano, with a blast period of about 150 years.

The volcanic action has covered the island with the characteristic black volcanic ash. So, as to its nature, nothing can be reminiscent of the descriptions of the landscape that Odysseus saw, and we need to engage our imagination to re-create it.

Exploring the island

They land onto a shore:

“Here we put into shore with our ship in silence, into a harbor where ships may lie” [Od 10.140]

Odysseus climbs up a high cliff to get an overview of the landscape:

“Then I took my spear and my sharp sword, and quickly went up from the ship to a place of wide prospect, in the hope that I might see the works of men, and hear their voice” [ Od 10.145 ]

Upon return, he describes the topography of the island:

“My friends, we know not where the darkness is or where the dawn, neither where the sun, who give light to mortals, goes beneath the earth, nor where he rises” [ Od 10.190 ]

The confusion declared by Odysseus is justified by the presumed time of the year that they reached the island (presumably July - August, given the assumption we made for June at the Laestrygonians) and the latitude of Jan Mayen, where the sun is visible for 24h on the horizon (i.e. never sets) for the whole of July.

“I climbed to a rugged point of outlook, and beheld the island, about which is set as a crown the boundless deep. The isle itself lies low, and in the midst of it my eyes saw smoke through the thick brush and the wood” [ Od 10.194 ]

The description of Odysseus, fits the location of Jan Mayen which is in the middle of the Norweagean sea, far away from any mainland.

And it is also true that the island is low lying, except the part where Beerenberg rises (which probably was not as high as it is today by the time visited by Odysseus).

The high-horned stag

On his way back to the ship, Odysseus is lucky enough to find a “high-horned stag”:

“But when, as I went, I was near to the curved ship, then some god took pity on me in my loneliness, and sent a great, high-horned stag into my very path. He was coming down to the river from his pasture in the wood to drink” [ Od 10.156 ]

After killing the animal:

“I plucked twigs and osiers, and weaving a rope as it were a fathom in length, well twisted from end to end, I bound together the feet of the monstrous beast, and went my way to the black ship, bearing him across my back and leaning on my spear, since in no wise could I hold him on my shoulder with one hand, for he was a very mighty beast” [ Od 10.166 ]

Given the presumed weight and length of the animal, it would probably be a reindeer , which is about three times the weight of the deer. Nowadays, this species does not exist in Jan Mayen because there is no food to sustain animals of this size, but since it is found in all the island and continental regions of the area (e.g. in the island of Svalbard and northern Norway), it is reasonable to assume that once it also inhabited Jan Mayen.

Circe's drug

A scout team heads for the “palace of Circe”, where eventually they meet the goddess.

Circe prepares and serves them a “cocktail” of flour, cheese, honey, Pramnian wine (a strong wine) and “baneful drugs”, aiming to make them forget their homeland. After they have drunk the cocktail, they are “transformed” into pigs.

“And they had the heads, and voice, and bristles, and shape of swine, but their minds remained unchanged even as before. So they were penned there weeping, and before them Circe flung mast and acorns, and the fruit of the cornel tree, to eat, such things as wallowing swine are wont to feed upon” [ Od 10.239 ]

The last verse of the above passage describes the food that Circe gave them as a food that “such things as wallowing swine are wont to feed upon”, which etymologically leads to “ Hyoscyamus ”, a herb whose name derives from the combination of the words “ὑὸς” (pig) and “κύαμος” (bean), that is, the “bean of the pigs”.

Today we know that Hyoscyamus is a poisonous plant of the Solanaceae family that has been used since antiquity, both as a therapeutic remedy and as a hallucinogen. In the field of medicine, Hyoscyamus is reported to have been used as an anesthetic, mixed with “good wine” from Dioscorides to the Middle Ages. There are several varieties of the herb, with the most common being Hyoscyamus niger, known as “black henbane”.

The clinical side effects of Hyoscyamus poisoning include: visual, acoustic and kinetic hallucinations, confusion, loss of balance, aggression, tachycardia and arrhythmia, convulsions, dry mouth and thirst, difficulty in speaking, tingling in the skin, nausea and headache. Thus, hallucinations caused by the drug were most likely the cause of the “transformation” of Odysseus' companions into pigs.

Herme's antidote

Odysseus sets out to rescue his comrades from Circe’s “jail”. On his way, the god Hermes appears and advises Odysseus how to protect himself from the effects of the Circe’s herbs:

“He [Hermes] clasped my hand, and spoke, and addressed me... “Here, take this potent herb, and go to the house of Circe, and it shall ward off from thy head the evil day... So saying, Argeiphontes [Hermes] gave me the herb, drawing it from the ground, and showed me its nature. At the root it was black, but its flower was like milk. Moly the gods call it, and it is hard for mortal men to dig; but with the gods all things are possible” [ Od 10.280 ]

More than twenty different herbs have been suggested for the identification of the “Moly”, including “ Mandragora ” (Mandrake) among others, which also belongs to the Solanaceae family. The Mandragora fulfills both the color characteristics attributed to it (white blossom and black root), as well as the key characteristic to which the description makes particular reference, that is, to the fact that it is difficult to dig it from the soil (the length of a Mandragora root can be as much as one meter below the soil).

The stay at Circe’s island

After the episodic first acquaintance, Odysseus and his companions remain on the island in luxurious living conditions.

Preparation for the Hades

Under such pleasant conditions, Odysseus and his comrades stay a full year on the island of Circe.

“So there day after day for a full year we abode, feasting on abundant flesh and sweet wine. But when a year was gone and the seasons turned as the months waned and the long days were brought in their course, then my trusty comrades called me forth, and said: “Strange man, bethink thee now at last of thy native land, if it is fated for thee to be saved, and to reach thy high-roofed house and thy native land”. [ Od 10.467 ]

In order to properly comprehend the rest of the journey, it is important to try to identify the exact time at which Odysseus had the above discussion with his comrades. The reference to the day length in the excerpt above which is also the first after the corresponding reference to the phenomenon of the “long days” in the land of the Laestrygonians, gives us clues to answer the question.

However, the phrase must be translated with precision. The rendering of the phrase “περὶ δ᾽ ἤματα μακρὰ τελέσθη” of the ancient text as “the long days were brought in their course” is somewhat ambiguous, as it could be interpreted as both “when the long days were starting” or “when they were ending”. Maronitis’s translation though seems to accurately convey the meaning: they began to think about their departure when “the long days were over”, an event that takes place in mid-October, when the average sunshine in Jan Mayen is about eight (8) hours, much less compared to the previous months (about 13 hours of sunshine in September, 19 hours in August and continuous daylight from mid May till July).

The urge to Hades

Circe accepts their decision, but urges them to first go to Hades and get an oracle from Tiresias , the deceased blind prophet, before they continue their journey. And she provides detailed information on how to get there:

“Son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, Odysseus of many devices let there be in thy mind no concern for a pilot to guide thy ship” [ Od 10.488 ]

To the Hades

Circe's instructions for the way to Hades go like this:

“set up thy mast, and spread the white sail, and sit thee down; and the breath of the North Wind will bear her onward. But when in thy ship thou hast now crossed the stream of Oceanus, where is a level shore and the groves of Persephone –tall poplars, and willows that shed their fruit– there do thou beach thy ship by the deep eddying Oceanus, but go thyself to the dank house of Hades. There into Acheron flow Periphlegethon and Cocytus, which is a branch of the water of the Styx; and there is a rock, and the meeting place of the two roaring rivers” [ Od 10.506 ]

We will “decode” these instructions segmenting the route into three parts.

To the Hades – Part A

At the start of the voyage, a wind from the north will “power” their ship across the ocean, bringing them to a low-lying coastal area, where they will find groves of willows and poplars of Persephone . The presumed course of this first segment is depicted on map. Such a voyage would involve the ship’s taking advantage of the driving force of the north wind (most likely with lateral tilting of its sails) to travel against the ocean currents that flow from south to north. The ship would be heading eastward, eventually “crossing the ocean” and reaching the opposite coasts of (modern day) Norway, in the area of the archipelago of Lofoten .

The ship would be heading eastward, eventually “crossing the ocean” and reaching the opposite coasts of (modern day) Norway, in the area of the archipelago of Lofoten .

The hypothesis for the course of this route is supported by a number arguments:

• Circe describes the ship’s destination as a low-lying coast, which is consistent with the topography of the Lofoten coasts.
• Circe describes the vegetation of the groves of Persephone as poplar and willow trees, which is in line with the typical flora of the area's forests (known as taiga or boreal forests), which includes Aspen (Poplar tremula) and Goat willow (Salix caprea).
• In the caves on Moskenes island and two other very small islands to its south, Vaeroy and Rost petroglyphs were discovered dating back to 1700-500 BC.

The glyphs, which are mostly representations of humans, are considered to be a part of ceremonies that took place in the caves, which served as religious centers. Due to their morphology, the caves lead to dark underground spaces, while the petroglyphs are found either at the juncture of light-dark areas of the caves, or in the completely dark chambers. Such a distinctive, deliberate placement could symbolize the gradual transition of the participants in the ceremonies from the sphere of light in the “upper world” to the sphere of darkness in the underworld.

Given the above, Circe’s instructions to Odysseus about arriving at Persephone’s groves is of particular interest since, as is well known in Greek mythology, Persephone was considered to be the Queen of the Underworld.

The relevance of Persephone's mythological profile to the symbolism of the religious ceremonies carried out in the caves of the Moskenes region, in conjunction with the designation of the coastline where Odysseus was heading as Persephone’s grove, strengthens the argument of identifying the first target mentioned in Circe’s instructions, with the Moskenes region.

To the Hades – Part B

Odysseus’ next instruction from Circe is to do something with his ship once he reaches Persephone’s groves.

However, in order to interpret her instructions accurately, we should seek a precise rendering of the ancient text regarding “νῆα μὲν αὐτοῦ κέλσαι ἐπ᾽ Ὠκεανῷ βαθυδίνῃ”, which according to Maronitis translation, is “trust (hook) your ship to the ocean current”, and it will eventually lead you to the entrance of Hades.

This is the first time that an explicit reference is made to the use of ocean currents as a transport mechanism, a method that is widely relied on in the voyages described in the Odyssey.

Allowing the ship to follow the flow of the ocean current that passes just in front of the Lofoten area and runs in a south-to-north direction, it is eventually led to the island cluster of Svalbard .

To the Hades – Part C

“All the day long her sail was stretched as she sped over the sea; and the sun set and all the ways grew dark. “She came to deep-flowing Oceanus, that bounds the Earth, where is the land and city of the Cimmerians wrapped in mist and cloud. Never does the bright sun look down on them with his rays either when he mounts the starry heaven or when he turns again to earth from heaven, but baneful night is spread over wretched mortals” [ Od 11.11 ]

The phrase “and the sun set and all the ways grew dark”, probably refers to the phenomenon of the polar night, i.e. to the permanent disappearance of the sun from the horizon for some months, due to the latitude that they had now climbed: in Jan Mayen (71 o N) the average sunshine in October is 8 hours, while in Svalbard (78 o N) there is no sunshine from the end of October until the end of January.

“Thither we came and beached our ship, and took out the sheep, and ourselves went beside the stream of Oceanus until we came to the place of which Circe had told us...” [ Od 11.20 ]

Our travelers mooring their ship “beside the stream of Oceanus ”, arrive at the mouth of Acheron , which is probably today’s Reindalselva river that flows into the Van Mijenfjordenfjord , which is likely to be the Acherousia lake .

“There into Acheron flow Periphlegethon and Cocytus, which is a branch of the water of the Styx; and there is a rock, and the meeting place of the two roaring rivers” [ Od 10.513 ]

Τhe “rock” that is referenced must be the rock island of Akseløya , which closes almost completely the entrance of the fjord, creating a closed sea, practically a lake.

As for the rivers of Pyriphlegethon and Cocytus that converge with Acheron, at the point of this rock, read the story for the description of the area of Hades by Plato .

At the Asphodel Meadow

“Past the streams of Oceanus they went, past the rock Leucas, past the gates of the sun and the land of dreams, and quickly came to the mead of asphodel, where the spirits dwell, phantoms of men who have done with toils” [ Od 24.11 ]

What, however, was the “asphodel meadow” (the “ἀσφοδελός λειμῶνας” in the original text) referred to in the above verses?

According to an interesting interpretation , “ἀσφοδελός” of the Homeric formula is the result of a resegmentation of a phrase that is better understood in a strictly Greek etymological context where “ἀσφοδελός” is a reanalysis of “σφοδελός”, or rather “σποδελός”, an adjectival form, with the common Greek suffix -ελος, of the root σποδ- found also in the Homeric noun σποδός “ashes”. So the “asphodel meadow” was the “valley of the ashes” from the burned bodies of the dead, which they believed that are burned in flames after death.

How does this relate to the region? In Svalbard, coal is abundant, and is even found on the ground surface, making the mining of coal the main industry in Svalbard.

Chat with the souls

Under polar night conditions, i.e. continuous darkness with a phantasmagorical twilight, Odysseus and his comrades walk along the valley of Acheron (the “asphodel meadow”), stepping on pieces of coal which they believed to be the remains of the dead!

It is there where Odysseus "chats" with many of the souls, including his mother Anticleia, Agamemnon , Achilles , Minos and Tiresias .

Interestingly, áheyrsla in Old Norse and áheyrsi in Old Icelandic, which mean "to get to know by hearing", are phonetically very close to the name of the Acherousia lake, where Odysseus chated with (heard from) the souls of the dead, and that perhaps explains the origin of the name of this lake.

Back to Circe

Odysseus and his comrades return to Aeaea, the island of Circe, again following the ocean currents; this time they follow the East Greenland current , which flows in a north-to-south direction. Here again, we have an explicit reference to the “power” of the ocean currents:

“And the ship was borne down the stream Oceanus by the swelling flood, first with our rowing, and afterwards the wind was fair” [ Od 11.639 ]

Eventually, the travelers reach the island of Circe by moving out of the ocean current when they have come close to the island:

“Now after our ship had left the stream of the river Oceanus and had come to the wave of the broad sea, and the Aeaean isle, where is the dwelling of early Dawn and her dancing-lawns, and the risings of the sun” [ Od 12.1 ]

The dancing-lawns of the down

In the last two verses “where is the dwelling of early Dawn and her dancing-lawns, and the risings of the sun”, Homer appears to describe an impressive phenomenon that can not be left unnoticed by anyone present at the latitude of Jan Mayen: the Northern Lights!

The international name for this phenomenon is the Aurora Borealis. (“Aurora” is a Latin term meaning “the dawn”, as it was considered the first light of the dawn), and “Borealis” (a Greek word denoting the northern hemisphere).

In almost all references to it, the Aurora is described as a “dance” due to the fluid movement of light which characterizes it. The “dancing lawns” in Homer’s description, therefore, given the geographical location of our travelers, lead to the conclusion that Homer is indeed referring to the Aurora Borealis.

Departure from Circe's island

Before they leave, Circe gives Odysseus detailed directions for the rest of their journey, demonstrating for one more time her intimate knowledge of the maritime routes. These descriptions will be mentioned step-by-step as we describe the journey.

“ye shall set sail, and I will point out the way and declare to you each thing, in order that ye may not suffer pain and woes through wretched ill-contriving either by sea or on land” [ Od 12.25 ]

“So she spoke, and presently came golden-throned Dawn. Then the beautiful goddess departed up the island, but I went to the ship and roused my comrades” [ Od 12.142 ]

Circe after Odysseus

Some traditions indicate that Circe “destroyed” her island and moved to Italy, where she settled on the mountain-cape named Circeo. The background pictures highlight the visual similarity of the two areas, her new home at Circeo (left) with the previous one on Jan Mayen Island (right), which of course may be entirely coincidental.

Even more interesting are the common elements of two literary works, of Calderón's “Love, the greatest Enchantment” and Mozart's “The Magic Flute”:

“Love, the Greatest Enchantment” is an allegory of faith based on the visit of Odysseus to Circe… As Odysseus departs to the sea, Circe’s palace sinks and is replaced by a fire-spewing volcano.

In the epilogue of “The Magic Flute”, in the final dispersal of the Queen of the Night –a late incarnation of Circe– and her forces, the thunder and lightning take the place of a volcano.

Are these references to the volcano in which the island of Circe (which we have located in the volcanic island Jan Mayen) was finally transformed purely coincidental, or did the writers of the works knew something more about the “myth”?

At the Sirenes

Circe warns Odysseus about the first beings they will encounter after his departure from her island, the Sirens, with their enchanting voices, and gives instructions on how to successfully outsmart them:

“To the Sirens first shalt thou come, who beguile all men whosoever comes to them. Whoso in ignorance draws near to them and hears the Sirens' voice, he nevermore returns, that his wife and little children may stand at his side rejoicing, but the Sirens beguile him with their clear-toned song” [ Od 12.39 ]

Odysseus describes their aquaintance with the Sirens like this:

“Meanwhile the well-built ship speedily came to the isle of the two Sirens, for a fair and gentle wind bore her on. Then presently the wind ceased and there was a windless calm, and a god lulled the waves to sleep... But when we were as far distant as a man can make himself heard when he shouts, driving swiftly on our way, the Sirens failed not to note the swift ship as it drew near, and they raised their clear-toned song: “Come hither, as thou farest, renowned Odysseus, great glory of the Achaeans stay thy ship that thou mayest listen to the voice of us two. For never yet has any man rowed past this isle in his black ship until he has heard the sweet voice from our lips” [ Od 12.166 ]

The Sirens

Who were these Sirens, and where did they live? In the Suda Dictionary they are described as follows:

“[Sirens were] women with lyric voices who, in bygone Greek myth, dwelled on a small island and so enticed passing sailors with their beautiful voices that crews steered in and perished there. From their chests up they had the form of sparrows, below they were women”

The island of the Sirens

Given that the Sirens resemble birds, their island was probably the present-day rock-island of Funk , east of Newfoundland , which is inhabited by thousands of seabirds and is associated with many similar sea-stories.

At the Sirenes

The presumed route that Odysseus and his comrades took to reach the island of the Sirens, always following ocean currents (specifically, the East Greenland and Labrador ) is shown on the map. This route is almost identical with that described by Plutarch in this story of the series .

The role of the Sirens’ island in the journey was probably a kind of “alarm” that signified the approach to the final destination and alerted travelers that they had reached the point where they should take some concrete actions, to which we will refer next.

Funk's long tradition

The list of similar stories relating to Funk Island is long:

“Since the first European voyages to the rich cod-fishing grounds off Newfoundland there have been also been reports of an Island of Demons in the region, reputedly inhabited by a curious mixture of wild animals, mythological creatures, evil spirits, devils, and demons.”

In his Cosmographie Universelle in 1575, Friar André Thevet writes:

“I have been told so by not just one but by numberless pilots and mariners with whom I have long travelled; that when they passed by this coast, when they were plagued by a big storm, they heard in the air, as if on the crow’s nest or masts of their vessels, these human voices making a great noise, without their being able to discern intelligible words… These voices caused them a hundred times more astonishment then the tempest around them. They well knew that they were close to the Isle of Demons”

Interestingly, J.R. Carpenter notes :

“Though it is almost certainly from a malodorous genealogy that the name of the modern-day Funk Island descends, it is interesting to note that in German, the word ‘funk’ means radio or wireless. This false genealogy, with its ssociation with sound and broadcast, resonates with the Greek myth of the Isle of Sirens”

The two paths

According to Circe's instructions, once Odysseus has passed the island of the Sirens, he must decide which of two alternative routes to follow:

“But when thy comrades shall have rowed past these, thereafter I shall not fully say on which side thy course is to lie, but do thou thyself ponder it in mind, and I will tell thee of both ways” [ Od 12.55 ]

The first path

Circe recommends avoiding the first alternative because, as she says, it entails some difficult obstacles: the “Planctae”:

“For on the one hand are beetling crags, and against them roars the great wave of dark-eyed Amphitrite; the Planctae do the blessed gods call these. Thereby not even winged things may pass, no, not the timorous doves that bear ambrosia to father Zeus, but the smooth rock ever snatches away one even of these and the father sends in another to make up the tale” [ Od 12.59 ]

The Planctae

These Planctae (literaly meaning: “the wandering”), the “beetling crags” that are not approached even by birds, and which, at the point where waves crash against them, have a blue-cyan (“κυανώπις” in the ancient text), color like that of the eyes of Amphitrite , probably refer to the icebergs which, as they drift along the Labrador Current from the north, block the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the point where Ogygia (today's island of St. Paul), is located.

A dangerous passage

And Circe concludes:

“And thereby has no ship of men ever yet escaped that has come thither, but the planks of ships and bodies of men are whirled confusedly by the waves of the sea and the blasts of baneful fire” [ Od 12.66 ]

A report of the early explorers of the 19 th century about this passage confirms Circe's warnings:

“The situation of this island [St Paul], in the very entrance of the great thoroughfare leading from the Atlantic to the Gulf and River St. Lawrence, together with the abrupt nature of its shore and the depth of the sea around, admitting a ship to run her jib boom against the cliff before she strikes the bottom; the frequent fogs and tempestuous weather; the uncertain currents; and, at the opening of the navigation of the St. Lawrence, the large bodies of ice; all these circumstances combine with the inaccuracy of many of the charts in general use, to render the island of St. Paul probably the most dangerous to shipping that is to be found on the coast of British America.”

The passage of the Argo

At this point, Circe provides a piece of valuable information: the “Argo”, the famous ship of the hero Jason, once passed through this same spot:

“One seafaring ship alone has passed thereby that Argo famed of all, on her voyage from Aeetes, and even her the wave would speedily have dashed there against the great crags, had not Here sent her through, for that Jason was dear to her” [ Od 12.69 ]

Refer to the story of the Argonauts for more information on this very interesting point.

At the Scylla & Charybdis

The second alternative route, which Circe recommends is no less dangerous:

“Now on the other path are two cliffs, one of which reaches with its sharp peak to the broad heaven, and a dark cloud surrounds it... And in the midst of the cliff is a dim cave, turned to the West, toward Erebus, even where you shall steer your hollow ship, glorious Odysseus. Not even a man of might could shoot an arrow from the hollow ship so as to reach into that vaulted cave. Therein dwells Scylla, yelping terribly. Her voice is indeed but as the voice of a new-born whelp, but she herself is an evil monster, nor would anyone be glad at sight of her, no, not though it were a god that met her. Verily she has twelve feet, all misshapen and six necks, exceeding long, and on each one an awful head, and therein three rows of teeth, thick and close, and full of black death” [ Od 12.73 ]

The Scylla

The imposing geological formations of the Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy have the visual characteristics of the “six necks, exceeding long, and on each one an awful head, and therein three rows of teeth” described in the Homeric text.

The Elephant Rock

As for the sloping rock with the spiky top, this was most likely the so-called “ Elephant Rock ”, an emblem of New Brunswick, which unfortunately collapsed in March 2016.

The Charybdis

Circe's description continues to Charybdis:

“But the other cliff, thou wilt note, Odysseus, is lower –they are close to each other; thou couldst even shoot an arrow across– and on it is a great fig tree with rich foliage, but beneath this divine Charybdis sucks down the black water. Thrice a day she belches it forth, and thrice she sucks it down terribly. Mayest thou not be there when she sucks it down, for no one could save thee from ruin, no, not the Earth-shaker” [ Od 12.101 ]

Passing through the beasts

Odysseus's account of the passing of the terrible beasts:

“We then sailed on up the narrow strait with wailing. For on one side lay Scylla and on the other divine Charybdis terribly sucked down the salt water of the sea. Verily whenever she belched it forth, like a cauldron on a great fire she would seethe and bubble in utter turmoil, and high over head the spray would fall on the tops of both the cliffs. But as often as she sucked down the salt water of the sea, within she could all be seen in utter turmoil, and round about the rock roared terribly, while beneath the earth appeared black with sand” [ Od 12.234 ]

The tides of the Bay of Fundy

The reference to the “sucking” and “seething” of the water of the sea described by the poet is probably a reference to the tidal phenomenon (i.e. low and high tides), which occurs in its most intense form on the planet at the Bay of Fundy . Specifically, within a period of 6 hours and 13 minutes, huge amounts of water are moved, raising the sea level up to 15m.

A difference between the Homeric description and reality is the periodicity of the phenomenon: Homer says there are three tidal changes every day, but in fact there are only two in every 24-hour period. Relating to this inconsistency regarding the periodicity of the tidal phenomenon, Strabo in his Geographica writes:

“It is another proof of the same eagerness for knowledge that Homer was not ignorant about the ebb and flow of the tide of Oceanus for he speaks of “Oceanus that floweth ever back upon himself,” and also says: “For thrice a day she spouts it forth, and thrice a day she sucks it down”. For even if it be “twice” and not “thrice” – it may be that Homer really strayed from the fact on this point, or else that there is a corruption in the text – the principle remains the same” [ I.1.7 ]

At the colonies

This is not an explicitly mentioned “stop” in the epic, but it is a clearly infered one, as we shall see in the following.

Given that the first option of Circe's guidelines for the path to be followed was heading to the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we conclude that Odysseus' intention was to enter the Gulf.

The Greek colonies

Why would they want to enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence? And why did the Argonauts long before Odysseus did the same?

The answer probably is provided by Plutarch, who says that the islands adjacent to Ogygia as well as the whole regions in red were inhabited by Greeks.

The landblock

But, the entrance to their presumed target, the Gulf of St. Lawrence is not accessible by sea from their current location. How, then, could they have reached the inner part of the Gulf?

Mission completed!

The answer is probably that there was no reason for Odysseus to go further by ship, as they had already reached the region of their destination, where the existing sttlers would have established a transportation network to the various places.

Thus, the whole trip up to now, was a forward trip to the Greek colonies of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and not a return trip from Troy after the Trojan war to Ithaca as it is commonly believed.

At the colonies

Where did Odysseus spent his time in the colonies and what was he doing there?

Once back in Ithaca, and while talking to godess Athena, Odysseus tells her that:

“I heard of Ithaca, even in broad Crete, far over the sea; and now have I myself come hither with these my goods” [ Od 13.256 ]

So, he was in Crete, before reaching Ithaca, but not the island of Crete in the Aegean sea!

Crete of the West

Once back in Ithaca, still in disguise before he reveals who he really was, replying to his wife question of where he came from, he reveals that:

“There is a land called Crete, in the midst of the wine-dark sea” [ Od 19.172 ]

What's special in this statement, is that he refers to this Crete in a quite different way than other references in his narrative to the "well known" Crete of the Aegean (e.g. Od 14.252 , Od 14.300 ], preceding the reference by “there is a land...”, as if the Crete he is referring to is a less known “land", much like references to these typically unkonwn islands:

“There is an isle, Ogygia, which lies far off in the sea" [ Od 7.244 ]

“There is an isle called Syria, if haply thou hast heard thereof" [ Od 15.403 ]

By combining this observation with the fact that this Crete is in the midst of the wine-dark sea, we can conclude that the island he is refering to is today's Prince Edward Island , which, interestingly, has a similar shape to that of the Crete of the Aegean.

The wine-dark sea

The sea around Prince Edward Island and parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence actually takes the reddish color of the Homeric description due to the kind of rocks that dominate in the area as can be seen in the picture.

Interestingly, in an early map of the region (1768), the strait between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia is named as Red Sea, which fits exactly the Homeric attribution to the color of the sea in the region.

The settlers of the Crete of the West

According to Odysseus’s narrative, Achaeans, Cretans, Cydons, Dorians, Pelasgians, and other Greek tribes, each with their own language, live in the “land” of Crete-in-the-west:

“[It is] a fair, rich land, begirt with water, and therein are many men, past counting, and ninety cities. They have not all the same speech, but their tongues are mixed. There dwell Achaeans, there great-hearted native Cretans, there Cydonians, and Dorians of waving plumes, and goodly Pelasgians. Among their cities is the great city Cnosus, where Minos reigned when nine years old, he that held converse with great Zeus” [ Od 19.173 ]

This is yet another explicit reference in the Homeric text to the colonization of the American continent by a multitude of ancient Greek tribes.

What did Odysseus do in the colonies?

While still disguised as a poor beggar, Odysseus tells shepherd Eumaeus his story, in which he refers to the value of the treasures that “Odysseus” was bringing with him:

“And he [the king of Thesproteans] showed me all the treasure that Odysseus had gathered, bronze, and gold, and iron, wrought with toil; verily unto the tenth generation would it feed his children after him” [ Od 14.321 ]

The map in the background, depicts the richness in minerals, bronze, gold and iron of Nova Scotia, which exactly fit the above description. In fact, the control of these mineral sources was, probably, the cause of the Trojan War that took place there.

The departure

How long did Oysseus spent in the colonies? Most probably, seven years. Odysseus says that he spent these seven years in Ogygia, the island of Calypso but as we shall see in the following, this is not the case:

“There for seven years' space I remained continually, and ever with my tears would I wet the immortal raiment which Calypso gave me” [ Od 7.259 ],

As he confesses while talking to his wife Penelope once in Ithaca, at some point the time comes for him to leave Crete for his return trip to Ithaca.

“Honored wife of Odysseus, son of Laertes, verily cloaks and bright coverlets became hateful in my eyes on the day when first I left behind me the snowy mountains of Crete, as I fared on my long-oared ship” [ Od 19.336 ]

At Thrinacia

Back to Circe's instructions for Odysseus journey, immediatelly after the Scylla & Charybdis, she lists the island of Thrinacia.

“And thou wilt come to the isle Thrinacia. There in great numbers feed the kine of Helios and his goodly flocks, seven herds of kine and as many fair flocks of sheep and fifty in each” [ Od 12.127 ]

Tiresias, the blind seer that Odysseus “met” in hades, had also told him that they will visit Thrinacia, as they will be leaving the “violet sea” (an alternative mention to the dark-wine sea):

“Yet even so ye may reach home, though in evil plight if thou wilt curb thine own spirit and that of thy comrades, as soon as thou shalt bring thy well-built ship to the island Thrinacia, escaping from the violet sea, and ye find grazing there the kine and goodly flocks of Helios, who over sees and overhears all things” [ Od 11.104 ]

The return journey

So, Thrinacia, was the first stop of the return journey of Odysseus to Ithaca.

Most likely, Thrinacia was today's Magdalen islands . Its name is probably a paraphrase of “Τρινακρία”, that is, the island with the three edges, a designation made by Strabo to correlate the shape of the island with that of the island of Sicily (which he identified as Thrinacia), which also has a characteristic triangular shape.

A holy island

Over time Thrinacia seems to be attributed the characteristics of a sacred place:

• The island is identified in the analysis presented in another story with the remnants of the legendary island of Atlantis, which is described as “ἱερὰ” (holly).
• The island is identified as the place where Cronus was sleeping in one of its caves, after been condemned by Zeus to eternal sleep, according to Plutarch (1 st century AD).
• It is the island where the “goodly flocks of Helios” live, guarded by his two daughters, the nymphs Lambetie and Phaethusa, and whose flocks should not be touched by humans.
• Odysseus goes to a specific spot on the island to pray for the good fate of their journey:

“Then I went apart up the island that I might pray to the gods in the hope that one of them might show me a way to go. And when, as I went through the island, I had got away from my comrades, I washed my hands in a place where there was shelter from the wind, and prayed to all the gods that hold Olympus” [ Od 12.333 ]

Thus, it can be concluded that the reason for visiting Thrinacia was to seek the gods’ favor for the long trip they had ahead, in the Atlantic Ocean.

A bad weather

Once they had landed on the island, the weather suddenly turned bad (a typical pattern in the area), so they were forced to protect their boat in a cave (the island has many caves, including the cave where Cronus was supposed to be sleeping ).

“Then for a full month the South Wind blew unceasingly, nor did any other wind arise except the East and the South” [ Od 12.325 ]

The fact that it was the south-east winds that prevented them sailing, means that their intention was to sail south towards the exit of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and into the ocean, at the point where Ogygia is located.

The kine of Helios

Both Circe and Tiresias strongly warn to not harm Helios kine:

“If thou leavest these unharmed and heedest thy homeward way, verily ye may yet reach Ithaca, though in evil plight. But if thou harmest them, then I foretell ruin for thy ship and for thy comrades, and even if thou shalt thyself escape, late shalt thou come home and in evil case, after losing all thy comrades” [ Od 11.110 ]

The slaughter of the “cattle”

But, the prolonged bad weather resulted in the exhaustion of all their food supplies, and Odysseus' comrades, ignoring his rigorous warning, decide to slaughter the cattle of Helios to satisfy their hunger:

“Straightway they drove off the best of the kine of Helios from near at hand, for not far from the dark-prowed ship were grazing the fair, sleek kine, broad of brow” [ Od 12.353 ]

These “ἕλικες βόες εὐρυμέτωποι” in the original text, which were “grazing not far from the ship”, were probably walrus , not cattle, as is analysed in this story of the series.

The walrus colonies

Walrus once abounded on the island, according to testimonies: 1

“In the 17 th and 18 th centuries, Old-Harry [the beach shown] a was the site of the walrus hunt, which brought the first Europeans (Basques) to the Islands. The “echoueries” (haul-out sites) are the areas where the walruses, piled one upon the other, would lie in the sun. Although they were huge, almost as big as cows, these animals were agile enough to use their tusks to help them climb up the rocks. Walrus were slaughtered in Old-Harry for the oil in the animal's thick layer of fat. Seacow road is said to be the path to the slaughtering grounds. The hunt was so intensive that in 1799 the whole herd of walrus was destroyed, and they have now completely vanished from the Islands.”

At Calypso & Ogygia

At some point, the weather conditions are favorable for the continuation of the trip, so they set sail from Thrinacia.

But the weather quickly changes for the worst yet again (a typical weather pattern of the region), this time with a strong western wind; their boat is destroyed and all the crew –except for Odysseus– are lost.

“But when we had left that island and no other land appeared, but only sky and sea then verily the son of Cronos set a black cloud above the hollow ship, and the sea grew dark beneath it. She ran on for no long time, for straightway came the shrieking West Wind, blowing with a furious tempest, and the blast of the wind snapped both the fore-stays of the mast” [ Od 12.403 ]

The shipwreck

Refering to his shipwreck when Odysseus tells his story to Alcinous he notes the redish color of the sea:

“Zeus had smitten my swift ship with his bright thunderbolt, and had shattered it in the midst of the wine-dark sea” [ Od 7.249 ]

As in the case of the sea color around the Prince Edward Island, the sea around the Magdalen island has the same redish color:

Odysseus manages to grab hold of some pieces of debris to serve as a lifeboat. For the whole evening, he struggles with the waves, and in the morning he finds himself once again at Scylla and Charybdis.

Based on the presumed location of the shipwreck (very close to Thrinacia), however, the revisit to the Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy (where Scylla–Charybdis were presumably located) is not possible topologically within just one night since the distance is at least 1,200km.

Most probably, Odysseus is experiencing the tidal effects of the area to which he refers as Scylla & Charybdis. Strabo provides an interesting analysis on this in his Geographica [1.2.36] .

The shipwreck

“Thence for nine days was I borne, and on the tenth night the gods brought me to Ogygia where the fair-tressed Calypso dwells, dread goddess of human speech” [ Od 12.447 ]

Where was Odysseus wandering for nine days before being washed out on the island of Calypso, i.e. Ogygia? Although we do not have the data to know precisely, given the local currents that develop in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it is reasonable to assume that the wandering took place within the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the region indicated in blue on map.

As for the attribution of the nickname “cemetery of the Gulf” to the island of St. Paul due to the large number of shipwrecks that happen there, fits perfectly with Odysseus’ adventure on this island.

At Calypso

Calypso , the daughter of Atlas, lives on the island; she rescues the shipwrecked Odysseus, and allegedly is his host for seven years. Finally, the day comes when the goddess Athena suggests to her father Zeus that he mediate the release of Odysseus from Calypso, an event that is the introduction of the Odyssey.

“My heart is torn for wise Odysseus, hapless man, who far from his friends has long been suffering woes in a sea-girt isle, where is the navel of the sea. 'Tis a wooded isle, and therein dwells a goddess, daughter of Atlas of baneful mind, who knows the depths of every sea, and himself holds the tall pillars which keep earth and heaven apart” [ Od 1.48 ]

This description agrees with the location of the island of St. Paul as it is located in the center of the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and, conversely, is a focal point of the exit from the Gulf to the open ocean.

At Ogygia

The description also agrees with the flora of the island of St. Paul which is indeed forested.

Later, when Hermes “flies” to the island to announce the gods’ will to Calypso, we get extra information about the island's flora and fauna:

“A great fire was burning on the hearth, and from afar over the isle there was a fragrance of cleft cedar and juniper, as they burned;... Round about the cave grew a luxuriant wood, alder and poplar and sweet-smelling cypress, wherein birds long of wing were wont to nest, owls and falcons and sea-crows with chattering tongues, who ply their business on the sea. And right there about the hollow cave ran trailing a garden vine, in pride of its prime, richly laden with clusters” [ Od 5.59 ]

lora & Fauna comparison

The list of the Homeric vs contemporary reports for the flora and fauna of the island is the following:

• Cedar / Fir
• Alder / White Birch
• Juniper / No reports for the island but Thuja abounds in the broader area (Nova Scotia)
• Poplars / No reports for the island, but it is an endemic species in the wider region
• Grapes / No reports for the island, but in the wider area of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, vineyards abound
• Sea-Crows / Crows
• Falcons / Eagles
• Owls / No reports for the island, but in the wider region (Nova Scotia) the species Barred Owl (Strix varia) abounds

Thus, the Homeric descriptions of the flora and fauna for Ogygia are largely in line with the modern state of the island.

Preparing for departure

Calypso helps Odysseus construct a boat by pointing out where suitable trees can be found in the island’s forests and giving him the necessary tools to complete it.

“She gave him a great axe, well fitted to his hands an axe of bronze, sharpened on both sides; and in it was a beautiful handle of olive wood, securely fastened; and thereafter she gave him a polished adze. Then she led the way to the borders of the island where tall trees were standing, alder and popular and fir, reaching to the skies long dry and well-seasoned, which would float for him lightly” [ Od 5.234 ]

The fact that the trees were “long dry”, probably places the time of the events between the end of August–beginning of September, a fact that is important for determining the timing of the rest of the journey.

As for the statement of Odysseus in [ Od 7.261 ], if he had really spent seven years on the island with Calypso as he told to Alcinous, he would have known every single corner of it and would not need the guidance of Calypso to find the spot with the tall and dry trees.

Leaving Ogygia

The construction of the boat was completed in four days, and on the fifth Odysseus begun his long journey of return to Ithaca.

“Now the fourth day came and all his work was done. And on the fifth the beautiful Calypso sent him on his way from the island after she had bathed him and clothed him in fragrant raiment. On the raft the goddess put a skin of dark wine, and another, a great one, of water, and provisions, too, in a wallet” [ Od 5.262 ]

At the Phaeacians

Odysseus sails, as always, on the ocean current , following Calypso's instructions to keep the polar constellation of the Great Bear (i.e. North) on his left:

“and he sat and guided his raft skilfully with the steering-oar, nor did sleep fall upon his eyelids, as he watched the Pleiads, and late-setting Bootes, and the Bear, which men also call the Wain, which ever circles where it is and watches Orion and alone has no part in the baths of Ocean. For this star Calypso, the beautiful goddess, had bidden him to keep on the left hand as he sailed over the sea” [ Od 5.270 ]

An animated video of the sky view of these constelations during the sail, is provided here .

On the 18 th day, the mountains of the island of the Phaeacians begin to be visible on the horizon:

“For seventeen days then he sailed over the sea, and on the eighteenth appeared the shadowy mountains of the land of the Phaeacians, where it lay nearest to him; and it shewed like unto a shield in the misty deep” [ Od 5.278 ]

Poseidon's intervention

Unfortunately, however, Poseidon , as he returns from the land of the Ethiopians, spots Odysseus and destroys his ship, leaving him once again stranded in the sea.

Early on in the epic, we get the information that Poseidon has gone to the Ethiopians, whose land is located in North Africa, occupying the entire continent from its eastern to the western parts:

“Howbeit Poseidon had gone among the far-off Ethiopians—the Ethiopians who dwell sundered in twain, the farthermost of men, some where Hyperion sets and some where he rises” [ Od 1.22 ]

Leucothea's help

Odysseus struggles in the sea, and he may not have survived without the help goddesses Leucothea:

“Come, take this veil, and stretch it beneath thy breast. It is immortal; there is no fear that thou shalt suffer aught or perish” [ Od 5.346 ]

What is this “veil” that Leucothea gave to Odysseus to wear around his waist? The scholiasts commenting on the epic poem “ Argonautica ” of Apollonius Rhodius , give us a hint in their reference to the Mysteries of Caveiria:

“They say that the initiated wear a red belt, and by initiation they survive the dangers of the sea. For Odysseus they say that he was initiated and using the veil as a belt, he was saved from the storm by placing the veil under his belly” [ Lewis, N .]

The importance of this detail is discussed on another story of the series.

At Scheria

Eventually, after two days in the sea, Odysseus manages to reach Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians. The shore is rocky, making it difficult to find an approachable beach to land:

“all things were wrapped in the foam of the sea; for there were neither harbors where ships might ride, nor road-steads but projecting headlands, and reefs, and cliffs” [ Od 5.403 ]

But he manages to find a suitable spot in a river estuary, and finally gets ashore:

“But when, as he swam, he came to the mouth of a fair-flowing river, where seemed to him the best place, since it was smooth of stones, and besides there was shelter from the wind, he knew the river as he flowed forth, and prayed to him in his heart” [ Od 5.441 ]

Given the description of the route followed by Odysseus as having the Great Bear always on his left, together with the direction of the flow and the speed of the Gulf Stream , and the number of days of his sail, Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians, is probably today’s island of Flores , in the Azores, and the river that he encountered must be the Riviera Grande of the Fajãzinha area depicted in the background.

From Ogygia to Scheria

The distance of the sail route from Ogygia to Scheria is about 2,800km.

Given that Odysseus crossed this route in eighteen (18) days, his mean speed was 155km per 24h which is perfectly aligned with the mean speed of the Gulf Stream which he was following.

The Modena incident

A very similar trip powered solely by the Gulf Stream, was recorded in 1873, when the bark Modena , sailed from the port of Boston but floundered in the waters of Bermuda on April 22. Captain William H. Long and eleven men, after abandoning their ship, survived an adventure of 3,700 km and 14 days on a lifeboat along the Gulf Stream to the mouth of Ribeira da Cruz in Fajã do Conde, along the eastern shores of the island. The sailors carved a note on the rocks there:

“Capt. W. H. Lang and 11 men landed May 5, 1873 from Bark Modena of Boston Mass. Foundered April 22”

The only difference in the two routes is that Odysseus ended up on the west coast of Flores, while the Modena crew on the east. And this is because the direction of currents vary depending on the season (summer-winter).

First night at Scheria

The next problem Odysseus faced was how and where he would spend the night:

“he went his way to the wood and found it near the water in a clear space; and he crept beneath two bushes that grew from the same spot, one of thorn and one of olive. Through these the strength of the wet winds could never blow, nor the rays of the bright sun beat” [ Od 5.475 ]

The tree called “φυλίης” in the ancient text, which is translated as “thorn”, also known as a “ phillyrea ”, is a shrub belonging to the Oleaceae family. On Flores Island, Picconia azorica , a shrub in the Oleaceae family, is an endemic species and typical type of vegetation of the area of Fajãzinha .

Odysseus meets Nausicaa

At the time Odysseus sets foot on the island, the princess of the island, Nausicaa , coincidentally happens to go to the same river to wash clothes.

Eventually they meet, and in the dialogues that were exchanged, we get valuable information that contribute further to the identification of the island.

The remote Phaeacians

Nausicaa places the island as being far out to sea, isolated from all other land, which is true of course for the island of Flores:

“Far off we dwell in the surging sea, the furthermost of men, and no other mortals have dealings with us” [ Od 6.204 ]

Phaeacians capital

Nausicaa's mother advises her to ride in a wagon to the washing cisterns rather than to walk there, as it is a long distance from the city:

“Nay, come, bestir thy noble father early this morning that he make ready mules and a wagon for thee, to bear the girdles and robes and bright coverlets. And for thyself, too, it is far more seemly to go thus than on foot, for the washing tanks are far from the city” [ Od 6.36 ]

The presumed route from Riviera Grande to the “city”, presumably, today's Lajes das Flores , is about 15km, justifying the need to use a wagon for the transfer.

The route to the city

Nausicaa describes Odysseus the route to the city:

“Thou wilt find a goodly grove of Athena hard by the road, a grove of poplar trees. In it a spring wells up, and round about is a meadow. There is my father's park and fruitful vineyard, as far from the city as a man's voice carries when he shouts” [ Od 6.291 ]

The “goodly grove of Athena” with the poplar trees and water springs where Alcinous’ park was, close to the city, is perhaps where Reserva Florestal de Recreiro Boca da Baleia , a Natural Reserve, is now located.

To the city of the Phaeacians

“Then Odysseus roused himself to go to the city, and Athena, with kindly purpose, cast about him a thick mist, that no one of the great-hearted Phaeacians, meeting him, should speak mockingly to him, and ask him who he was” [ Od 7.15 ]

The thick mist described in the text is a very common phenomenon on the island.

Phaeacians naval expertise

The naval expertise of the Phaeacians is praised in various places in the text:

>“For the Phaeacians have no pilots, nor steering-oars such as other ships have, but their ships of themselves understand the thoughts and minds of men, and they know the cities and rich fields of all peoples, and most swiftly do they cross over the gulf of the sea, hidden in mist and cloud, nor ever have they fear of harm or ruin” [ Od 8.557 ]

Why do the ships of the Phaeacians have no rudders or steering mechanisms? Probably because they were just “going with the flow” of ocean current, which was driving them along even in low visibility conditions (“hidden in the mist and cloud”).

This reminds Circe's advice to Odysseus for reaching the Hades: “trust (hook) your ship to the ocean current”, and it will eventually lead you to your destination.

The fajã

The term fajã, whose etymology is of undetermined origin, is very common in the Portuguese Macaronesia , especially in the Azores.

The term is used to describe topographical features, i.e. areas of flat, fertile and arable land lying along a coast. Fajãs are formed by the volcanic action, either by landslides or lava flows.

This term could be a corruption of the Greek word “φαιά” (gray), which could have been used to describe the “gray earth”, gray being the characteristic color of the soil of the volcanic-created fajãs. Along this line, perhaps this is where the name of the “Phaeacians” came from, i.e. “Φαία-κες” meaning “[people] of the gray earth”.

Leaving Scheria

Finally, the time comes for the Phaeacians to take Odysseus to his beloved Ithaca. Odysseus falls into a deep sleep all the way:

“But when they had come down to the ship and to the sea, straightway the lordly youths that were his escort took these things,and stowed them in the hollow ship, even all the food and drink. Then for Odysseus they spread a rug and a linen sheet on the deck of the hollow ship at the stern, that he might sleep soundly” [ Od 13.70 ]

At Ithaca

The duration of the journey from the time they embarked from Scheria until they reached Ithaca is covered by Homer in just 18 verses of narrative ( 13.77–95 ), and less than 24 hours of sailing time:

“Now when that brightest of stars rose which ever comes to herald the light of early Dawn even then the seafaring ship drew near to the island” [ Od 13.94 ]

The Phaeacians take their ship to the harbor of Phorcys, which they seem to know well:

“There is in the land of Ithaca a certain harbor of Phorcys, the old man of the sea, and at its mouth two projecting headlands sheer to seaward, but sloping down on the side toward the harbor. These keep back the great waves raised by heavy winds without, but within the benched ships lie unmoored when they have reached the point of anchorage” [ Od 13.96 ]

The “two projecting headlands sheer to seaward, but sloping down on the side toward the harbor” are most probably those formed by the two characteristic calderas of the volcano cone Monte da Guia known as Baía das Caldeirinhas.

At Phorcy's harbor

The sandy beach of today's Bay of Porto Pim which, until the end of the 19 th century, was the main port of Horta , the island’s capital, fully supports the above description of the approach of the Phaeacians’ ship to the coast:

“Here they rowed in, knowing the place of old; and the ship ran full half her length on the shore in her swift course, at such pace was she driven by the arms of the rowers” [ Od 13.113 ]

The dual Ithaca

But, Ithaca is in the Ionian Sea , isn’t it?

Well, it seems that Homer is speaking of another Ithaca in the middle of the Atlantic (which, perhaps by coincidence, are both lying at exactly the same parallel). By referring at the same time to both islands, he transfers in a masterful way, a message with two readings, whose interpretation is left to the recipient.

The arguments that support this dual reference to Ithaca, are presented in another story of this series.

As to why Homer had to engage in an “encoded double narration” resulting in ambiguous and perhaps even misleading readings, a potential explanation is provided in yet another story of this series.