Searching for the Palace of Odysseus
£14.99
A fascinating unravelling of an ancient mystery, with plenty of photographs, illustrations and detailed textual evidence from original sources.
Homer’s Odyssey describes the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus (known to the Romans as Ulysses) returning home after the Trojan War.
Odysseus was king of a group of islands consisting of Ithaca, Cephallonia, and Leukas. He had a longer journey to return home than most of the Greek heroes, as his kingdom was on the far side of Greece.
Speculation about the location of his palace has never been settled until now. The author and his colleague Professor Ioannis Liritzis have identified the site and confirmed it with a key dating result, as well as much other evidence.
The Palace of Odysseus sat on top of a hill on Ithaca, from where it was possible to see three seas, as described by Homer. An ancient stone stairway leading up to the site has been dated to the time of Odysseus.
Another surprising discovery is evidence that the poet Homer was indeed blind, as tradition claimed. Both Homer and Aristotle visited the site of the Palace, which was a tourist attraction until at least the fourth century BC.
Robert Temple
Robert Temple is known for his work in the history of science. As a colleague of Joseph Needham, he was author of The Genius of China, which summarizes 3000 years of scientific discoveries and technological inventions by the Chinese. It has recently been published in its sixth Chinese translation, was sponsored by UNESCO for international circulation, and has appeared in 43 languages. His most recent book on scientific subjects is A New Science of Heaven (Hodder & Stoughton, 2022), in which he traces the history of plasma physics from its first prediction by Aristotle to the discovery of plasma by Sir William Crookes and up to the present discoveries in astrophysics. His activities in 17th century English history have included several entries for the Dictionary of National Biography and other biographical dictionary entries, in addition to his discovery of the original officer list of the New Model Army written in the hand of Lord Fairfax himself. Professor Temple is Chairman of The Ancient Egypt Foundation, which has been subsidising the seven year project for the cleaning and restoration of the astronomical ceiling of the Temple of Khnum at Esna, south of Luxor on the Nile.