Scheria

Scheria (ancient Greek or ) –also known as Scherie or Phaeacia– was a geographical region in Greek mythology, first mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as the home of the Phaiakians (Phaeacians) and the last destination of Odysseus before returning home to Ithaca.

Odysseus meets Nausikaa

In the Odyssey, after Odysseus sails from Ogygia, his raft is wrecked by a storm and he is washed up on Scheria. Meanwhile, the goddess Athena, who sneaks into the palace, disguises herself as a sea-captain's daughter and instructs princess Nausikaa, the daughter of King Alkinoös in her sleep to go to the seashore to wash her clothes. The next morning Nausikaa and her maids go to the seashore, and after washing the clothes, they start to play a ball game on the beach with laughs, giggles and shouts. Odysseus, who was exhausted from his adventure and was sleeping nearby, is awakened by the shouts. He covers his nakedness with thick leaves and goes to ask for help from the playing team. On seeing the unkempt Odysseus in this state, the maids run away, but Nausikaa, encouraged by Athena, stands her ground and talks to him. To excuse the maids she admits that the Phaeacians are "the farthermost of men, and no other mortals are conversant with them", so they run away since they have never seen a stranger before. Nausikaa, being hospitable, provides clothes, food and drink to Odysseus, then she directs him to the palace of King Alkinoös, since she doesn't want to be seen with a stranger, let alone a man, as she is yet unmarried and people watch and talk and may raise rumors of her befriending men.

The palace of King Alkinoös

. Painting by Francesco Hayez]] On his way to the palace, Odysseus meets Athena disguised as a little local girl. Athena advises him clearly on how to enter the palace, which is guarded by mechanical dogs made of silver and gold, constructed by Hephaestus. The palace is surrounded by bronze walls that "shine like the sun", secured with gates made of gold. Within the walls there is a magnificent garden with trees that grow all kinds of fruit, pears, pomegranates, and apples, all the year round. The palace is even equipped with a lighting system consisting of golden statues of young men with lighted torches in their hands to give light during the night. Following her through the town, he is told to enter the palace and plead for mercy from the queen Arete. Odysseus, covered with a cloaking cloud provided by Athena, passes through all the protection systems of the palace and enters the chamber of King Alkinoös. He throws his arms around the queen's legs and appeals to her. Naturally, Alkinoös and his court were surprised to see a stranger walking in to their secured palace, but immediately offer him hospitality and to help him on his journey.

After Odysseus tells Alkinoös and his court the story of his adventures after the Trojan War, the Phaiakians bring him to Ithaca on one of their sophisticated ships.

The Phaiakian ships

The Phaiakians possessed remarkable ships. They were quite different from the Ancient galleys, the ships used during the Trojan War, and they were steered by thought. King Alkinoös says that Phaiakians carried Rhadamanthus to Euboea, "which is the furthest of any place" and came back on the same day. He also explains to Odysseus what sort of information the Phaiakian ships require in order to take him home to Ithaca.

Homer describes the Phaiakian ships as fast as a falcon and gives a vivid description of the ship's departure.

Geographical location of Scheria

Many ancient and modern interpreters favour identification of Scheria with the island of Corfu, which is within 80 miles of Ithaca. Locals on Corfu had long claimed this, based on the rock outside Corfu harbour, which is supposedly the ship that carried Odysseus back to Ithaca, but was turned to stone by Poseidon, to punish the Phaiakians for helping his enemy:

The Phaiakians did not participate in the Trojan War. The Greek word Phaiakians (Φαίακες) is derived from phaios (φαιός) meaning gray, hence Phaiakians means "dark-skinned". The Phaiakians in the Odyssey did not know Odysseus (although they knew of him, as evidenced by the tales of Demodocus), so they called him a "stranger". Odysseus however was the king of the majority of the Ionian Islands,, not only of Ithaca, but also "of Cephallenia, Neritum, Crocylea, Aegilips, Same and Zacynthus" so if Schería was Corfu, it would be surprising that the citizens of one of the Ionian Islands did not know Odysseus. Furthermore, when Odysseus reveals his identity, he says to the nobles: "...if I outlive this time of sorrow, I may be counted as your friend, though I live so far away from all of you" indicating that Schería was far away from Ithaca. From the ancient times, some scholars having examined the work and the geography of Homer have suggested that Scheria was located in the Atlantic Ocean. Among them were Strabo and Plutarch. Many characteristics of the Phaiakians, including their seafaring and relaxed lifestyle are suggestive of Minoan Crete. The latter similarities make Scheria also suggestive of Atlantis. Aside from the seafaring prowess, the palace walls that shone like the sun are read to be covered not by bronze but orichalcum.

Geographical account by Strabo

Approximately eight centuries after Homer, Strabo, the geographer criticized Polybius on the Geography of the Odyssey. Strabo proposed that Schería and Ogygia were located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Notes

External links

Odyssey by Homer

Homer's Odyssey resources on the Web

Strabo: The Geography

Atlantis, Poseidonis, Ogygia and Scheria (on page 8)

Category:Mythological islands Category:Places visited by Odysseus in Odyssey Category:Locations in Greek mythology Category:Corcyraean mythology