Archeologists make historic discovery
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Category: General History
Forum Name: Archaeology & Anthropology
Forum Discription: Topics on archaeology and anthropology
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5820
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Topic: Archeologists make historic discovery
Posted By: Phallanx
Subject: Archeologists make historic discovery
Date Posted: 29-Sep-2005 at 07:27
Archeologists make historic discovery
Saturday, August 27, 2005
By Thomas Elias - Columnist - The Madera Tribune
POROS,
Island of Kefalonia, Greece - The tomb of Odysseus has been found, and
the location of his legendary capital city of Ithaca discovered here on
this large island across a one-mile channel from the bone-dry islet
that modern maps call Ithaca.
This could be the most important
archeological discovery of the last 40 years, a find that may
eventually equal the German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann’s 19th
Century dig at Troy. But the quirky people and politics involved in
this achievement have delayed by several years the process of reporting
the find to the world.
Yet visitors to Kefalonia, an
octopus-shaped island off the west coast of Greece, can see the
evidence for themselves at virtually no cost.
The discovery of
what is almost certainly his tomb reveals that crafty Odysseus, known
as Ulysses in many English renditions of Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey,”
was no mere myth, but a real person. Plus, passages in the “Odyssey”
itself suggest that modern Ithaca and its main town of Vathi probably
were not the city and island of which Homer wrote.
Rather, this
small village of Poros on the southeast coast of Kefalonia now occupies
part of a site that most likely was the much larger city which served
as capital of the multi-island kingdom ruled by Odysseus and his father
Laertes.
Archeologists have long and often times looked for
evidence of Odysseus on modern Ithaca, but never found anything
significant from the Bronze Age. This led many scholars to dismiss
Homer’s version of Ionian island geography as strictly a literary
creation.
But two pieces of fairly recent evidence suggest
archeologists were looking in the wrong place. In 1991, a tomb of the
type used to bury ancient Greek royalty was found near the hamlet of
Tzannata in the hills outside Poros. It is the largest such tomb in
northeastern Greece, with remains of at least 72 persons found in its
stone niches.
One find there is particularly telling. In Book
XIX of the “Odyssey,” the just-returned and still disguised Odysseus
tells his wife (who may or may not realize who she’s talking to; Homer
is deliberately ambivalent) that he encountered Odysseus many years
earlier on the island of Crete. He describes in detail a gold brooch
the king wore on that occasion.
A gold brooch meeting that
precise description lies now in the archeological museum at Argostoli,
the main city on Kefalonia, 30 miles across the island from Poros.
Other gold jewelry and seals carved in precious stones excavated from
the tomb offer further proof the grave outside Poros was used to bury
kings.
Greek archeologists also found sections of ancient city
walls extending for miles through the hills around and well beyond
Poros. These surround both the village and a steep adjacent hill which
bears evidence it once served as an acropolis, what the Greeks called
hilltop forts in most of their major cities. The stones of the walls
date to about 1300 B.C., the approximate time of events described in
the “Iliad” and “Odyssey.”
Most likely, the royal capital at
Ithaca was a much larger city than Poros or any other town on either
modern Ithaca or Kefalonia. It would have needed a major source of
water. There is none on modern Ithaca, but streams abound near Poros,
where there is also a small man-made lake. This area had the necessary
water. The island now called Ithaca likely did not.
Several
other ancient settlements found elsewhere on Kefalonia also suggest the
island was a major population center at the time of Odysseus.
And
Homer described two major landmarks near ancient Ithaca: He says it sat
beneath an impressive mountain, the “tree-clad Mt. Neriton,” which
dominated views from the “wine-dark sea” for many miles around. That
description fits Mt. Aenos, just above Poros, the highest peak in the
Ionian islands. Homer also describes the legendary Cave of the Nymphs
as within a day or two walk from the city of Ithaca. A spacious, dark
cave with large stalactites and deep blue water matching Homer’s
description is currently a tourist attraction about 15 miles northwest
of Poros.
Why hasn’t all this been reported before? Because of
local politics and economics. The most active promoter of the Poros
area as Homeric Ithaca is the current mayor, who at one time was
governor of the prefecture (county or small state) including both
Ithaca and Kefalonia.
Gerasimos Metaxas, an author and amateur
archeologist who gladly shows visitors remains of the ancient city call
and innards of the tomb, was defeated for reelection as governor when
he began promoting the Poros-as-Ithaca idea in Greek publications. Why?
If Poros is Ithaca, who would ever go to the barren island now using
the name? And if tiny Poros ever gets a huge tourist and cruise ship
influx, what happens to Argostoli, now the center for those trades on
Kefalonia?
As a result, the entire find has never been reported
in the non-Greek press. And so far, major world media show little or no
interest in the tale. But for lovers of Homer’s sagas, there’s now no
place more appealing than Kefalonia.
http://maderatribune.1871dev.com/news/newsview.asp?c=167178 - The Madera Tribune
------------- To the gods we mortals are all ignorant.Those old traditions from our ancestors, the ones we've had as long as time itself, no argument will ever overthrow, in spite of subtleties sharp minds invent.
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Replies:
Posted By: morticia
Date Posted: 29-Sep-2005 at 09:54
WOW...very interesting... that Odysseus/Ulysses may not be a myth after all. I enjoyed reading this article. Thank you.
Morty
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Posted By: Maju
Date Posted: 29-Sep-2005 at 12:17
Yeap, it's interesting. I never thought that Ulysses was just any
obscure mythic figure but it's good to know that something like that
has been found.
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NO GOD, NO MASTER!
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Posted By: akritas
Date Posted: 29-Sep-2005 at 17:27
If this confirm will be the Story of the decade. I agree with the rest members. Homer work was not only a myth....had , is and will be a big tank of source.
And this go and for the confirmation of the Strabo work.
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Posted By: Phallanx
Date Posted: 29-Sep-2005 at 19:35
Seems like this decade will have a couple of stories that will suprise us...
One of them being the research of Ippokratis Dakoglou, that published
his book 2yrs before NASA announced the find of 2 new 'planets'. His
work is based on the texts of Hesiod and Pythagoras...
When I find the book, I'll provide more info..
------------- To the gods we mortals are all ignorant.Those old traditions from our ancestors, the ones we've had as long as time itself, no argument will ever overthrow, in spite of subtleties sharp minds invent.
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Posted By: morticia
Date Posted: 30-Sep-2005 at 11:22
Phallanx wrote: "When I find the book, I'll provide more info.."
Please do...I would be very interested!!
Morty
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Posted By: Perseas
Date Posted: 09-Oct-2005 at 16:40
Some helpful maps and photos about the places mentioned before...
Mount Aenos
------------- A mathematician is a person who thinks that if there are supposed to be three people in a room, but five come out, then two more must enter the room in order for it to be empty.
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Posted By: Phallanx
Date Posted: 21-Oct-2005 at 10:48
The whole issue gets even better...
The late Ioannis Passas, in his book "Ç Áëçèéíç Ðñïéóôïñéá" (The Real
Prehistory) published 30 !!! whole years ago, came to this exact
conclusion back then.. (couldn't believe it while reading the book)
The unfortunately mocked scholar that was for years ridiculed by the so
called 'scientific community', finally has his name cleared and
hopefully will be recognized for what he really was..
Better late than never..
------------- To the gods we mortals are all ignorant.Those old traditions from our ancestors, the ones we've had as long as time itself, no argument will ever overthrow, in spite of subtleties sharp minds invent.
|
Posted By: morticia
Date Posted: 21-Oct-2005 at 11:36
Phallanx wrote:
"The unfortunately mocked scholar that was for years ridiculed by the so called 'scientific community', finally has his name cleared and hopefully will be recognized for what he really was"
as so often occurs to "brilliant minds"! I am elated that he was vindicated!
regards,
------------- "Morty
Trust in God: She will provide." -- Emmeline Pankhurst
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Posted By: El Cid
Date Posted: 21-Oct-2005 at 12:52
With this discovery, we must remake our conception about Troy and its legendary siege. Could it be possible that a greek coalition daced the Hector's army in the Troy walls?
------------- The spanish are coming!
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Posted By: Phallanx
Date Posted: 21-Oct-2005 at 13:51
El Cid
I think I've misunderstood your post.
What is the conception you are talking about and what do you mean by 'daced' ??
------------- To the gods we mortals are all ignorant.Those old traditions from our ancestors, the ones we've had as long as time itself, no argument will ever overthrow, in spite of subtleties sharp minds invent.
|
Posted By: Ellinas
Date Posted: 09-Dec-2005 at 07:43
Originally posted by Phallanx
The whole issue gets even better...
The late Ioannis Passas, in his book "Ç Áëçèéíç Ðñïéóôïñéá" (The Real Prehistory) published 30 !!! whole years ago, came to this exact conclusion back then.. (couldn't believe it while reading the book) The unfortunately mocked scholar that was for years ridiculed by the so called 'scientific community', finally has his name cleared and hopefully will be recognized for what he really was..
Better late than never..
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This must be a very interesting book. Ioannis Passas is a great researcher and I know this because of the 'Helios' encyclopedia. I had in mind to buy this book, do you think I have a chance finding it in a bookstore in Athens?
Originally posted by Maju
Yeap, it's interesting. I never thought that Ulysses was just any obscure mythic figure but it's good to know that something like that has been found. |
Greek mythology is not a fairy tail. Everything there is based on real events or symbolic meanings. Most of the heroes of Greek mythology existed as humans.
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Posted By: YusakuJon3
Date Posted: 01-Jan-2006 at 10:29
Looking at those maps, I'm beginning to wonder if historians and
geographers had gotten their Agean islands mixed up over the
intervening centuries. It's not hard to do with the lack of
surviving records from the period. Unless something was literally
written in stone or had been faithfully copied down over the
generations before the original material (parchment, linen or papyrus)
decayed beyond usefulness, it was lost to us. That being
said, it'll be interesting if further evidence of the Homeric heroes
and their activities is uncovered this way.
My dream scenario, of course, is for someone to discover a significant
cache of well-preserved documents which sheds even more light on the
events of ancient history and makes the picture much clearer than is
currently known to us...
------------- "There you go again!"
-- President Ronald W. Reagan (directed towards reporters at a White House press conference, mid-1980s)
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Posted By: Kuu-ukko
Date Posted: 02-Jan-2006 at 07:51
I never doubted the tale......
Seriously, why was the name Ithaca changed to its modern location?
------------- Istun kylmällä kivellä
Sammaleella kostealla
Puiden oksain suojaamina
Aistin aikain vahvat voimat
Olen täällä onnellinen
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 03-Jan-2006 at 03:30
Originally posted by Kuu-ukko
Seriously, why was the name Ithaca changed to its modern location?
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Maybe,by those times Ithaca and Kefalinia were one island.If you look at the map shown above you'll see what i mean.
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Posted By: YusakuJon3
Date Posted: 10-Jan-2006 at 21:17
The region is an earthquake zone. In fact, a moderate tremor was
felt soon after New Year's Day this year. It wouldn't surprise me
that the continued activities along the fault lines have changed the
shape of the shoreline and islands over the past few milleniums since
Odysseus's day.
This gives a little more weight to why the ancient Hellas got so
nervous about a certain sea-god associated with earthquakes...
------------- "There you go again!"
-- President Ronald W. Reagan (directed towards reporters at a White House press conference, mid-1980s)
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Posted By: Alparslan
Date Posted: 16-Jan-2006 at 13:19
Originally posted by Phallanx
Seems like this decade will have a couple of stories that will suprise us... One of them being the research of Ippokratis Dakoglou, that published his book 2yrs before NASA announced the find of 2 new 'planets'. His work is based on the texts of Hesiod and Pythagoras... When I find the book, I'll provide more info.. |
I really doubt about the source of the Madera Magazine....
Would you please say what kind of magazine is this? Is it related with famous H Team of Greek nationalists?
Or may be it is related with Kefalonia tourism industry....
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