Same (; el, Σάμη), also Samos (Σάμος) is an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

name of a

Homeric Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

island in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...

, near

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

and

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...

. In Homer's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...

'' Same is described as part of

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

's kingdom together with Ithaca,

Dulichium Dulichium ( grc, Δουλίχιον ''Doulíkhion''),Hom. Il2.625/ref> also called Dolicha (Δολίχα ''Dolíkhā'') or Doliche (Δολίχη ''Dolíkhē''), was a place noted by numerous ancient writers that was either a city on, or an islan ...

, and

Zacynthus Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Zak ...

. The ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...

'', book II, in the

Catalogue of Ships The Catalogue of Ships ( grc, νεῶν κατάλογος, ''neōn katálogos'') is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's ''Iliad'' (2.494–759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. The catalogue gives the na ...

, contains a different list of islands comprising Odysseus's kingdom. Same is included together with Ithaca, Neritum,

Krocylea Krocylea () is an Ancient Greek name of an island in the Ionian Sea, near Ithaca. In Homer's ''Iliad'', book II, Krocylea is part of Odysseus's kingdom. Some researchers, including Wilhelm Dörpfeld estimate that Krocylea is present day island of ...

Aegilips Aegilips () is an Ancient Greek name of an island in the Ionian Sea, near Ithaca. In Homer's ''Iliad'', book II, Aegilips is part of Odysseus's kingdom. Some researchers, including Wilhelm Dörpfeld estimate that Aegilips is present day island of ...

and Zacynthus, indicating that the "Catalogue of Ships" could be a later addition to the ''Iliad''. In Homer's ''Odyssey'', there is an interesting geographical description: Homer's Ithaka-Dorpf-01

From the above passage, Homer's Same is not the Greek island

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a sepa ...

in the Eastern

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

, Same should be in the

, near Homer's Ithaca and there should be at least one rocky island between the two islands. Also, this rocky island should be located South of Homer's Ithaca where Telemakhos would arrive from South-West

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...

. Based on the above information,

Wilhelm Dörpfeld Wilhelm Dörpfeld (26 December 1853 – 25 April 1940) was a German architect and archaeologist, a pioneer of stratigraphic excavation and precise graphical documentation of archaeological projects. He is famous for his work on Bronze Age site ...

in his essay "Alt-Ithaka: Ein Beitrag zur Homer-Frage" proposed that Same was present day

. Other authors make extensive description of Dörpfeld's theory. C.H. Goekoop relates Same to "Thiaki", "the islet Asteris" to Asteris, a small islet between Kefalonia and Ithaki, and "the bay of Phorkys" to "the bay of Asos" at

Erissos Akanthos ( grc, Ἄκανθος; la, Acanthus) was an ancient Greek city on the Athos peninsula, on the narrow neck of land between the sacred mountain and the mainland, to the northwest of the Xerxes Canal. It was founded in the 7th century ...

, the northern peninsula of Kefalonia. Odysseus's younger sister,

Ctimene In Greek mythology, Ctimene (; Ancient Greek: , ) was an Ithacan princess as the daughter of King Laertes and Anticlea. Family Ctimene was the younger sister of Odysseus, the legendary king of Ithaca. Mythology Ctimene was raised by her p ...

came to Same to marry Eurylochus for a massive

bride-price Bride price, bride-dowry ( Mahr in Islam), bride-wealth, or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride do ...

. One of the Suitors,

Ctesippus :''The name Ctesippus may also refer to a character in Plato's Euthydemus and Lysis, and to a historical figure, see Leptines and Against Leptines.'' In Greek mythology, the name Ctesippus (; Ancient Greek: Κτήσιππος means 'possessing ...

of Same, is described as "a man who had no sense of right and wrong" and attempts to throw an ox's hoof from the meat-basket of the dinner table at Odysseus.Homer's ''Odyssey''
Hom. Od. 20.288
/ref>

Notes

External links

* Map o
Homer's Ithaka
Same and Asteris according to

. Digital library of

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

.
Photo of Asteris (Arkoudi)
by Wilhelm Dörpfeld. Digital library of

. * Coordinates of the islet Arkoudi: {{DEFAULTSORT:Same (Ancient Greece) Geography of the Odyssey Islands of Greece History of the Ionian Islands Mythological islands Locations in Greek mythology