Ithaca, home to the hero Odysseus in Homer’s ‘Odyssey,’ is far from Greece’s main tourist hubs and has never been a regular stop for travelers.
Standing on the ferry as it waits to dock on the Greek island of Ithaca, Giorgia Ongarato is only too keen to talk about the “Odyssey,” the epic poem that inspired Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film.
The Italian lawyer said it was her dream to come to Ithaca, widely believed to be the same island as the home of Odysseus in the poem.
The island’s businesses and officials now expect the film to inspire many more to follow in her footsteps.
Ithaca, in the Ionian Sea off the west coast of mainland Greece, is far from the country’s tourist hubs, and despite limpid waters and spectacular bays, it has never been a regular stop for travelers.
Its interior is rugged, carpeted with olive and cypress trees, and strikingly calm even at the height of the tourist season.
Although the movie has undoubtedly piqued the interest of many, it has also been slightly controversial in Greece — although some Greek locations were used, not a single scene in the blockbuster was actually shot on Ithaca.
That decision has left some crestfallen on the island of roughly 3,000 inhabitants, where the film has been shown twice in open-air screenings since its July 16 worldwide release.
While Ithaca mayor Dionysis Stanitsas agreed that the publicity was “tremendous,” he could not hide his disappointment that the island itself did not feature.
“We had reached out to the production team and asked that some scenes be filmed here on the island,” he said. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t feasible.”
He is, however, counting on rising demand next year, and the island was already fully booked for this season by the time the film came out.
“As more people see it, they will begin planning trips to visit the island,” he said.
Visitors will not find a palace of Odysseus or any spectacular archaeological site likely to confirm the existence of the Homeric hero. But village squares and the town hall are dotted with statues of Odysseus and Homer. And there are other pointers to the island’s rich literary heritage.
Archaeologist Spyros Couvaras is among those expecting a dramatic upsurge in visitors, saying it was clear that visitors wanted more than just sand and sea; they wanted the history and the mythology.
