Ithaka by C.V. Cavafy

Homer's epic journey to Odysseus.
In mosaic.

Ithaca, Greek island in the Ionian Sea

 I recently read for the first time, Ithaka, by C.P.Cafavy nd was charmed by it. Ithaka is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, famous as the mythical home of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. Symbolically, Ithaka represents a cherished home, a desired destination or a lifelong goal. In literature, it often signifies the Journey of Life itself, emphasizing the value of experience over the destination, however greatly desired by the traveller is that destination. This poem Ithaka was obviously inspired by Homer’s Odyssey and emphasizes that experience, knowledge and maturity gained along the way, constitutes the true wealth of life rather than the goal itself, however magnificent. As well as the metaphorical message, the elegance of the language in Ithaka is beguiling. Here is a long quote from the second and third stanzas:

  Hope your road is a long one.
 May there be many summer mornings when,

 with what pleasure, what joy
you enter harbours you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind –
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities 

to learn, and go on learning, from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

The poem begins with a wish for Odysseus's pending journey to be a long one

explaining the joys to be met in its unfolding -- of coming into "harbours seen for the
first time"; of buying precious jewels and perfumes "at Phoenician trading stations";
of gathering knowledge from scholars. The speaker explains that the obstacles and hard times he will encounter are not from the gods but from his own fearful soul. In fact, Cavafy transforms the Odyssean myth into an expression of life and the development of the soul, perhaps suggesting the further destination of death as an inspiration to live every day to its fullest. 

                                                 Renowned for seafaring and trade, the Phoenicians 

                                                 established one of antiquity's most extensive maritime

                                                networks, active for over a millennium.

I would guess that the appeal of this poem for me, particularly now, is that, in my nineties, I have often considered, looking back over my life and mulling over the memories, that it has been an eventful  journey with all that that implies; the remembered joys, and the sad regrets; the wondering what might have happened had I taken the road not chosen, but also the gradual illumination of why choices, and sometimes sacrifices, were made. Then there is the realisation that now I see how fortunate I am to have reached old age, not having hurried my journey at all but having unwittingly taken random chances to savour life, grow and mature. Perhaps it is good to have taken so long to be nearer that final destination, as Cavafy's poem suggests. That final point will arrive in good time, but perhaps after I have enjoyed so many more summer mornings, entered other random unknown harbours, acquired more mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, and continued to learn from scholars. My road to Ithaka did indeed give me a marvellous journey, the highs and lows of which are fondly remembered..     

                                           Hope your road is a long one   

                                           May there be many summer mornings when,

                                           with what pleasure, what joy,

                                           you enter harbours that you're seeing for the first time;

                                           may you stop at Phoenician trading stations

                                           to buy fine things .......

                                           sensual perfumes of every kind.             

                                          

                                          Ithaka gave you a marvellous journey,                                                                                           Without her you wouldn't have set out.                                                                                          She has nothing left to give you now.

      

View from a Greek tavern in Ithaca over the Ionian Sea.