The Return of Odysseus
Our project includes a series of actions (theatrical, musical, athletic) that will be organized during October every year based on the text of the Odyssey. In the first phase they will only cover the final part of Odysseus’ return from the island of Calypso to the island of Phaeacians and from there to Ithaca as well as the corresponding journey of Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos, Sparta, back to Pylos and return to Ithaca.
These actions will take place mainly from 21 to 31 October of each year and will be titled ODYSSEIA 2017-2018 etc. The dates have been determined on the basis of the text of the Odyssey and the determination of the day of the suitors’ killing (October 30, 1207 BC), to which a group of Greek scientists concluded. The relevant announcement is here. This striking “discovery” was announced and accepted by the Academy of Athens on October 19, 2017.
The brochure about our project is here.
Read the general program of the events here.
Last year, from October 21 to October 31, we organized ODYSSEY 2017 with daily recitations of the Odyssey in Athens, Ithaca, Pylos and elsewhere in Greece and abroad, which are briefly described here. You can see details on Facebook and full recitations on Youtube. Besides, a full account was taken in Hilton on 9/1/2018.
This year we organized more successfully ODYSSEY 2018 from 15 to 31 October with the participation of Municipal Authorities and Associations from Amfissa, Pylos and Ithaca as well as schools and associations both in Greece and abroad, including Corfu, Rome, Sofia (Bulgaria), Barcelona, Toulouse, Turku (Finland), the Netherlands etc.
We have already posted the descriptions of the activities in most of the above locations and very soon we will post the descriptions of activities in more schools as soon we receive relative information.
We have already begun preparations for ODYSSEY 2019 and we already have a lot inquiries by interested schools and associations from both Greece and abroad.
The full report for 2018 and the prospects for 2019 will be announced in early January as last year.
It should be reminded that the program is supported by the Center of Greek Language and Culture ALEXANDER THE GREAT, the Organization for the Dissemination of the Greek Language, the Hellenic Union for the Promotion of Rhetoric in Education, the Culture Archive and the Ithaca Friends of Homer Association.
