Ithaca’s history
This is the online hub for learning about Ithaca’s history.
Greek & Roman Antiquity
Little Ithaca is famous for being the realm of Odysseus, as fabled by Homer’s epic poem. Archaeology has shown that the island was settled since the Neolithic period.
Since around the 3rd century BC, a cult of Odysseus seems to have been worshipped at sites like Polis bay. Recent excavations have shown significant Roman activity around Vathy.
Byzantine period
Even after antiquity, the Homeric legacy continues to dominate the island’s fame, with a continuing debate about the reality of the epics. Little is known about the island in this period.
In the 6th century, the flourishing town of Vathy seems to have been abandoned. The population seems to have moved to the highlands for safety.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, the region is subject to incursions by the Normans, who eventually take the island in 1185.
Latin rule
The island formed part of the County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, held first by the conqueror Megareites of Brindisi, followed by the family Orsini and later the Tocco, together with the Duchy of Leukas.
In some Italian maps, the island appears as ‘Val de Compare’, but the ancient name continues to be used.
Ithaca, together with neighbouring islets, gain a reputation for pirates who endanger sailors.
Venetian rule
Venetian rule characterises the formative experience of modern Ithaca, and the ruined settlements of this period are the most tangible aspect of the island’s heritage.
The island was ruled by a governor elected among the elites of Cephalonia, with Ithacans limited to participate in certain functions of local government.
Society grew through an economy built on the international trade of currants, and the island had 3 main towns: Vathy, Anogi, and Exogi. By the 18th century, settlements descend from the highlands to coastal areas for the first time since Late Antiquity. Several impressive churches of the period survive.
After Venice
A few tumultuous short years, from Napoleon’s defeat of the Venetians in 1797, which led to the islands coming under French rule, to the establishment of a short-lived Republic.
The famous ‘libro d'oro’ of 1803 represents the social change of the period after the fall of Venetian rule.
A census of 1807 captures the state of society, listing every Ithacan with exacting detail.
British rule
Ithaca, with the other southern Ionian Islands, were captured earlier than Corfu, with the United States of the Ionian Islands formed in 1815.
For major Ithacan merchant families, this was the culmination of decades of pro-British sentiment. The island’s infrastructure was improved, through road-building, aqueducts, defences, and quays.
Many Ithacans emigrate to establish prosperous trading houses on the Danube in Romania.
Unification with Greece
The island’s population declines, with significant emigration, to larger centres in Greece, and as far as Australia by the end of the century.
Depopulation is marked by the rewilding of the island which obscures the old terracing which covers the island’s surface. The earthquake of 1953 destroys centuries of built heritage, with some exceptions.
From the 1990s, growing tourism offers a new economic opportunity.
