‘The Odyssey’ and the Search for Historical Truth, with James Diggle and John Underhill

2026-07-17 · 65 min · 13 entities

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→ appeared on School of War podcast

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‘The Odyssey’ and the Search for Historical Truth, with James Diggle and John Underhill
→ references Odyssey book

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‘The Odyssey’ and the Search for Historical Truth, with James Diggle and John Underhill Jame
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→ discusses History website

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discusses Business company

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hosted by The Free Press company

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discusses Arts concept

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Feed category: Arts
discusses Books concept

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Feed category: Books

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mentioned Odyssey book

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‘The Odyssey’ and the Search for Historical Truth, with James Diggle and John Underhill Jame
references Odyssey book

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‘The Odyssey’ and the Search for Historical Truth, with James Diggle and John Underhill Jame

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mentioned History website

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Feed category: History
discusses History website

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Feed category: History

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‘The Odyssey’ and the Search for Historical Truth, with James Diggle and John Underhill

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appeared on School of War podcast

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‘The Odyssey’ and the Search for Historical Truth, with James Diggle and John Underhill

Episode description as stored

James Diggle, emeritus professor of Greek and Latin at Cambridge University, and John Underhill, professor of geoscience and energy transition at the University of Aberdeen, join School of War to discuss their decades-long search for the real Ithaca of Homer’s Odyssey. Based on their recent Antigone journal article, “In Search of Ithaca,” they explain why the island we’ve called Ithaca for centuries may actually be the wrong one. Can modern geology solve a 3,000-year-old mystery? Have we finally found the true home of Odysseus? And what would that mean for one of the greatest stories ever told? 02:44 – The mystery of Homer's Ithaca 04:45 – Can Homer be treated as history? 06:19 – The Bronze Age world of Odysseus 09:25 – Why modern Ithaca doesn't fit Homer's description 12:02 – Robert Bittlestone's hypothesis 17:15 – The geology expedition begins 23:17 – The million-euro search for Ithaca 28:37 – Disproving the original theory 31:19 – The geological breakthrough 35:09 – The discovery that changes everything 37:22 – Homer never actually calls Ithaca an island 41:24 – Solving a 3,000-year-old mystery 46:22 – Telemachus' journey finally makes sense 50:54 – Would Robert Bittlestone have agreed? 57:43 – The hidden cave Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices