Ithaca island is the legendary home of the Greek hero of the Trojan war , Odysseus. Ithaca is an island in the Ionian Sea, west of the mainland of Greece and north-east of Cephalonia. It is part of the Ionian Islands archipelago and has about 5000 inhabitants its area is 103 sq. km. The island has an area of 96 sq. km. Highest point is the Niritos mount 809 met height, the capital and main port is the Ithaca town. The island of Ithaca is very green and has many bays. Large parts of the island were destroyed. in 1953 by an earthquake that hit as well other Ionian islands like Kefalonia. The island of Ithaca can be reached is by ferry from Lefkada, Kefalonia and Patras The oldest settlement on the island dates back to the second millennium BC. Near the village of Pelikati, was discovered ruins from the Mycenae civilisation, as well as cyclopean walls. In other archaeological sites have been discovered pottery and Mycenaean objects of the geometric period.
The island was occupied by the Romans in the second century BC. Later Ithaca was part of the Byzantine Empire. In the twelfth century, was occupied by the Normans of Sicily. After a brief time under Ottoman rule, Ithaca fell into the rule of the Republic of Venice. In the late eighteenth century, it is taken by France and then in 1809, by the United Kingdom. Finally, in 1864, the British returned Ithaca to Greece. The archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann believed that the Palace of Odysseus was on the mountain Aetos because according to some descriptions of Homer about the landscape around the palace there are some Cyclopean walls on the summit which indicates the existence of a Mycenaean settlement. The conclusions are controversial as another place on the island compete as the ancient palace site.
