The China Mail - Ithaca bets on hometown hero Odysseus for tourism boom

The Italian lawyer said it was her dream to come to Ithaca, widely believed to be the same island as the home of Odysseus in the poem.

Dressed in a T-shirt emblazoned with the word "Odyssey" in ancient Greek alongside a line from the poem, she enthused: "I studied Greek when I was a child, and I studied the Odyssey."

While she stressed that the film was not her entry point into the tale of the hero battling his way back home from the Trojan war, the 50-year-old said she was also a fan of the film -- describing it as "wonderful".

The island's businesses and officials now expect the film to inspire many more to follow in her footsteps.

Ithaca, in the Ionian Sea off the west coast of mainland Greece is far from the country's tourist hubs, and despite limpid waters and spectacular bays, it has never been a regular stop for travellers.

Its interior is rugged, carpeted with olive and cypress trees, and strikingly calm even at the height of the tourist season.

Although the movie has undoubtedly piqued the interest of many, it has also been slightly controversial in Greece -- although some Greek locations were used, not a single scene in the blockbuster was actually shot on Ithaca.

- Homeric monuments abound -

That decision has left some crestfallen on the island of roughly 3,000 inhabitants -- where the film has been shown twice in open-air screenings since its July 16 worldwide release.

Xhimi Xoxha, who runs a restaurant in Ithaca's capital of Vathi, said he was content that the movie was already "generating publicity for the island". He predicted the positive effects would continue.

While Ithaca mayor Dionysis Stanitsas agreed that the publicity was "tremendous", he could not hide his disappointment that the island itself did not feature.

"We had reached out to the production team and asked that some scenes be filmed here on the island," he said. "Unfortunately, that wasn't feasible."

He is, however, counting on rising demand next year, and the island was already fully booked for this season by the time the film came out.

"As more people see it, they will begin planning trips to visit the island," he said.

Visitors will not find a palace of Odysseus or any spectacular archaeological site likely to confirm the existence of the Homeric hero.

But village squares and the town hall are dotted with statues of Odysseus and Homer.

And there are other pointers to the island's rich literary heritage.

In the small sun-drenched port, boats bob in the green water bearing names like "Telemachus" (son of Odysseus) and "Calypso" (a goddess and nymph who imprisoned him).

Trinket shops offer busts of Homer and Penelope, Odysseus's wife.

T-shirts can be found amid the jumble featuring the Cyclops Polyphemus -- one of the many monsters vanquished by Odysseus.

And the truly devoted can splash out for a wall plate decorated with a Trojan Horse.

Archaeologist Spyros Couvaras is among those expecting a dramatic upsurge in visitors, saying it was clear that visitors wanted more than just sand and sea -- they wanted the history and the mythology.

None of those are in short supply here.

A short distance from the shops and restaurants of the port, holidaymakers stretch out on deck chairs under parasols at Dexia beach, enveloped by the grating sound of cicadas.

According to legend, this is where Odysseus landed after years of voyaging.

Couvaras said the "driving force" of the renewed interest was undoubtedly the movie.

"But behind Nolan's film stands Homer," he said.

H.Ng--ThChM