There are places whose name becomes synonymous with a state of mind that is coveted and cherished. Then they cease to be mere geographical points and transform into elusive ideals. Ithaca or Thiaki is a small island on the map of Greece and a symbol on the map of global consciousness. The idea of a universal homeland that calls us to conquer it.

The journey by boat and the arrival at Piso Aetos

The sun is already high. The first tourists are boarding with us on the ship of the Astakos-Kefalonia-Ithaca line. As soon as the waves are untied, the Ionian Sea opens its blue embrace and everyone leans into the reefs to see the crystal clear waves with their playful foams. Aboard the ship, cooler winds blow, softening the relentless sun. Slowly the matter of the sea began to separate from the substance of the sky and between them the air takes on an autonomous pulsating substance.

Our sail reveals one after another each of the three million islands that adorn these seas like a coral festoon, Echinades, Kastos, Kalamos, Meganissi, Atokos. Places unique for their simple beauty. Late at noon, Ithaca emerges to spread its warm-coloured lines on the horizon. It seems a rugged place with steep and barren mountains covered with olive trees, cypresses and schist. Its mountainous terrain has created many steep little coasts and headlands.

On the map Ithaca looks like two islands held together by a narrow strip of land. This elongated and unruly place carries on its few square kilometres a turbulent history of at least 6000 years. A history of successive conquests of the island, sometimes by barbarian invaders and sometimes by peoples whose culture has had a cultural influence on its population. The Venetian rule left a strong mark on many areas of the island’s life, as it did on the other islands of the Ionian Islands. Finally, in 1864, the longed-for union of the Ionian Islands with Greece was achieved, for which the inhabitants had fought for years. But above all, Homer with his epics handed down a heavy legacy and a lot of work to foreign and Greek scientists, who have been searching for years for the Homeric truth.

The ship is docked at the dock of Piso Eagle, a small opening like a makeshift harbour. The absence of any development at this first station piques our curiosity. We follow the only road that starts from here towards northern Ithaca, specifically the village of Stavros, which will be the base for our explorations. At some point the road splits. The left one passes through Lefki and the right one through Anogi, but both end up in Stavros. We chose the coastal route, with the outskirts of Mount Niritos on our right hand and the view of the coast of Kefalonia on our left, outlining the contours of the island.

Lefki, The Cross and the harbour of Polis

Lefki, built on the main road of the island, at an altitude of about 160 meters, is the first village we meet on our way to the north side.  The village is quiet with a few rooms to let and a few dozen people. The location of the settlement shows that those who chose it wanted and were able to control the traffic in the sea channel between Ithaca and Kefalonia from there. That’s why the view is wonderful, as if we were still at the bow of the ship and gazing at the sea from there. A road from about the middle of Lefki, leads to the small settlement of Ai Giannis, whose houses are built over the beautiful beach of Aspros Gialos.

It is close to four when we arrive at Stavros, the main village of northern Ithaca. The settlement was created in the 16th^th century during the movement of the inhabitants of the mountainous villages of Anogi and Exogi, when the fear of pirate raids, which had always plagued the Mediterranean, was no longer present. Because of its geographical position, it became a crossroads for the inhabitants of the region and a hub for traffic to and from Vathi, the state of Ithaca. The neighbouring ports of Frikas and Polis contributed to the development of the commercial traffic of the village.

The flowered houses with their tiled roofs exude an atmosphere forgotten by the people of the city. The beautiful park with the bust of Odysseus and the Byzantine church of Sotiras adorn the village square, which on August 5 and 6 becomes the occasion for a two-day summer festival. However, the physiognomy of the village is mixed. The modern element has been organically complemented by the old and the touristic element by what seems pure and traditional, to create a complex whole. What is certain, however, is that you have to give a place the time it needs each time, so that its peculiarities can sink in.

We continue our walk in the northern part of the village, on the hill Pilikata. According to one version, this is the site of Odysseus’ asty, which overlooked three seas and was surrounded by three mountains, as mentioned in Homer’s description. Pilikata is the most important prehistoric site of Northern Ithaca and here we visited the archaeological museum of Stavros which holds remarkable archaeological findings. The most important acquisition of the collection is a clay shell of a woman’s mask, with the famous inscription “EYCHIN ODYSSEI”, meaning a prayer to Odysseus, dated 300-200 BC, found in the cave of Loizos.

Very close to Stavros, at a distance of one and a half kilometres from the square, is the bay of Polis. The picturesque anchorage of fishing boats and the towering poplars hide an ancient settlement, which, it is said, was submerged by an earthquake in 967 AD and lost in its waters. A few metres further to the right on the coastline we find the remains of the cave of Loizos. It was probably destroyed by an earthquake and marine erosion. Inside it, important ancient artefacts of the Mycenaean and Corinthian period were found, which are now exhibited in the museum of Stavros. Loizos was a real person and became rich by selling finds from the cave to antiquarians. These finds could reveal valuable answers to the question of Ithaca and that is why many Thiacs wish the cave to be called the Polis cave.

The cave of Loizos is one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. Israeli professor Irad Malkin at one of the international conferences on the Odyssey held on the island proves that it was a temple of worship of Odysseus and the Nymphs from the 9th^th century BC until Roman times, not only for the locals but for all Greeks. In other words, he claims that this cave is likely to have been a place of worship of panhellenic character long before Olympia and Delphi.

The return to the Cross held a big surprise for us. At a small table in our neighbouring café sat the Ithacan folklorist Andreas Anagnostatos. I sat with him for a while and we made an appointment for the next morning at his parents’ house in Platrithia.

When the sun reigned, the Ionian sunset scattered its colourful charm on the dark sea, the rocky slopes and the flowery buildings. The restless sea grew more and more framed by the faint outlines of the surrounding islands, until they all disappeared into the horizon along with the first reflections of the journey.

Platrithias and the folklorist Andreas Anagnostatos

Breakfast came cheerfully, foreshadowing a pleasantly warm day. In the little village of Stavros, life begins early in the morning. The housewives do the day’s shopping, the workers go to the fields and construction sites, the restaurateurs prepare their meals and exchange morning greetings. A group of rowdy English tourists seems like an out-of-place image, intruding into the village life of the villagers.

Today’s walk starts from Platrithia. We follow a northerly direction and in about two kilometres we come across the most fertile part of the island, the community of Platrithia, which is made up of the settlements of Kollieri, Agioi Saranda, Platrithia, Laho and Frikes. The favourable conditions for the cultivation of the land created the conditions for the wide territorial development of the settlements, which is why the area is the most sparsely populated on the island, with rich vegetation and the cultivation of citrus fruits and vines.

Andreas Anagnostatos was waiting for us in the yard of his house. A small and well-kept yard with many rose trees. As soon as we crossed the threshold of the house, we saw a huge bookcase whose shelves curved from the weight of the books. Everywhere we turn our heads our eyes fall upon volumes and volumes of books. A desk dominates the central space of the room. The walls are adorned with a few old engravings, photographs of men of spirit and an old mirror.

His age is now advanced but his clarity of mind is undeniable. He tells us that from a very young age he loved books with a passion and although circumstances did not allow him to study, he managed to cultivate his intellectual level on his own. After the devastating earthquakes of ’53, he emigrated to Melbourne, where 3,500 Ithacans are today. From an early age he became involved in journalism, writing articles for local newspapers, literature, research and folklore, and twice served as president of the Platrithia community.

Andreas Anagnostatos with love and passion for the people of Ithaca has collected the folklore wealth of Ithaca in two books, “Folklore Selections of Ithaca” and “Historical and Folklore Selections of Ithaca” and has in the works several more. His books are valuable acquisitions for future generations of the island. Andreas Anagnostatos gave us a lot of information about the folklore wealth of the island. Most of all, he welcomed us with condescension and at once the island became more familiar.

The Platrithias-Exogi path

At the time when the mountain settlements were flourishing and all the inhabitants were gathered around them, paths started from various points for a quick exit of the inhabitants in case of danger. Others led to villas, springs, farms and isolated chapels. With the elimination of the fear of pirates, the inhabitants organized new coastal settlements with harbours and agricultural settlements in the inner plains of the island, which were usually connected to the mountainous ones by paths.

At noon we met George Kouvaras, who was willing to take some time out of his work at his law office in Vathi and show us around one of the many trails of northern Ithaca. We chose the path to Exogi because it offers the walker changes of scenery and passes by some very interesting sites such as the Homer School and the Melanydros spring. The trail is well marked all the way and quite paved.

We follow the main highway and in the area of Gefiri we climb for a few meters up the small concrete paved road. and when we reach the sign that says Homer Street we turn left. The direction we follow is west and the altitude is 105 meters above sea level. On the left side of the path, all along the way we walk beside a small gully where the spring water once flowed generously, covered by wicker and grating trees. This gully passes through Platrithia, crosses the valley of Frrika and flows into the sea. It is sad that it is now almost dry…

On our right a stone wall holds the soil of the estate, which George Kouvaras calls dry stone wall or koulouri. The road we are driving on was perfected in the middle of the 17th^th century and belongs to the “official” road network of Ithaca for the then pedestrians or riding residents. Under the grassy surface of the ground the stones of the path stand well in place. The path is surrounded by tall bushes and trees, wicker, gorse, holly, wild walnut and laurel trees, all of which together make up the scent of summer.

At some point on our left we meet a plateau. We approach the Melanydros spring and the vegetation becomes denser. It was named Melanydros (melan+udor) because its water leaves a black solid residue due to its manganese content. The site is Homeric, the rock is vertical and wet and the water has been running its course for centuries.

As we move southwards, the mountainous mass of Marmanga, the mill of Razi, the church of Taxiarches and the houses of Platrithia are on the horizon. Then the bay of Afalae can be seen and on our right the valley leading to Frikes. Turn right and climb the last few metres of the path before reaching the dirt road. The slope is quite steep so climb with care.

Coming out on the road we go right to the north. We walk along the rural road for about 150 metres through beautiful vegetation, with the same simple view on the horizon, while lower down on our right we see the chapel of Panagia in Melanydros. A few metres later we meet the path again. It is uneven, with stone steps at the beginning and a north-western direction, then it turns west towards the village of Exogi.

Going up, we observe the ruins of the Homer School on the lower right, somewhere there among the woods of the slope. Cyclopean structures of great interest dating back to classical times. Many scholars of the Odyssey identify this area with the palace of Odysseus, King of Ithaca. Today the University of Ioannina is conducting excavations there. The path is clean, wide and paved and climbs up the mountain of Exogi with successive bends, passing through cypress trees. High up we see the first houses of Exogi and the blue dome of Agia Marina, the patron saint of the village.

The uphill slope becomes smooth and on our left we see the almost ruined church of Taxiarches, tucked away and forgotten in lush vegetation. The area here is called Lakina and is characterised, in contrast to the steep slope, by its smooth soil cultivated with vines. A little further up, on our left is a small chapel. We ascend the last successive bends of the path, which takes us to the main motorway of Exogi.

Exogi is the third mountain village of Ithaca. Built at an altitude of 350 meters. It is one of the oldest settlements of the island. From the Middle Ages and the early Venetian times, Exogi was one of the main settlements of Ithaca, because it had good observation in the northern part of the island and provided security from pirate raids. At the beginning of the 19th century its inhabitants moved to the settlements of Stavros and Platrithia and later the wave of migration resulted in a dramatic decrease of the population.

The village is picturesque with beautiful old and new buildings. They are one or two-storey buildings made of stone and wood. The architecture of the older houses has a defensive character, with small openings like battlements and without balconies. The view is magnificent towards the East. Platrithias, Frikes and in the distance the coast of Central Greece and the islands of Lefkada, Meganisi, Kalamos, Arkoudi and Atokos can be seen.

Near the settlement we see the technical Pyramids created by a mysterious wealthy resident of Stavros, John Papa (John Papadopoulos). Their view is somewhat out of place compared to the rest of the village. We continue southwest and higher up the mountain. About two kilometres from the settlement is the old monastery of Panagia in Pernarakia, which was in operation until the 1^o World War. The view from there drives away all our fatigue, it is imposing on any side we look.

I reflect that all those who inhabited the island at one time or another worked painstakingly and tenaciously to cultivate where they could find a handful of soil, to build where it was impossible and to defend themselves against human violence, but also against that of nature. This human toil is engraved on every face of this earth.

The air chilled the evening atmosphere sharply. A few large stars popped up in the cloudy sky and we slowly made our way back.

Frikes- Kioni

Our day starts at the picturesque little café Lotos in Stavros. We enjoy a rovani, the main sweet of Thios, made from ground rice and honey. The butcher sits on a bench to the left of the entrance, which over the years has dented just where he sits. From there he looks out at the passers-by as he does every day. This image is imprinted in my memory as an indication of how quietly time passes here.

– What does the programme for today say? asks me Peter, photographer and fellow traveller.

– Today the sea!

We go to Kioni, a settlement that is famous for its picturesqueness. On the way to Kioni we meet the small port of Frikes. According to researchers, the Homeric port of Rithros is located here. The village has existed since the 16^th century and was created by the inhabitants of the surrounding mountainous areas to serve trade and fishing. Frikes was formerly the commercial centre of Northern Ithaca and was bustling with traffic. In those days it was nothing but full of warehouses, where the goods were kept. Today, the nice taverns along the beach and the rooms to let mark a different era in the life of the small village, especially during the summer months. Fishing trawlers and boats swing carelessly in the once bustling harbour. Only the two ruined windmills on the sides of the harbour reflect the otherworldly image.

The coastal route to Kioni reveals many small bays tucked away in the greenery. A few steps on the side of the road lead to their busy beaches. The sun counterflashes on the white pebbles, forming invisible phosphorescence in the cold waters, persistently inviting holidaymakers.

Kioni is one of the most beautiful traditional settlements of the Ionian Sea and a very pleasant tourist resort. In summer it serves many visitors. It largely preserves the authenticity of the architecture of past centuries, presenting a charming spectacle. The combinations of greenery and the deep blue of the sea surround the colourful houses, spread out amphitheatrically. At the entrance to the bay (Psigadi), three forgotten mills, whose millstones ceased to operate during the First World War, dominate the bay. The walks in the pebbled cantounia, the neighbourhoods of Argalios and Rachi and the surrounding beaches fascinated us for hours.

From Rachi there is a road leading to the picturesque beach of Mavronas and small paths leading to the beach of Plakoutses. In the area of Mavrona, until the end of the last century, the monastery of Agios Nikolaos operated, which was destroyed by the earthquakes. Only the church of the monastery has been preserved, in the sanctuary of which an ancient colonnade has been preserved. It is said that the name of the village came from it.

A path starts from Argalion and connects the coastal Kioni with the mountainous Anogi. This path was a mule track and in many places there are paved stairs. It has clean lines and a slight uphill gradient. The vegetation is initially mild. Then on the beautiful serpentine path on the slope of Nirito it becomes densely wooded with schist, wicker, and prehistoric trees. Every now and then Lefkada, Atoko, Meganisi, Arkoudi and Kastos appear. Where the path seems to disappear look for the red mark on the rock.

The Gulf of Aphalae

Apart from the routes in the interior of the island, the real discovery of Ithaca is achieved by boat. Some of the most beautiful beaches of the Ionian Sea are carefully hidden and can only be discovered by sea. In Frikes, Kioni and Polis, small boats can be rented to escape to the island’s deserted beaches. Back at the port of Polis we meet Nikos Vassilopoulos, who will lead us on a watery exploration of northwestern inaccessible Ithaca.

Nikos’ small boat tears through the empty harbour and goes out to sea. As we pass the cape, the bottom is covered by the ambiguity of the depths, which is dispersed by some silvery flashes: the fish of Ithaca, mullets, sea bass and lithrinia. As soon as we blink they disappear into the murky bottom. Behind us the sea rises and we can hear its splashing.

The wild rocks open up from time to time and let us look into the depths of the island. In a few minutes we are in the area of Kaminia. It is named after the kilns producing lime and tiles. The clay layers of the area provided rich material and in the old days the tiles that covered the roofs of Ithaca were made in these kilns.

The beaches appear before us like small shelters. One is more beautiful than the other. Most of them are pebbly and above them rises a deep cliff. In their absolute isolation we enjoy nature in all its splendour, the emerald waters and the view of Kefalonia and Lefkada.

Our amazement peaks at the Bay of Aphalae. A huge opening in the sea. As we approach, the currents meet and the sea shimmers. Along the imposing bay many small sandy beaches with the most impressive being Platys Ammos on the west side. The pale ochre of the sand and high cliffs together with the blue of the sea give a seductive visual illusion, an endless thick blue.

With eyes full of sea we turn back until the new day comes.

Anogi and the Monastery of Catharos

The sun has risen through the smoldering clouds on the horizon. We get in the car and climb 550 meters up to the mountain Nirito, where the highest village of Ithaca is located. The name “Ano-Gi” is due to its location. The ascent to Anogi from the south or from the north is unique with views to the northeastern side of the island and the islets towards the coast of mainland Greece. In the winter months it gives the impression of a village, lost in the clouds and fog.

With only a few inhabitants today, victims of forced emigration, Anogi is lining up its three-dimensional buildings to certify that it was once alive. The church of Panagia in Anogi, built at an altitude of 500 metres, is one of the most important and oldest in the Balkans. The key to the entrance is kept in the adjacent café and anyone who wants to visit it can ask for it there.

In the courtyard, the Venetian bell tower of the church is a symbol of the village and a pole of holy pilgrimage of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Made of genuine stone from Mount Nirito, it stands in spite of time, imposing and beautiful.

The interior of the church is entirely covered by Byzantine frescoes. Wonderful icons of saints, figures of angels and representations of rare technique are arranged in five parallel zones. The church was severely damaged in the year 1953 during the devastating earthquakes of that period. Shortly afterwards it was repaired and its frescoes were restored. Noteworthy are the wooden duodecagon of the 21st century, the clay built-in pitchers for the acoustics of the church and the two-storey women’s nave, on the front of which the Divine Judgement is represented.

Higher than the present settlement there are still remains of the medieval town. Here was the oldest settlement of Ithaca, a monument to the battle that the Thians fought for their survival. The ruins, clamped in the rocky area, testify that years ago this place was densely populated. Today it exudes the sadness of ruins. From here the view is panoramic, magnificent.

We return to the square and leave behind us the houses of the village. On our right after 150 metres we meet the beginning of a downhill dirt road. We follow it and after about 100 metres we find the scattered huge boulders, placed randomly by the hand of nature. “Araklis”, an 8-meter monolith sitting on a wider rock, is the most majestic. It was named after the mythical hero Hercules because of its size. A spindle-shaped limestone mass with a vertically grooved surface. A natural phenomenon of erosion and yet its symmetry seems to have been calculated by a human hand.

The monastery of Panagia tis Katharaon, built in the 17th century, is located on the terrace of the mountain, three kilometres to the southwest. Panagia Kathariotissa, the patron saint of the island, is a spiritual and devotional reference point for Ithakians everywhere. Today, a local monk lives in the monastery and struggles to maintain it.

Two versions give the interpretation of the origin of the name of the Monastery. According to the first one, the name Panagia of Kathara comes from the word “kathara”, which in the local dialect means the dry branches and small bushes that are cut and burned to cleanse a place. According to the other prevailing version, the monastery was built by Christian followers of the Cathar sect. Cathars were a heretical offshoot of the early Christian era.

Tradition says that shepherds from Epirus had come to Ithaca, pursued by the Turks and settled in Nirito. A strange light that they saw for many nights at the spot where the church is today caused them to burn the bushes and weeds of the area to find out what was going on. In the rubble they found the icon of the Virgin Mary untouched by the fire and took it home. The next day the icon had disappeared, only to be found again in the same spot with the rubble. Thus, they decided to build the church where the miraculous icon is still located today.

Outside the precinct of the monastery on the left is the bell tower. The view from this point seems to be part of the pilgrimage. The northern Ithaca looks south in the face. Between them the sea, the Ionian, slides deeper and deeper into the land.

The mountain ring of Marmara

With George Kouvaras we set off for Marmaka in the afternoon. From Platrithia we take the main highway to Frikes. At three different points the main road meets three smaller roads heading west. All three end at the point where the road to Marmaka passes.

We follow the dirt road. Ascending to Marmaka we enjoy the view of the bay of Afalae from above. The road climbs straight up, with a steep incline and makes its only closed turn before ending up on the plateau of the mountain. Down low on the eastern shoreline of the bay the mountain has settled into the sea. The site is called Kathisma and is named after its distinctive seat-like shape.

The church of “The Assumption of the Virgin Mary” is located in the Marmakas gap, a simple plateau. Above the entrance there is a plaque with the date of construction 1896. A little in front of the church and low on the slope is the so-called mill on the stairs or Danias’ mill. It is the only windmill in Ithaca that is in good condition and still preserves its mechanism. This coexistence of church and mill testify that the site was central to human gatherings.

The road goes downhill leading us to the beaches of Alykes and Roboti. Both are pebbly with crystal clear waters. At Alykes, just ten meters behind the beach, there is a small mud lake, which a few years ago was famous for its healing properties.

In the bay of Roboti there is a small island with the chapel of Agios Nikolaos. Around it, seagulls fly around. In those years, on his feast day there was a festival with a mass and the participation of people from the surrounding villages, who came to the island by boats from Frikes and Kioni. After the mass, everyone had fun together at Roboti. This chapel was destroyed by the earthquakes of 1953 and was rebuilt in 1992, when the custom was revived. So every year there is a church service at Agios Nikolaos on the island in honour of the sailors and strangers.

Last day in Ithaca. I look at the sun shining on the unchanging sea, the mountainous masses and breathe in the scent of the asphalt. I try to capture in my memory the image of the villages with their cheerful flowers and agonizing fate. The beaches with their thick blue colour. The mountains. The evenings, when the delicate sound of the night carried the subtle sounds of the sleeping village.

The ship pulls away from the dock. It left behind the simple life, the peasant life, the carefree and closely connected to the elements. In Ithaca you only need an old pair of trousers, a rubbed t-shirt, a sweater for the chilly evening, a bathing suit and a pair of sandals. Everything else – ties, heels, razors, worldliness, ostentation, ostentatiousness and social graces – leave everything else behind. They seem out of place on this island.

Thank you very much:

The Mayor of Ithaca George Vassilopoulos, Andreas Anagnostatos, George Kouvaras and Nikos Vassilopoulos for their kind and very helpful contribution. Spyros Arsenis (Philomiron Ithaca Association), for the archaeological information he gave me. Finally, Athanasios Sombolas for the hospitality and the Tavern of Giannis.

Sources:

Gerasimos D. Deuteraios – Vassilia Tsatsomaridou, Tours in Ithaca, Paths of Northern Ithaca, 1996, Typorama, Patras.

Andreas L. Anagnostatos, Historical and Folklore Analects of Ithaca, 2004, Fimios.