Ithaca

From the multi-award-winning author Claire North comes a daring reimagining that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men. It’s time for the women of Ithaca to tell their tale . . . "North brings a powerful, fresh, and unflinching voice to ancient myth. Breathtaking." —Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom. Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But as everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca's shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses—that will change the course of the world.

Calmly nestled among the glacial streams and hills of central New York, residents of Ithaca may find it hard to believe that their city began with a rocky start. Transient teamsters and salt barge workers gave the town a rowdy reputation in its pioneer days, and the fledgling village seemed doomed as the “most isolated place on the Eastern Seaboard.” Over the course of the nineteenth century, Ithaca’s character swung like a pendulum from debauchery to temperance, from boisterous vagrancy to religious fervor and reform. Though the town was hit hard by the Depression of 1837 and periodically ravaged by fire and flood, Ithaca survived to become a lively and bustling community and an important center of education, technological innovation and cultural vibrancy. In this comprehensive history, Carol Kammen shows exactly why Ithaca is known as the “Crown of Cayuga.”

Ithaca, New York has often been called the Hollywood of the East, growing from farms to factories to Cornell University--Ithaca's history is an interesting and broad one. Nestled in the heart of the Finger Lakes, Ithaca was planned by surveyor Simeon DeWitt and incorporated in 1821 when steamboats signaled Cayuga Lake's heyday of commerce and recreation. Spectacular creeks and waterfalls powered grist, plaster, carding, and other mills. From farms, merchants, and mills, Ithaca's industries grew to include the famous Thomas-Morse Aviation Company and Morse Chain Works. By 1914, Wharton Studios was producing silent films in this Hollywood of the East. Such notable residents as actress Irene Castle, the Tremans, and community leader James L. Gibbs called Ithaca home. Ithacans became known for community involvement early on. St. James AME Zion Church served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and Elizabeth Beebe built a mission for needy Rhiners. Ezra Cornell and Andrew D. White realized their ideal of education when Cornell University opened in 1868, followed in 1892 by the Ithaca Conservatory of Music, which became Ithaca College in 1931. Students protested segregation in front of Woolworth's 30 years later, and echoes of this idealism can still be found here today.

This 50-page poem is a major contemporary Spanish poet's reworking of the Greek myth of Odysseus, but with one important alteration: This time the story is told from Penelope's perspective. Upon its original Spanish publication, Ithaca earned the 1971 Leopoldo Panero poetry award. Francisca Aguirre was born in Alicante, Spain in 1930. She began publishing late in life, garnering many awards, including the prestigious Esquio Award. She lives in Spain with poet Felix Grande, a member of the second generation of post-civil war poets. Translator Ana Osan was born in Morocco. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She specializes in translating poetry by women, particularly the translation of long poems such as Ithaca. She lives in Valparaiso, IN.

Provides a look at Ithaca College from the students' viewpoint.

Since antiquity classicists have debated the true location of Ithaca, the island home of Homer's mythological hero Odysseus. With Where on Earth Is Ithaca? Cees H. Goekoop expertly guides readers through the existing scholarship on the whereabouts of the island and details the evidence that still has the power to unite and divide scholars. Goekoop mines Homer's original text to unearth a wealth of geographical clues and then offer his own theories. Where on Earth Is Ithaca? intrigues as it informs and will appeal to all who are interested in classical history.

ISBN 9042000953 (paperback) NLG 40.00 encyclopaedias (Peter Burke).