'Ithaka' by C P Cavafy (read by Tom O'Bedlam)

This about the Odyssey in which Odysseus, aka Ulysses, finds his way back home to Ithika after the Trojan War. The journey takes him ten years. He meets many perils on the way, such as the Laistygonians who were flesh-eating giants. It's a parable of the journey of personal discovery a man must make and the monsters within himself that he must face.

You can hear Keeley, the translator, reading it here:

Here's the poem in the original greek, with translations into many other languages - together with a reading by Sean Connery:

As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don't be afraid of them:
you'll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won't encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen 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 gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

[somor]

Finally a version without silly music in the background!!

[thissongyou]

"I am Oddysseus, great Laertes' son. For cunning plans known among men, even to heaven has spread my fame. My native land is Ithica, a sunbright island low of shore which breeds a sturdy youth..." I have put this here solely from memory, and it may not be an exact quote, but it is what I remember from memorizing it in English class when I was thirteen years old. Thanks for this post, Tom, and for the marvelous links. Your reading, as always, entrances me.

[robertporter]

Cavafy was a Greek poet, journalist and civil servant. His consciously individual style earned him a place among the most important figures not only in Greek poetry, but in Western poetry as well. Cavafy wrote 154 poems, while dozens more remained incomplete or in sketch form. His most important poems were written after his fortieth birthday, and officially published two years after his death. Wikipedia

[lindagiovannazambanini]

This was Jackie Kennedy's favorite poem and was read at her funeral at her request. Beautiful. RIP Jackie. Thank you for uploading.

[minervanmuse]

One of the most beautiful poems ever! A rare gem, truly.
Thank you for sharing this. :)

[SpokenVerse]

@thissong4you Well remembered. "I supplicate thee, O Queen, if indeed thou art a Goddess of them that keep wide heaven. To Artemis then I greatly liken thee, for beauty and statue and shapliness. But if thou art a daughter of those men that here dwell on earth, thrice blessed are thy father and thy lady mother, and thrice blessed thy bretheren, for surely their hearts must ever glow with gladness when they see thee entering the dance, so fair a flower among maidens".. also from memory.

[SpokenVerse]

@paulpellicci I think the message is more Stevenson's "to travel hopefully is better than to arrive". "You Can't Go Home Again" was the title of a novel by Thomas Wolfe - the place isn't the same as you remmber it and you're not the same person - and that applies here too.

[Kavafy]

Wonderful poem. Thanks a lot. If you want to enjoy it now in a different way. Lluís Llach, a Catalan singer, composed back in 1975 the music to accompany these impressive verses. Browse for LLUIS LLACH - VIATGE A ITACA and choose the studio version (yellow and green LP cover).

[Musicalchick]

isnt the point of life to enjoy the journey...

[paulpellicci]

Does this poem mean to say that we may go home again?

[greekgod]

please do more cavafy!!! my favorite is "waiting for the barbarians"

(ithaka is overrated imo)