Greece just greenlit an archaeological park at one of the most storied sites in the ancient world. The country's Central...

Greece just greenlit an archaeological park at one of the most storied sites in the ancient world. The country's Central Archaeological Council unanimously approved plans to develop the Agios Athanasios site on Ithaca, an island long identified as the homeland of Odysseus, into a publicly accessible archaeological park. The site, known since the early 19th century as the "School of Homer," sits on the eastern slopes of Mount Exoghi in northern Ithaca amid terraced stone walls and ancient olive groves. Archaeologists Thanasis Papadopoulos and Litsa Kontorli-Papadopoulos, leading a University of Ioannina team that excavated the site between 1994 and 2012, identified an acropolis-like fortified complex reaching back to prehistoric times. Evidence of human activity at the site dates to the Late Neolithic period, with settlement during the Middle Helladic period between 1900 and 1600 BC, continuous use through the Mycenaean age, and occupation stretching into the Hellenistic era before Roman communities repurposed the complex as a burial ground. The identification of the site as the palace of Odysseus and Penelope was publicly proposed by Papadopoulos in 2010, though scholars continue to debate whether Homeric Ithaca corresponds to the modern island at all. Under the approved plan, the park's main entrance will be placed about 30 meters from a preserved Mycenaean-era fountain. Infrastructure will include a small guard post, restroom facilities accessible to people with disabilities, a compacted-earth parking area designed to avoid intrusive concrete, and a natural-earth walking path following the mountain ridge's natural contours. Four multilingual information signs and wooden benches will be positioned along the route, with one section graded to accommodate visitors with mobility limitations. Further targeted excavations are still needed to clear remaining underground rooms before the park can fully open. The approval comes as Ithaca is drawing renewed international attention following the global box-office success of Christopher Nolan's film "The Odyssey," which grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide by September 2026. #Ithaca #Greece #Archaeology