Place

Ithaca

Odysseus's island kingdom · the destination

Ithaca from the water: goat-cropped terraces, a modest stone hall on the height, a herdsman's hut on the far slope, and one ship drawn up in the narrow harbour.
Ithaca from the water: goat-cropped terraces, a modest stone hall on the height, a herdsman's hut on the far slope, and one ship drawn up in the narrow harbour.

Odysseus's island kingdom off the western coast of Greece — rocky, modest, and worth more to him than a goddess's offer of immortality. Most of the poem's second half happens here: the suitors camped in the palace, the loyal swineherd's hut, and the hall where the story ends. It has been shorthand for 'home' ever since.

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