Many scholars dealing with the bronze age, well versed in comparative mythology, literary analysis and etymology have concluded the journey of Odysseus to be a cosmic one. It is a story rich in astronomy and in particular, solar references, allegories and metaphors. Odysseus’ journey is indeed the path of the sun: he engages in 12 adventures, travels East to West, visits the underworld, and ultimately arrives back at Ithaca.
I thought to myself, how would scholars that see the connection between myth and ritual interpret this epic? So I went to the oldest organized cemetery in the Kingdom of Odysseus and noticed the cemetery was planned using the four cardinal points and also marked the solstices and equinox. (See images below)
However, the area of the cemetery where the winter solstice sun sets was unusually bare, so I looked up. (Initially at home, using a simulation of Google Earth and planetary software Stellarium)
As I stood in front of the central cist grave and looked to the horizon, I watched the winter solstice sun slowly descend and eventually set, into the slope of the peak. Many scholars interpret the Feast of Apollo, when Odysseus returns, to be the winter solstice.
According to classicist Douglas Frame the Indo European root word -nes is used to describe the "return of light and life." Being that after the winter solstice there is a "rebirth"of the sun and the growing daylight that follows, it is logical to conclude that is when Odysseus returns. Nostos - the hero's return is derived from -nes.
Thus, I understood. It was a winter solstice holiday. He still returns to Ithaca. On that day, the locals identified him as the sun. They built something very special at that location up near that peak.
At that location where the sun sets, an archaeological excavation which began at my request, has revealed one of the largest tumuli of the Greek Bronze Age. It was not a tholos tomb as I had expected, but now seems to be one of the largest tumuli in bronze age Greece. A true "sema" or "sign" dominating the landscape below, with views of Mount Ainos, the tallest mountain in the Ionian Sea, the Peloponnesian mainland, and Zakynthos. The big question: is it a burial tumulus or only a ceremonial tumulus or even a cenotaph? Evidence of ritual and feasting exists at and near the tumulus structure. I highly doubt there are no burials in the immediate area or even in the tumulus. There could be multiple. There also seems to be much more around the tumulus and the areas much further away… a larger bronze age site.
I believe I have found the original Ithaca. And yes, Odysseus still "returns" to Ithaca, even in our days. The story of the hero on a solar journey grew from the global prehistoric phenomena of observing the winter solstice.
Work continues.
Note: Per the report filed from the local archaeological service, the two chambers are called "wells" and have been described as a mining operation dues to the calcium carbonate that was removed. I respectfully disagree. If there were any mining, it would have been an incidental activity, a bonus of material removed from what I believe are ritual wells. The amount of material and labor expended in the construction of this massive tumulus structure overshadows the work involved in digging the wells. Furthermore, the two wells are aligned exactly the same as the tholoid tombs at Kangelisses:
Moreover, the depth and diameter of the two wells seems to have been predetermined by the use of a gnomon at the entrance of each well. More on that in an upcoming article. There seems to me to be a solar/underworld ritual aspect to these chambers/wells.
Here is a photo I took a few years ago of the winter solstice sunset while standing behind the central cist grave at the pre-Mycenaean/Mycenaean cemetery at Kangelisses, Kokolata:
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