Ithaca (island)

Ithaca
Native name:
Ιθάκη
View of Vathy
Ithaca within the Ionian Islands
Ithaca is located in Greece
Ithaca
Ithaca
Geography
Coordinates38°22′N 20°43′E / 38.367°N 20.717°E / 38.367; 20.717
ArchipelagoIonian Islands
Area117.8 km2 (45.5 sq mi)
Administration
RegionIonian Islands
Regional unit and municipalityIthaca
Largest settlementVathy
Demographics
Population2,862 (2021)
Pop. density24/km2 (62/sq mi)
Additional information
Official websitewww.ithaki.gr
Head of Odysseus wearing a pileus depicted on a 3rd-century BC coin from Ithaca.

Ithaca, Ithaki or Ithaka (/ˈɪθəkə/; Greek: Ιθάκη, Ithaki [iˈθaci]; Ancient Greek: Ἰθάκη, Ithákē [i.tʰá.kɛː]) is a Greek island located in the Ionian Sea, off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and to the west of continental Greece.

Ithaca's main island has an area of 96 square kilometres (37 sq mi) and in 2021 had a population of 2,862. It is the second-smallest of the seven main Ionian Islands, after Paxi. Ithaca is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. The capital is Vathy (or Vathi).[1][2]

Modern Ithaca is generally identified with Homer's Ithaca, the home of Odysseus, whose delayed return to the island is the plot of the epic poem Odyssey.

  1. ^ "Vathi, Ithaca". National Gallery Scotland. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Port Vathi". Ithacan Philanthropic Society. 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.