The True Route of the Odyssey

Homer’s Odyssey tells one of the most famous stories of ancient Greek mythology. It is the story of one commander’s return from Troy after the Trojan War. It is a very detailed story, yet there has been centuries of debate regarding the route that Homer described. Scholars have proposed all manner of conflicting suggestions for the locations described in the poem. In this article, we will examine what the best evidence indicates about the true route of the Odyssey.

The Odyssey 

In the seventh century BCE, probably about the year 650, Homer wrote the Odyssey poem. This tells the story of Odysseus, one of the Greek commanders who fought at the Trojan War, trying to get home after the fall of Troy. Due to angering Poseidon, the god of the sea, Odysseus’ journey was a difficult and perilous one. 

What should have been a simple journey across the Aegean Sea, back to his home on the Greek island of Ithaca on the west of Greece, ended up being decade-long event. He engaged in numerous dangerous adventures along the way. Tragically, all of his crew died during the journey. 

Many of the locations visited by Odysseus are shrouded in mystery. They are not given names that are clearly identifiable with places in the Mediterranean, and they are described in very mythical terms. For these reasons, there is extensive debate over where exactly Odysseus travelled to.

This is not just a controversy that exists today, among modern scholars. Rather, this is actually a subject that has been debated since ancient times. Various ancient writers had conflicting opinions over the true route of the Odyssey. 

Entering Wonderland 

It is not the case that the entire journey described by Homer is a mystery. Odysseus starts out at the city of Troy, whose location is well established in northwest Anatolia. The first part of his route is also quite straightforward. He started sailing along the north coast of the Aegean Sea and then went down towards the Cyclades.

At this point, the route described in the Odyssey explicitly takes Odysseus to Cape Maleas. This is the eastern headland of the Gulf of Laconia, on the southern extremity of the Peloponnese. However, it is at this point that Odysseus ‘leaves the sphere of Geography and enters Wonderland’, as one modern scholar explained.

While rounding Cape Maleas, Odysseus is blown off course by a strong and persistent wind. This lasts for nine days. After this, the locations visited by Odysseus are seemingly mythical. It is from this point onwards, until Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, that the route is open to serious question.

Places Visited by Odysseus 

After being blown across the sea for nine days straight, Odysseus and his men finally arrive at a place described as the land of the Lotus Eaters. There, the inhabitants give some of Odysseus’ men a strange food which makes them lose all desire to return home.

Next, Odysseus and his men journey to an island where a monstrous Cyclops named Polyphemus lives.

After a dangerous encounter with the Cyclops, the sailors move on to the island of Aeolus, the god of the wind. Aeolus gives Odysseus a sack containing powerful winds, which he is to use only later in his journey. However, Odysseus’ men curiously open the bag, releasing the winds and ruining their progress. 

The next location reached is the island of Lamos, where they come to the city of Telepylos. This is the residence of the Laestrygonians, a race of cannibals. Many of Odysseus’ men are killed during this event. Only Odysseus’ own ship, along with 45 men, survive this incident. 

Odysseus next comes to the island of Aeaea, the residence of Circe. She turns many of the men into pigs and keeps them on the island for a year.

After this, Odysseus next travels to the Underworld to find a man named Tiresias.

The next island passed by Odysseus was inhabited by sirens, mythical creatures that have the ability to lure men towards them by singing. Through some ingenious methods, Odysseus and his men are able to escape their clutches.

Subsequently, Odysseus needs to lead his ship through a difficult passage. On one side, there is a monster called Scylla, a multi-headed snake-like creature. On the other side, there is a creature called Charybdis, which causes a deadly whirlpool. Several of Odysseus’ men die, but the ship survives.

The next location visited is Thrinacia, the island of Helios, the god of the sun. Unfortunately, Odysseus’ men make Helios furious by killing some of his cattle. After they leave the island, a storm strikes them and all the men die, apart from Odysseus himself. 

Odysseus next arrives at an island called Ogygia, where the goddess Calypso keeps him captive for seven years. 

After being let go from Ogygia, Odysseus arrives at Scheria, the land of the mysterious people called the Phaeacians. This is his final stop before he finally reaches Ithaca, off the western coast of Greece.

The Traditional Route 

There are numerous different suggestions regarding where these places really were, both from ancient and modern times. Here, we will present the most commonly suggested route as found in modern online sources, such as on popular maps about the Odyssey or Greek mythology in general.

The land of the Lotus Eaters is usually identified with Tunisia, the northern coast of Libya, or an island just off the coast. 

The island of the Cyclops is usually identified as Sicily.

The island of Aeolus is usually identified with an island near Sicily, such as one of the islands on its northern coast, known collectively as the Aeolian Islands.

The land of the cannibal Laestrygonians is more controversial. Some maps place it in Sicily still, while others place it elsewhere in the western Mediterranean, such as further along the African coast, on the western coast of Italy, or somewhere else in that general region. 

Next, the island of Aeaea (Circe’s island) is usually identified with somewhere on or near the western coast of Italy, such as Sardinia or Corsica. Sometimes it is placed further west, such as Mallorca.

The entrance to the Underworld is often placed at Cumae on the western coast of Italy. Other maps place it on the southern coast of France, or even sometimes on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. 

The location of the sirens is usually placed in either southern Italy or occasionally on one of the Tyrrhenian Islands, such as Sardinia. 

Scylla and Charybdis are almost universally placed in the Strait of Messina, the narrow passage between Sicily and southern Italy. 

Sicily is likewise also a common identification of Thrinacia, the island of Helios, although that island is also commonly associated with Malta or another small island in the region of Sicily.

Ogygia is traditionally identified with Gozo, the island just next to Malta. However, another common suggestion is Othonio, a small island off the west coast of Greece.

The final destination before Ithaca, Scheria, is frequently identified with Corfu, south of Othonio.

Tim Severin’s Journey

There is one thing that defines the vast majority of modern theories about the route of the Odyssey. Almost without fail, they are developed by scholars simply working from written texts. It is very rare for one of these proposed routes to be made by someone who actually went and visited these locations.

This is significant, because the actual experience of being there at these commonly-suggested locations might be very different to what Homer described. On the other hand, there might be other possibilities that can only be appreciated from first-hand experience.

One notable exception to this issue with most modern proposals is the route suggested by Tim Severin. He was a historian and explorer who contributed profoundly to our understanding of legends about ancient sea travel. 

The defining feature of Severin’s suggested route is that he actually went on this journey himself, along with a crew of volunteers. They sailed in an authentic replica of an ancient Greek galley. 

By using his knowledge and experience as a sailor, combined with his historical knowledge, he went on the journey that made the most real-world sense in view of the information provided by Homer’s Odyssey. Along the journey, he made numerous discoveries of things which strikingly match the legendary account. 

In fact, in parts, he was even able to accurately predict what he would find before he arrived. Everything indicates that Tim Severin’s suggested route is the correct one.

The Most Likely Route

So, what is the route proposed by Tim Severin? Put simply, Severin’s theory is that almost the entire journey took place around the coast of Greece. It is essentially the answer to the famous mystery of how Odysseus could possibly have ended up so phenomenally off-course on his journey home – the answer being, he did not.

Rather than having Odysseus journey all over the western Mediterranean, ridiculously far from Greece, Severin’s route keeps Odysseus more on less on track for most of the journey. His route is a much more realistic and logical way of interpreting Odysseus’ attempt to get from Troy to Ithaca. 

Interestingly, this is not a completely new idea. As far back as the second century CE, Pausanias believed that the entrance to the Underworld in the Odyssey was in the Epirus region of northwest Greece. 

The Key Turning Point 

The fundamental difference between most suggested routes and Severin’s is the interpretation of Odysseus being blown off course for nine days after rounding Cape Maleas in southern Greece. Since strong winds can blow a galley some 70 to 100 miles per day, this means that Odysseus and his crew would have likely been blown off course by anywhere from 630 to 900 miles from Cape Maleas. 

The Odyssey informs us that Odysseus went in at least a roughly southerly direction, since his ships were blown past the island of Cythera, which is south of Cape Maleas. However, the Mediterranean is barely 250 miles north to south when starting from Cape Maleas.

Due to this fact, the standard conclusion is that Odysseus must have been blown off course in a considerably easterly direction. He cannot have gone directly south, so he must have gone southeast. This is how researchers have traditionally reached the conclusion that Odysseus must have arrived at Tunisia, or at least somewhere near there. This is 750 miles from Cape Maleas. 

A More Realistic Approach 

Despite this common understanding, Tim Severin highlights a more practical interpretation using his experience as a sailor. He notes the fact that the entire point of Odysseus’ journey was to return home. He and his men were tired after the long Trojan War and had no desire to go on more adventures. All they wanted was simply to get home. 

With this in mind, what was the most logical course of action while being blown off course by the wind? Would they have gone with it, or would they have tried to maintain their position as much as reasonably possible?

Obviously, the latter option is more logical. As Severin himself explained, ‘there was no advantage whatsoever in spreading sail and hurrying away from their intended destination’. Unless the winds reached actual gale force (which is not indicated by the Odyssey), there would have been no need to travel with the wind.

 The Odyssey shows that the wind, while strong, was sufficiently weak so as to avoid scattering apart the ships sailing with Odysseus. Thus, Odysseus would have been able to employ the tactic of maintaining drift speed until the wind abated and his men could start rowing again.

From personal experience in such winds while using his replica Greek galley on a different voyage, Severin knew that going at a drift speed would take them about 30 miles in one full day. Therefore, the nine days mentioned by the Odyssey would have taken Odysseus just 270 miles, not over 630 miles as per the traditional interpretation.

The Land of the Lotus Eaters 

In line with this, we do not need to assume any dramatic easterly direction, which is never specifically indicated by the Odyssey. Rather, Odysseus and his men would have reached the northern coast of Africa almost directly south of where they were blown off course.

This would land them in Cyrenaica, the eastern part of Libya, where the prominent Greek colony of Cyrene was founded in the seventh century BCE. Where exactly they landed is impossible to say, because the Odyssey is simply too vague.

Nonetheless, ancient Egyptian depictions of the Libyan tribes living to their western border present a people who are consistent with the limited information provided about the Lotus Eaters in the Odyssey. Homer presents them as having a simple way of living, and he makes no mention of cities or any notable infrastructure. This matches what we know of the Bronze Age and Iron Age Libyan tribes, who seem to have been mainly pastoral nomads.

Regarding the actual lotus plant that some of Odysseus’ men eat, it is most likely that this was the plant known today as the Ziziphus lotus. This matches the description provided by Homer and it grows abundantly in North Africa. 

It is usually understood that the contentment and forgetfulness induced by this plant in the Odyssey likely comes from the fact that this plant is often used to make a type of wine.

Island of the Cyclops 

The next location on the route in the Odyssey is the island on which Polyphemus, the monstrous Cyclops, lives. As Severin noted, there is nothing in the Odyssey, at least at this stage, to indicate that Odysseus was lost. It would have been easy enough to track their movement while they were being blown off course by the wind for nine days.

Therefore, the logical route to get back on course from Cyrenaica would take them right past Crete. Aside from the tiny island of Gavdos just a little further south, there are no other islands between the Cyrenaica and Crete. Consequently, Crete would seem to be the island of Polyphemus. 

This makes sense in view of Greek mythology, because Crete was associated with a race of men called Telchines. Interestingly, scholars have noted that the Telchines share many characteristics with the Cyclopes, and some sources suggest that the two groups were sometimes confused. 

Furthermore, Tim Severin reported the presence of a pervasive folklore in Crete about the existence of a monstrous race of men called triamates. They allegedly have a third eye in their forehead, they live in caves, and they eat people. Aside from the presence of two normal, human eyes, this description is a striking match for the Cyclops of the Odyssey.

The Island of the Wild Goats 

Severin conceded that it is probably impossible to identify the exact cave in which the story is set, since there are literally hundreds caves all over the island. However, one place which can be located with quite some certainty is a small island mentioned at this point in the story.

Homer explains how Odysseus and his men landed on a small island inhabited by wild goats. This island was very close to the main island, close enough to see the rising smoke of a fire and even hear the sheep bleating.

Given the logical route north from Cyrenaica, Odysseus should have arrived at the southwest corner of Crete. There is no island there today. However, the western side of Crete was raised up by an earthquake not too long ago, possibly as recently as medieval times.

When this is taken into account, it is evident that the modern-day peninsula of Paleochora would have been an island, the ‘neck’ of the peninsula being completely submersed in water. This is in exactly the right location to fit the story. Furthermore, the presence of wild goats in this part of the Odyssey matches the fact that Crete is famous for its wild goats, called Kri-kri. They were even represented in Minoan art.

Island of Aeolus

The next island on the route in the Odyssey is the island of Aeolus, the god of the wind. Again, Severin assumed that Odysseus was simply trying to do what Homer presented him as doing: get home to Ithaca. Therefore, from the southwest corner of Crete, the logical route would have been up towards the northwest corner and then across the sea to the Peloponnese, where the sailors had originally been blown off course. 

Assuming that Odysseus would logically have waited on the northwest corner of Crete until the weather conditions proved favourable (not wanting to be blown towards Africa by a strong north wind again), Severin took his replica ship to that spot.

Right in the northwest corner of Crete is the small, uninhabited island of Gramvousa. This is surrounded by cliffs rising dramatically from the sea. The geology of the rock-face gives the cliffs the appearance of being manmade walls. Furthermore, Severin and his men noticed that as they approached the island, the light from the setting sun gave it a definite red or bronze colour. 

This strikingly matches Homer’s description of Aeolus’ island. The account in the Odyssey says that it was surrounded by a wall of bronze and sheer cliffs.

The Leather Bag 

Although this is an interesting correspondence, this could just be put down to coincidence, since lots of islands in the Aegean have sheer cliffs. However, this link is considerably strengthened by the name of the island. In ancient times, it was known as Korykos, or Corycus. Why is this significant?

In the Odyssey, Homer explains that Odysseus asked Aeolus for help to return to Ithaca. The god was happy to help, so he gave Odysseus a leather bag containing ‘the boisterous energies of all the winds’.

With this in mind, it seems incredibly significant that the Greek place name ‘Korykos’ literally means ‘leather bag’. This is such an unusual name for an island that it is difficult to view it as anything other than a reference to this story from the Odyssey.

Location Relative to Ithaca

Another indication that this really was the island of Aeolus is what happens next in the Odyssey. After nine days of sailing, Odysseus and his men get close to Ithaca, but then they are driven back again by his men releasing the leather bag presumptuously.

Nine days of leisurely sailing (bearing in mind that Odysseus’ men must have been tired and could only have gone at the pace of the slowest ship) is a plausible match for a direct journey from Crete to Ithaca. 

A storm could plausibly have driven a ship southeast from Ithaca, where Odysseus would then have made an effort to make land at Gramvousa again. However, this is completely implausible if we place Aeolus’ island in the western Mediterranean, as per the traditional identification of his island with one of the Aeolian Islands.

Land of the Laestrygonians

The Odyssey tells us that the next notable stop along the route was reached after six days of sailing. Severin concludes that Odysseus would likely have attempted a safer journey from Crete to Ithaca this time, hugging the coast of Greece rather than trying to go straight across the sea to Ithaca as he had just tried. 

Based on the six days of sailing, Odysseus would likely have still been in the region of the Peloponnese, although exactly where is impossible to say based just on the time frame. The description given by Homer is crucial. 

Homer explains that Odysseus and his men found a remarkable harbour. It was circular, surrounded by an unbroken ring of cliffs, and big enough for eleven ships to be moored up close together. It also had a very narrow entrance, marked by two headlands almost touching each other. 

A place fitting this exact description is the circular harbour at Mezapos. This is located on the western side of the western headland of the Gulf of Laconia, which Odysseus must inevitably have passed while hugging the coast on his journey home. Its shape is remarkable, and Severin himself said that he had never seen anything like it in all his years of sailing. 

The Odyssey presents a scenario in which the eleven ships of Odysseus’ men were trapped inside, the men being slaughtered by the Laestrygonians attacking them from the surrounding cliffs. Odysseus only managed to escape with his ship because he had moored it on one of the headlands, not inside the harbour itself.

This scenario is completely impossible in most of the other suggested locations for this harbour, since they are substantially too big. This harbour at Mezapo, on the other hand, allows for exactly the situation that is described in the Odyssey.

Across to the Ionian Sea 

Tim Severin locates the next adventures on the Odyssey’s route with locations in the Ionian Sea. The identifications are very secure and convincing, but this presents a problem. From the harbour of Mezapos, Odysseus would have had to have gone right past Ithaca, his destination, and then come back down through the Ionian Sea. Obviously, this does not make any logical sense.

Severin interprets this as being a case of a separate collection of adventures being drafted onto the story of Odysseus’ voyage home. However, this is not necessarily the only explanation. It is notable that the next destination on his route home, Circe’s island, is apparently the first location at which Odysseus actually mentions that he is lost. There is no indication that he was lost at any point before this.

This being the case, something unusual most have happened between the land of the Laestrygonians and Circe’s island, even though the Odyssey completely skips over the journey. Something must have led to Odysseus getting lost.

Consider the fact that Odysseus would logically have sailed in a rush some distance from the coast so as to get far away from the Laestrygonians and their missiles. This would make his ship much more susceptible to being blown out to sea. 

With this in mind, it is notable that there is a wind called the Sirocco which blows from the southeast along the coast of western Greece. It can be very strong and can last unabated for several days. It also causes reduced visibility due to dust and fog. All told, this would be the perfect mechanism which would have pushed Odysseus out into the Ionian Sea and right past his destination. From there, he would have logically sailed directly east, to get to what he knew was Greece, rather than trying to risk retracing his steps across the open sea.

Circe’s Island 

Now, we get to Circe’s island. This is evidently a small island and it seems to be uninhabited, aside from being the residence of Circe. It was covered in vegetation and wild animals. Circe herself was a nature goddess. The island is described by Odysseus as being surrounded by sea when he went to a vantage point to look around, yet he also manages to get to land within a day, which is somewhat contradictory. This is likely because the visibility was low due to the fog caused by the Sirocco. 

Severin identifies this island with Paxos. This is a small, beautiful Greek island just south of Corfu. Even today, it is largely uninhabited and is covered in greenery. It is easily within a day’s sail of the mainland. 

Plutarch records an interesting story concerning Paxos. He explains that when a ship was sailing past the island, a voice from the island called out, telling Thamus (one of the men on the ship) to announce that Pan was dead. 

Pan was a nature god, very similar in that respect to Circe. Most sources make Pan the son of Hermes, and Hermes appears on Circe’s island in the Odyssey and speaks with Odysseus. In view of this information, the association between Paxos and Pan supports the conclusion that Paxos was Aeaea, the island of Circe.

Entrance to the Underworld 

The next stop on the route described in the Odyssey is the entrance to the Underworld, since Odysseus needs to go there to speak with Tiresias. This location is very clear. Homer explicitly tells us that it was by the Acheron River, and that ‘the River of Flaming Fire’ and ‘the River of Lamentation’ flowed into the Acheron. 

On the mainland of Greece just across from Paxos, in Thesprotia, is the Acheron River, where it always has been. This is joined by a tributary stream anciently called the Cocytus, which is the exact word translated ‘lamentation’ used by Homer. So here we also have the River of Lamentation.

Before modern drainage work in the area, there had been a third stream which fed into the Acheron. Allegedly, this was phosphorescent. Clearly, this was the ‘River of Flaming Fire’ mentioned by Homer.

At this site, there was an oracle of the dead, where people would go to speak to the dead, just like what Odysseus is described as doing. There is evidence of sacrifices here of exactly the type offered by Odysseus in the poem. 

Bizarrely, Homer states that the kingdom and city of the Cimmerians was in this area. This has confused commentators for centuries, since the Cimmerians historically lived far to the east of Greece. Yet, just next to the Acheron River in western Greece, there was an ancient settlement called Cheimerion.

The Sirens

Odysseus then returned to Circe’s island before continuing on his journey. Travelling southeast from Paxos towards Ithaca, Odysseus would have first passed Antipaxos, which is precisely in that direction and is very close to Paxos. This small island, just 5 km², must have been the island of the sirens.

Unfortunately, Severin misidentified this spot because he overlooked the detail in the Odyssey that the island of the sirens was separate to where the immediately following events took place.

Scylla and Charybdis

Odysseus was told that after passing the sirens’ island, he would have to make a choice between two routes. One would take him past the Wandering Rocks, two large rocks in the sea that clash together whenever something passes between them. The other route would take him through a pass, with the monstrous Scylla on one side and Charybdis on the other.

The next landmark on a route southeast from Antipaxos is Lefkada. Odysseus could have either gone down the west side, or through the narrow channel between the island and mainland Greece on the east side. 

On the west side, there is a rock formation known as Sesola. This has a large gap in it through which a galley could sail. This is evidently what inspired the story of the Wandering Rocks.

Scylla 

The serpentine Scylla was said to have lived in a cave on the western side of a large rock face overlooking the narrow channel through which Odysseus would have to sail. As it happens, we find a match for this description on the east side of Lefkada. 

Near the start of the ancient channel that goes between the island and the mainland, there is a large cliff overlooking the water. There is a small cave with a shrine inside, facing west. This spot is called Mount Lamia.

In Greek mythology, a lamia is a female serpentine monster who snatches up children and devours them. The lamya in Bulgarian mythology, which no doubt owes strong influences to Greek mythology, are likewise serpentine monsters, explicitly described as having multiple long necks. 

Remarkably, on the Greek mainland just north of the entrance to this channel, we find Cape Skilla. For some, the combination of evidence in this area could be viewed as decisive.

Charybdis 

There is no whirlpool opposite the apparent cave of Scylla today, but this channel has been cut off from its ancient entrance in modern times. What is known, however, is that the wind pushes water into the bay immediately to the north of this channel, just outside its entrance, during the day.

One reference work noted that this involves a considerable quantity of water, ‘which, when the breeze dies away at sunset, runs out with some strength’. When the ancient channel down the eastern side of Lefkada was still connected to that bay, much of this water would have poured into the channel. 

Interestingly, there is a tide running through the channel south to north. When the water from the bay north of the entrance came pouring down the channel and met the tide coming from the south, this would very likely have caused a whirlpool of some kind. The exact same phenomenon occurs even today just six miles further north, when much of the water inside the Ambracian Gulf empties through the channel at Preveza.

Thrinacia

The next destination is Thrinacia, the island of Helios the sun god. As it happens, a good case can be made for identifying it with the very next notable island on the route down the eastern side of Lefkada.

Even before clearing Lefkada itself, though long after the channel between that island and mainland Greece has opened up, there is Meganisi Island. This has a remarkable shape. Much of it is long and slender, but then it opens out (while curving to the east) and ends with several headlands pointing into the sea.

Interestingly, this is an incredible match for the name that the Odyssey gives the island, ‘Thrinacia’. This is generally understood as meaning ‘trident’, which is exactly what Meganisi looks like.

Furthermore, one very early Greek writer, Hecataeus of Miletus, placed Erytheia in the region of Ambracia, just north of Meganisi. Erytheia was where Helios had his cattle in other Greek myths. Therefore, the similar myth of Helios and his cattle on Thrinacia in the Odyssey could plausibly have been set in the same area, near Ambracia. This fits Meganisi Island. 

Additional confirmation of this location is its position relative to Ithaca and the previous location. The Odyssey tells us that Odysseus and his men were stuck on this island for some time because a south wind was preventing them from moving on. This indicates that Thrinacia was north of their destination, Ithaca. Also, Odysseus is blown back to Charybdis by another south wind after experiencing shipwreck shortly after leaving Thrinacia, which shows that Thrinacia was south of Charybdis. Meganisi meets both of these requirements.

Ogygia

After a terrible shipwreck in which all his men died, and a brief encounter with Charybdis after being blown back there, Odysseus floats helplessly on some debris until he eventually arrives at Ogygia, the island of Calypso.

Severin concludes that this might simply be a fanciful addition to the tale. The details in the Odyssey require it to have been very far away from Ithaca in a west-south-west direction. In fact, since Odysseus sailed in a simple boat he made on the island for a full seventeen days, it must have been about 350 miles from Greece at least.

Instead, Severin ignores these details and suggests that, if it was real, this may have been an island in the entrance to the Adriatic Sea, such as the island of Sazan. However, this ignores all the details that are actually provided in the Odyssey, such as how long it took Odysseus to sail back to Greek territory and which direction he travelled in. 

This suggestion also ignores the implication in the Odyssey that Ogygia was in the middle of the sea. Sazan, in contrast, is literally just next to the Albanian coast, well within sight of the mainland. Furthermore, there is no way that Odysseus would have drifted from the Ionian Sea into the Adriatic Sea, since the currents do not go in that direction.

The Traditional Location

In reality then, it appears that the traditional location may well be accurate in this instance. At least since the time of Euhemerus in the third century BCE, Ogygia has usually been identified with Gozo, an island next to Malta. Even today, there is a cave called ‘Calypso’s Cave’.

Interestingly, the main surface current active near Lefkada curves across the Ionian Sea and arrives relatively near Gozo, so the idea that Odysseus could have ended up here is well within reason, despite how far away it is from Greece and all the other locations.

Scheria, the Island of the Phaeacians 

The final destination on the route in the Odyssey is Scheria. This is the land of the Phaeacians. Odysseus arrives here after sailing seventeen days in an east-north-east direction. Using just the stars as his guide, he does not get to Ithaca, although this next stop must be relatively close to his destination.

Severin offers no better identification than the traditional one, which is Corfu. Even as far back as the time of Thucydides, the inhabitants of this island claimed to be the Phaeacians. 

Odysseus is called a stranger here, yet Homer also shows that the people of the island knew of him. Since Odysseus’ kingdom encompassed many of the islands in the immediate vicinity of Ithaca, identifying Scheria with an island further away but still in the Ionian Sea is logical.

The time taken by the Phaeacians to return Odysseus to Ithaca is also consistent with this identification. Although going from Corfu to Ithaca in a single night would have been difficult, it is not impossible, and the ships of the Phaeacians are specifically said to be speedy.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, the most likely route of the Odyssey is the one which makes the most logical sense. Therefore, it is unlikely in the extreme that it has anything to do with the western Mediterranean. Rather, it appears that Odysseus was blown down to the Land of the Lotus-Eaters in nearby Cyrenaica. He then tried to get back on course, heading north towards Crete. He took shelter at the small island of Gramvousa in the northwest corner and waited for the winds to be favourable again.

After an unsuccessful attempt at a direct run to Ithaca, he tried again using a more cautious approach, following the Greek coast. He came to the remarkable harbour of Mezapo, where they were attacked by the Laestrygonians. 

With all but one of his ships destroyed and most of his men killed, it appears that Odysseus was blown out into the Ionian Sea, right past his destination, by the strong Sirocco wind. Then, arriving at Paxos, Circe’s island, he went across to Thesprotia to consult an oracle of the dead. Returning to his men at Paxos, he travelled past the legendary sirens at Antipaxos and came to Lefkada. He took the eastern route, travelling down the narrow channel between the island and the mainland. 

After stopping off at Meganisi, a storm destroyed his ship and killed all his men. Odysseus floated on debris until he came to Ogygia, probably Gozo near Malta. Then, after constructing a suitable boat, he sailed seventeen days to reach Scheria, probably Corfu. From there, the Phaeacians took him straight to Ithaca.

Sources: 

Severin, Tim, The Ulysses Voyage, 1987

Cairns, Francis, Hellenistic Epigram: Contexts of Exploration, 2016

Weather Online - The Sirocco

https://mythopedia.com/topics/geryon