Many of the most memorable stories of Greek mythology take place on the islands of the Mediterranean. Other stories, however, took place on more mythical islands. These incredible places featured amazing people, unusual animals, and wondrous landscapes.
Odysseus and Calypso
The Islands of the Odyssey
Arguably the most famous islands in Greek mythology are those that appear in Homer’s Odyssey. They and their hazards were so iconic that they were used in later works such as the Argonautica and the Aeneid.
Homer was vague in giving details that would allow these islands to be pinpointed on a map. This may have been because Odysseus, the story’s narrator, was lost for most of his voyage or a deliberate choice by the writer to keep these legendary places from being equated with literal sites.
The most famous and enigmatic of the islands in the Odyssey is Aeaea. The location of Circe’s home has been given as several possible islands off the coast of Italy, sites closer to Greece, or as entirely mythical.
According to Homer, Circe’s island was a comfortable place where Odysseus and his crew were, after initially being turned to pigs, welcomed by the goddess for a year. While Odysseus shared Circe’s home, his men lodged in a warm and comfortable cave near the shore.
Odysseus also spent time with Calypso on the island of Ogygia. Like Aeaea, the precise location of this island was never given and has been speculated about by many.
While the only truly unusual features of Aeaea and Ogygia were the magic of the goddesses who lived there, other mythical islands in the Odyssey were far more exotic.
On one of the first islands Odysseus visited, for example, the inhabitants lived off the intoxicating fruit of a native plant. The Lotus-Eaters were so enthralled by the fruit that they thought of nothing else, and Odysseus had to flee the island quickly before his crew was similarly drugged.
Arguably the most famous islands in Greek mythology are those that appear in Homer’s Odyssey. They and their hazards were so iconic that they were used in later works such as the Argonautica and the Aeneid.
Homer was vague in giving details that would allow these islands to be pinpointed on a map. This may have been because Odysseus, the story’s narrator, was lost for most of his voyage or a deliberate choice by the writer to keep these legendary places from being equated with literal sites.
The most famous and enigmatic of the islands in the Odyssey is Aeaea. The location of Circe’s home has been given as several possible islands off the coast of Italy, sites closer to Greece, or as entirely mythical.
According to Homer, Circe’s island was a comfortable place where Odysseus and his crew were, after initially being turned to pigs, welcomed by the goddess for a year. While Odysseus shared Circe’s home, his men lodged in a warm and comfortable cave near the shore.
Odysseus also spent time with Calypso on the island of Ogygia. Like Aeaea, the precise location of this island was never given and has been speculated about by many.
While the only truly unusual features of Aeaea and Ogygia were the magic of the goddesses who lived there, other mythical islands in the Odyssey were far more exotic.
On one of the first islands Odysseus visited, for example, the inhabitants lived off the intoxicating fruit of a native plant. The Lotus-Eaters were so enthralled by the fruit that they thought of nothing else, and Odysseus had to flee the island quickly before his crew was similarly drugged.
The Isles of the Blessed
While some have said that the giant, cannibalistic Laestrygonians lived on the southern coast of Sicily, the exact location of their city, Telepylos, is not given in the Odyssey.
The island of the cyclopes is not even given a name in the Odyssey. It has often been interpreted as part of Sicily by later historians. Thrinacia has also been identified by some as Sicily, although others believe it may have been Malta. The legendary island was where the sun god Helios pastured his cattle.
The Isles of the Blessed
While many of the islands in the Odyssey have been identified as real-world locations, the Isles of the Blessed were far more mythical. The Isles of the Blessed were seen as barely even belonging to the same realm as earth. While they existed somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, they were also a part of the afterlife.
While earlier Greek thought had held that the Underworld was a uniformly grim and dreary place, later ideas about a more pleasant possibility took hold. Those who lived particularly good lives might find a place in the Elysian Fields, while the truly great would eventually be taken to the Isles of the Blessed.
The island of the cyclopes is not even given a name in the Odyssey. It has often been interpreted as part of Sicily by later historians. Thrinacia has also been identified by some as Sicily, although others believe it may have been Malta. The legendary island was where the sun god Helios pastured his cattle.
The Isles of the Blessed
While many of the islands in the Odyssey have been identified as real-world locations, the Isles of the Blessed were far more mythical. The Isles of the Blessed were seen as barely even belonging to the same realm as earth. While they existed somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, they were also a part of the afterlife.
While earlier Greek thought had held that the Underworld was a uniformly grim and dreary place, later ideas about a more pleasant possibility took hold. Those who lived particularly good lives might find a place in the Elysian Fields, while the truly great would eventually be taken to the Isles of the Blessed.
Islands of Metal
Some mythical islands in Greek mythology were notable not for their inhabitants, but for the wonders that were found there.
The Greeks believed that the Mediterranean Sea was at the centre of the world. The people, plants, and animals there were generally well-known to them and familiar. The farther away one went from this centre, however, more amazing and foreign things could be found. This included not only the strange human races and exotic animals, but incredible places as well.
At least four islands were said to exist in far-off places that were made entirely or mostly of costly materials. Chryse and Argyre were two islands somewhere in the Indian Ocean that were named for their metals. Chryse was said to be made entirely of gold, chrysos, while Argyre had soil of pure silver, argyros. Similar islands existed somewhere in the far north. One was made of tin while the other was solid amber.
Some level of belief in these islands persisted for hundreds, even thousands, of years. After Marco Polo reported that Japan was rich in gold and silver, for example, some European mapmakers imagined that Chryse and Argyre were near there.
These islands of riches were based in part by the valuables that the Greek people witnessed coming from what seemed like the edges of the world. The trade routes of the ancient world connected disparate lands. The Mediterranean was a hub of trade between Northern Europe, Africa, the Near East, and Asia. From their position on the Mediterranean, the Greeks could see that materials like tin and amber came in large quantities from the north while other riches, like gold and silver, were more plentiful in India or Africa. They thus imagined that these far-off lands might have huge deposits of these valuable commodities that were not found closer to Greece. Mythical islands of valuable metals and precious gems explained how such large amounts of these goods could come from beyond the familiar regions of the world.
Some mythical islands in Greek mythology were notable not for their inhabitants, but for the wonders that were found there.
The Greeks believed that the Mediterranean Sea was at the centre of the world. The people, plants, and animals there were generally well-known to them and familiar. The farther away one went from this centre, however, more amazing and foreign things could be found. This included not only the strange human races and exotic animals, but incredible places as well.
At least four islands were said to exist in far-off places that were made entirely or mostly of costly materials. Chryse and Argyre were two islands somewhere in the Indian Ocean that were named for their metals. Chryse was said to be made entirely of gold, chrysos, while Argyre had soil of pure silver, argyros. Similar islands existed somewhere in the far north. One was made of tin while the other was solid amber.
Some level of belief in these islands persisted for hundreds, even thousands, of years. After Marco Polo reported that Japan was rich in gold and silver, for example, some European mapmakers imagined that Chryse and Argyre were near there.
These islands of riches were based in part by the valuables that the Greek people witnessed coming from what seemed like the edges of the world. The trade routes of the ancient world connected disparate lands. The Mediterranean was a hub of trade between Northern Europe, Africa, the Near East, and Asia. From their position on the Mediterranean, the Greeks could see that materials like tin and amber came in large quantities from the north while other riches, like gold and silver, were more plentiful in India or Africa. They thus imagined that these far-off lands might have huge deposits of these valuable commodities that were not found closer to Greece. Mythical islands of valuable metals and precious gems explained how such large amounts of these goods could come from beyond the familiar regions of the world.
Atlantis
Of course, no island in Greek lore is as famous or notorious as Atlantis. Despite its popularity, however, the story of Atlantis was not one that was widely-told at the time.
All later mentions of Atlantis are based on the works of Plato, who first wrote about the legendary island in the 4th century BCE.
Although later thought depicted Atlantis as a socially and technologically advanced society, Plato presented it as the antithesis of what he considered to be ideal. He was a citizen of Athens and, in The Republic, Atlantis was antagonistic toward the early founders of his city. According to Plato, the people of Atlantis launched an attack against what he called “ancient Athens.” For attacking the favoured city, Atlantis fell out of favour with the gods and was sunken as a result.
Aristotle believed that Plato, who was his mentor, had invented the island of Atlantis as a philosophical metaphor. Others came to believe that the island had once been a real place, however. Some people theorized that the island was somewhere in the Mediterranean and that the Pillars of Hercules, Gibraltar, had once been mountains on the island. Others believed that it was further afield in the Atlantic.
In the modern era, a popular theory supposed that the story of the lost empire may have originated closer to Greece, on the island of Crete. The Minoan civilization of that island predated the Mycenaean Greek culture of the mainland. For several hundred years it was the dominant political and economic power in the region. The Minoans were largely forgotten, although traces of their culture can be found in the Greek myths of King Minos. When early archaeologists began uncovering the palace of Knossos, which had features like indoor plumbing, they were reminded of the story of Atlantis as well as the tales of King Minos and his Labyrinth.
Of course, no island in Greek lore is as famous or notorious as Atlantis. Despite its popularity, however, the story of Atlantis was not one that was widely-told at the time.
All later mentions of Atlantis are based on the works of Plato, who first wrote about the legendary island in the 4th century BCE.
Although later thought depicted Atlantis as a socially and technologically advanced society, Plato presented it as the antithesis of what he considered to be ideal. He was a citizen of Athens and, in The Republic, Atlantis was antagonistic toward the early founders of his city. According to Plato, the people of Atlantis launched an attack against what he called “ancient Athens.” For attacking the favoured city, Atlantis fell out of favour with the gods and was sunken as a result.
Aristotle believed that Plato, who was his mentor, had invented the island of Atlantis as a philosophical metaphor. Others came to believe that the island had once been a real place, however. Some people theorized that the island was somewhere in the Mediterranean and that the Pillars of Hercules, Gibraltar, had once been mountains on the island. Others believed that it was further afield in the Atlantic.
In the modern era, a popular theory supposed that the story of the lost empire may have originated closer to Greece, on the island of Crete. The Minoan civilization of that island predated the Mycenaean Greek culture of the mainland. For several hundred years it was the dominant political and economic power in the region. The Minoans were largely forgotten, although traces of their culture can be found in the Greek myths of King Minos. When early archaeologists began uncovering the palace of Knossos, which had features like indoor plumbing, they were reminded of the story of Atlantis as well as the tales of King Minos and his Labyrinth.
