ULYSSES JOURNEY UNITES MED @ 01 Feb 2022

ULYSSES JOURNEY UNITES MED

The UNESCO MED LAB of the University of Reggio Calabria is creating a project involving a cultural itinerary which will involve the Mediterranean countries allegedly alluded to in Homer's great epic poem, “The Odyssey”. The poem recounts the mythical journey of the hero Ulysses from Troy to his home land on the Greek island of Ithaca.

The project is being promoted by the regional office of MIBACT (Italian Ministry of Culture and Tourism), the Italian branch of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) as well as a number of universities and local authorities in Calabria and Sicily.

The legend of Ulysses' journey is still very much alive in Italy, Greece and several other Mediterranean counties. Many of the places mentioned by Homer have been identified with episodes in the poem, despite the fact that the Odyssey is believed by experts to be a work of fiction.

However, myths have a habit of lingering on over centuries. Thus the Greek island of Ithaca is thought to be the hero's real kingdom, the home of the nymph Calypso is identified with the island of Gozo near Malta, and the Lotus Eaters supposedly inhabited Djerba off the Tunisian coast.

Italy, in particular, is rich in Odyssey lore. The dreaded passage between the monsters Charybdis and Scylla is believed to be the Straits of Messina with the Garofalo whirlpool (in actual fact a very minor movement of opposing water currents) supposed to be Charybdis. Polyphemus the man-eating Cyclop had his cave on the Sicilian coast near Etna and the Sirens hung out on the

I Galli islands near Capri. The enchantress Circe, who turned Ulysses' men into pigs, resided on the Circeo peninsula south of Rome, that actually looks like an island from certain view points. The legend was reinforced by the discovery in 1928 of a cult statue of Circe, dating from the 5th century BC, as well as the remains of a temple and an acropolis.

The idea behind the project “Il Viaggio di Ulisse” (Ulysses' Journey)is to create a cultural link between these places and promote tourism.

M.STENHOUSE

Info: Tel. +39.0965.332201 www.icomos.org urp@unirc.it


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