Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Odyssey film broke box office records this summer and sent tourists flooding to Ithaca, ...

Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Odyssey film broke box office records this summer and sent tourists flooding to Ithaca, the island Homer named as Odysseus's home. What they found at the site archaeologists believe is the actual sanctuary of Odysseus was a wire fence, a broken-down kiosk, and piles of trash inside an unguarded, unlit, unsignposted ruin. The site, known as Scholi Omirou (Homer's School) in the northwest of the island, shows up on Google Maps as "Palace of Odysseus." On the ground, visitors get a faded brown road sign and a QR code attached to wire mesh that gives almost no information. Inside, tourists reported cigarette butts, soiled wet wipes, old tin buckets, and used condoms scattered around the kiosk path outside. There is no lighting, no accessibility for disabled visitors, and no staff. The site is anything but minor. Archaeologists from the University of Ioannina excavated it from 1994 to 2011 and found a Mycenaean underground fountain, monumental architecture dating back to prehistoric times, a small bronze bust of Odysseus, and three roof tile fragments inscribed with his name. Professor Yannis Lolos, who has led the cataloguing of over 52,000 ceramic fragments since 2018, says the evidence confirms this was the Odysseion of Ithaca, the hero's active cult site in antiquity. Ithaca's mayor, Dionysis Stanitsas, admitted plainly that the island's archaeological sites are not ready. He expects a major surge in visitors next year because of the film, but confirmed that restoration work depends on the Ministry of Culture acting within the next two years. The Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. A former Culture Minister visited the site in 2021 and promised protection measures. Five years later, nothing has been done, and locals say ancient stonework is cracking from rain and earthquakes. Italian tourists Massimiliano and Ines De Gregorio drove over from Kefalonia specifically after seeing Nolan's film. They said they would have happily paid an entrance fee for basic information. A local restaurant worker near the site said he actively discourages customers from going, because he is embarrassed to send anyone there. #Ithac...