{"title":"Jane Cochrane","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"walking-in-the-footsteps-of-odysseus-book-jane-cochrane-9781916292352","title":"Walking in the Footsteps of Odysseus","description":"This book has been updated in 2024. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt leads the visitor on a self-guided tour of Homer's Ithaca. It follows ancient footpaths to landmarks traditionally identified by Homerists, philologists and archaeologists with the descriptions made by Homer in his epic poem \u003ci\u003eThe Odyssey. \u003c\/i\u003eVisitors can see for themselves the landscape and topography of Ithaca and make their own comparisons with the ancient words of Homer. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe guide follows the footsteps of the island's ancient hero Odysseus on his return to his beloved home island. The paths lead to the site, at Agios Athanasios \/ School of Homer, most widely believed by scholars to be that of his palace. There the finds made between 1994 and 2010 by the archaeologists Litsa and Thanasis Papadopoulos from the University of Ioannina in Central Greece are described. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHomer's epic poems \u003ci\u003eThe Iliad \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e The Odyssey\u003c\/i\u003e are among the oldest extant works of Western literature, on which they have had a profound influence. \u003ci\u003eThe Iliad\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of the ninth year of the Trojan War; \u003ci\u003eThe Odyssey\u003c\/i\u003e tells how King Odysseus, a hero of that war, makes his eventful journey back to his home island of Ithaca. By the time Odysseus arrived back on Ithacan soil, twenty years had passed since he set out to fight in the Trojan War. He left behind his young wife, Penelope, and their baby son, Telemachus. Back in Ithaca, as the years went by, Penelope was besieged by suitors who assumed that Odysseus was dead and wanted to claim his kingdom. The poet Homer describes Odysseus' reunion, first with his son, Telemachus, a baby when he left and now a fine young man, and then with his loyal wife, Penelope. He tells, in gruesome detail, how he and a small group of colleagues kill all 108 of Penelope's suitors. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTwelve out of 24 books of \u003ci\u003eThe Odyssey\u003c\/i\u003e take place after Odysseus' arrival back in Ithaca. This famous story was passed down through the generations for over 3,000 years. Yet, even after all these years, and its many different translations, it is hard not to conclude that, to make such precise descriptions, Homer must have visited Ithaca to see its landscape with his own eyes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThere are a few objects, coins and tripods, on public display on Ithaca, and some that can be seen elsewhere, that firmly link the hero Odysseus with this island and no other. These are also described in this guide along with a brief background history of their discovery. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMany and varied theories have been recently put forward that the location of Homeric Ithaca may be in a different place to the modern Greek island of Ithaca. These are summarised along with the main arguments used in their support. The main reasons why these do not hold water are then briefly explained. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAfter taking the walks described in this book the intelligent visitor may be convinced that the kingdom of Odysseus was centred on this island, and that Homeric and modern Ithaca are one and the same.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49534237442321,"sku":"GOR012430237","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50394036502801,"sku":"CIN1916292356G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51056328605969,"sku":"NIN9781916292352","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1916292356.jpg?v=1751412946"},{"product_id":"excavation-at-agios-athanasios-school-of-homer-book-jane-cochrane-9781916292383","title":"The Excavation at Agios Athanasios \/ School of Homer","description":"THIS PAPER NOW FORMS PART OF THE NEW EDITION ENTITLED THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE PALACE OF ODYSSEUS ON ITHACA. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis archaeological paper gives the evidence for the location of the historic Palace of Odysseus on the Greek island of Ithaca. The record of this excavation has been well buried. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe excavation at Agios Athanasios \/ School of Homer took place between 1994 and 2011. It was carried out by an archaeological team from the University of Ioannina in Central Greece under Professors Litsa Kontorli-Papadopoulou and Thanasis Papadopoulos. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn various ways, and for various reasons, the results of this excavation have been concealed. In May 2016 Professor Thanasis Papadopoulos presented a paper at the 16th International Aegean Conference at the University of Ioannina with the title \u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eMycenaean citadels of Western Greece: architecture, purpose and their intricate role in the local communities\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eand their relations with the West'\u003c\/i\u003e of which this smaller paper forms one section. His full paper was published in 2017 by Peeters of Leuven in a compendium titled \u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eΕΣΠΕΡΟΣ\/ \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eHESPEROS\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e, the Aegean seen from the West' \u003c\/i\u003eand they have kindly given me permission to re-publish. The previous titles, both of the paper and of the publication, gave no indication of what lies within, or of its importance. Yet it is gold dust. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eArchaeological evidence of the historic Palace of Odysseus on Ithaca has been difficult to find. Not only the previous name of this paper but the current name of the site, Agios Athanasios \/ School of Homer, do nothing to help us in our search. In addition the finds at the site were deeply buried. Habitation there continued from before, during and after the time of Odysseus, through the Dark Ages, the time of Homer, the Classical period and into the Roman rule of Ithaca around the time of Christ. During some 1,200 years following Odysseus' time buildings were demolished and stones re-used. This later digging also disturbed the stratification of the ground, making it difficult for archaeologists to identify the Mycenaean remains hidden below and, as this site has been known for generations, a large amount of looting had taken place. Excavation needed patient and careful work, dedicated to the particular task of uncovering the older ruins that lay below. And this happened. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePrincipally over the last hundred years, claims have grown up that Odysseus centred his kingdom elsewhere. Recently, along with vested interests, these claims have multiplied. The financial crisis of 2008 struck Greece hard and, in 2010, funding for further work on Ithaca was withdrawn. The excavation at Agios Athanasios was left incomplete, and in 2015 the main archaeologist Litsa Kontorli-Papadopoulou died suddenly of a stroke. At the time of her death she had not yet written up her work but fortunately, the following year, her husband Thanasis was able to do this. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe correlation between the archaeological site now called Agios Athanasios \/ School of Homer, and the descriptions given by Homer in \u003ci\u003eThe Odyssey, \u003c\/i\u003e are an extraordinarily good fit. If Professor Papadopoulos is correct the poet Homer used this very \u003ci\u003emegaron\u003c\/i\u003e (or main hall) as the setting for Odysseus' battle with 108 suitors on his return, after 20 years, from the Trojan War and for his reunion with his faithful wife Penelope. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSome may disagree with Papadopoulos' conclusion that this site is that of the Palace of Odysseus described by Homer in \u003ci\u003eThe Odyssey\u003c\/i\u003e. This disagreement has led to the current situation where this known Bronze Age site on Ithaca, with its obvious cultural and literary significance, has been left half-excavated, with no on-site explanation and open pits that are both dangerous and vulnerable. I hope the re-publication of this paper will serve to spread word of this situation and that it can swiftly be rectified.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49643092771089,"sku":"GOR013701981","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51056348070161,"sku":"NIN9781916292383","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1916292380.jpg?v=1750931906"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-jane-cochrane.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}