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Although Odysseus is the most famous personality associated with the island, its name was derived from Ithacis who, as mythology has it, was the son of a Cephalonian king who—with is brother—built a fountain that supplied water for the entire island
Ithaca’s nonfictional history is every bit as colorful as its mythological lore. It’s believed the island has been inhabited at least since the 2nd Millennium B.C. Evidence uncovered indicates it was the capital of Cephalonia around 1500 B.C. This is about the same time as the Trojan War—if Odysseus really existed he would have been king.
The mighty Roman Empire occupied Ithaca in the 2nd Century B.C. Later, the island was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. Constantly attacked by pirates, resulting in many lost lives, Ithaca made an alliance with Cephalonia in 800 A.D. In the 12th and 13th Centuries, the island came under rule of the Normans and the Franks and then, after 30 years in the late 1400s of governance by the Turks, it went into Venetian hands. During this latter period, the island’s agricultural and shipping industries were developed, leading to the improvement of Ithacan society.
Near the end of the 1700s, France occupied Ithaca; it was conquered by the British in 1809. In 1821, mainland Greece’s War of Independence against the Muslim Turks broke out. For 400 years the Turks had occupied Greece, attempting to close the churches and to eradicate Greek culture and language, which were secretly kept alive by the Greeks. The Ithacans aided the Greeks in their struggle, producing Odysseus Androutsos, one of the top freedom fighters against the Turks. His birth home is still visible on the waterfront in Ithaca’s lovely capital, Vathy. During this period, productivity, trade, and education all improved to once again raise the standard of living on the island. In 1864, the island was finally liberated and became part of the new Greek State. Sadly, most of Ithaca was destroyed in a terrible 1953 earthquake.
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