Homer's Ithaca located

CAMBRIDGE, England, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Scholars have been wondering for centuries exactly where Ithaca, the home of Greek hero Odysseus, was located; the answer, Paliki.

James Diggle, professor of Greek and Latin at Cambridge University, said nearly all of the 26 places Homer described in detail in "The Illiad" and "The Odyssey" can be found in and around Paliki, part of Cephalonia, which is part of Greece's Ionia Islands.

Diggle, who along with John Underhill of Edinburgh University co-authored a book on the discovery, told The Times of London the topography of Paliki fits Ithaca "like a glove." Diggle reached his conclusions after analyzing literary, geological and archaeological data and advanced satellite imagery, and using 3D global visualization techniques.

Homer's works are the oldest books in Western literature. They describe the Trojan War and Odysseus' effort to return home.

"Odysseus Unbound: The Search for Homer's Ithaca," is to be published by Cambridge University Press Oct. 6.