Ithaca

Ithaca is a toponym used for several places, most famously the ancient Greek island of Ithaki (Ithaca) in the Ionian Sea and the city of Ithaca in upstate New York. The name derives from the Greek Ithaki, the home of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey, and it has been applied to other places in the Mediterranean and North America.

Ithaca, New York, is a city in Tompkins County in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. It lies at the southern end of Cayuga Lake and is known for its universities, including Cornell University and Ithaca College, as well as a landscape of gorges, waterfalls, and hillside communities. The local economy centers on education, research, technology, and tourism, with a population around 30,000.

Ithaki (Ithaca), Greece, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, part of the Ionian Islands regional unit. It lies southwest of the Greek mainland and has a rugged coastline, olive groves, and small ports such as Vathy. The island’s permanent population numbers in the few thousands, with tourism and agriculture as important sectors. It is traditionally identified as the home of Odysseus in classical literature.

Other places named Ithaca exist, including towns and townships in North America and elsewhere, though the Greek island and the New York city are the best known references. The name also appears in cultural works referring to Odysseus’s homecoming.