How Long Would It Really Take to Sail Odysseus' Route Today?

Ever since Homer wrote the Odyssey, people have been trying to see if they can transpose Odysseus’ journey from Troy to Ithaca onto a real-world map. Considering the poem was written thousands of years ago and contains numerous supernatural elements, this is easier said than done. However, it’s not impossible. 

How long Odysseus’ route would take today

Many points on Odysseus’ journey are too shrouded in myth and mystery to be definitively linked to real places. However, Troy—the place where Odysseus’ journey begins—has been identified in northwestern Turkey, and many scholars believe that his homeland of Ithaca is one and the same as the modern Greek island of Ithaca. 

Thanks to modern-day technology and transportation, the journey from the ruins of Troy to the island of Ithaca would not last years but days. By car, the journey takes around 14 hours, at least according to Google Maps. By boat, the distance is roughly 565 nautical miles. If the average cruise ship travels between 18 and 24 knots (nautical miles per hour), an Odyssey-themed cruise line could complete the journey in under 24 hours. Of course, that’s without stops—intentional or unintentional. 

A geographical enigma

Even in ancient times, the geography of the Odyssey was hotly debated. Crates of Mallus, a Greek grammarian and librarian who lived during the 2nd century BCE, thought that most of the places mentioned in the Odyssey were located in the Atlantic Ocean. 

One of his contemporaries, the polymath Eratosthenes of Cyrene, believed Homer had made everything up. “You will find the scene of the wanderings of Odysseus,” he declared, “when you find the cobbler who sewed up the bag of the winds,” a reference to the magical item that blew the hero’s ship off course right before reaching the finish line.  

Strabo, the Greek navigator, landed somewhere in the middle. Highly familiar with the seas around modern-day Greece and Turkey, he believed that while some locations mentioned in the Odyssey were imaginary, others were not—and could therefore be located. 

Dozens of modern scholars have taken on this challenge. In 1987, their work was synthesized in an article for The Classical Journal by the classical philologist Raymond V. Schoder. 

If you’re curious where Odysseus went, and how long it would take you today, look no further.   

Troy

Long thought to be more myth than reality, the ruins of Troy were discovered in the late 19th century by German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann. The city of Paris, Hector, and Priam is located in modern-day Turkey, in northwestern Anatolia on the Karamenderes River. This is where Odysseus’ journey would have begun. 

Ismarus

According to the Odyssey, Odysseus next visited the town of Ismarus in the land of the Cicones, where he was given the wine he would later use to drug the Cyclops Polyphemus. As stated by Schoder, the ancient historian Herodotus located this land in Thrace, a region north of modern-day Istanbul, where Turkey, Greece, and Bulgaria meet. 

Cape Maleia

From the land of the Cicones, Odysseus sailed towards Cape Maleia. From there, he intended to travel northward to his kingdom of Ithaca, but his ship was blown away by a strong northern wind. Cape Maleia (also called Cape Maleas) is located at the southeastern tip of the Peloponnese. 

Land of the Lotus-Eaters

Here Odysseus and his crew encountered people who subsisted on an intoxicating fruit whose consumption induced a state of forgetfulness and lethargy. The nature of this fruit, which some scholars identify as the opium poppy, and the distance Odysseus is said to have traveled, suggest the Land of the Lotus-Eaters lies somewhere along the western coast of North Africa, possibly near modern-day Tunisia. 

Cyclopes

During this leg of the journey—possibly the most famous—Odysseus outsmarts the cyclops Polyphemus. Though these one-eyed giants are widely associated with the slopes of Mount Etna, on Sicily’s eastern coast, many scholars actually believe that Odysseus visited the western coast instead.

Island of Aeolus

One of the more fantastical locations in the Odyssey is this “floating island” surrounded by an “unbreakable bronze wall.” Though seemingly inspired by the island of Stromboli, it is thought to lack a real-world counterpart.

Laestrygonia

The magical bag of winds obtained from Aeolus was supposed to be used to propel Odysseus’ ship straight to Ithaca. Instead, it sends them in another direction, to the land of the Laestrygonians. Though sometimes associated with Sicily and the islands around Stromboli, Schoder identifies the land as modern-day Corsica.  

Aeaea

This is the island of the sorceress Circe. Though sometimes linked to Monte Circeo along the West coast of Italy, Schoder writes that “Homer likely had no particular place in mind,” as “Circe suitably lived in some hidden area away from human abodes.”

The Underworld

One would think Odysseus’ trip to Hades to meet with the prophet Tiresias would also lack a real-world counterpart, but this is not the case. One day’s sailing from Aeaea, this location corresponds to Lake Avernus, which is close to Naples, where the Roman poet Virgil situated the portal to the underworld in his own epic poem, the Aeneid.

Island of the Sirens

Since antiquity, writes Schoder, this island is thought to have been located near the Galli islets in the Gulf of Salerno, south of Capri. 

Encounter with Charybdis and Scylla

Charybdis and Scylla are sea monsters that destroy ships. Scholars suppose that they are likely metaphors for waters that were prone to causing shipwrecks. According to Schoder, ancient sources from Homer to Virgil may have been inspired by the Strait of Messina, a narrow strip between Sicily and the heel of Italy.  

Thrinacia

Odysseus is said to have arrived at the island of the sun god Helios very shortly after braving Charybdis and Scylla, meaning it likely would be close to Messina. The island might have been located off Sicily’s northern coast.

Ogygia

This is the island of the sea nymph Calypso, with whom Odysseus stays for several years until he finally resolves to complete his journey. As with Circe, Schoder supposes that Calypso’s island is also imaginary, lacking a real-world equivalent. 

Scheria

This is the final stop on Odysseus’ travels, home to the Phaeacians. Reached after more than two weeks of sailing, its location is disputed, though some point to the island of Corfu. 

Ithaca

The location of Odysseus’ kingdom has also been disputed. Though some scholars have suggested different nearby islands, Schoder believes that ancient Ithaca was located at the same place as modern Ithaca, to the northwest of the Peloponnese.

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