Book Review - The Ulysses Voyage by Tim Severin

 The Ulysses Voyage : Sea Search for the Odyssey by Tim Severin, drawings by Will Stoney, Photographs by Kevin Fleming

London: Arrow, 1988 (first published 1987)                            ISBN 0099544202

We tend to forget in these days of computers, drones and 3D imaging, that it was not long ago that archaeology was a field of study that occurred just as much through reading as through digging, and almost never through what is now known as "experimental archaeology". In fact that phrase is not even mentioned in The Ulysses Voyage - Severin I think would have balked at the idea that he was an archaeologist - but certainly his voyage in the Argo shows us  how much of Homer's poem can be tied to real places in Greece.

With his re-enactment of Odysseus' voyage home from Troy, Severin laid to rest some of the theories that had abounded that much of the action of the poem occurred in Italy or points west. As he explains in the final chapter of the book, many of these flawed ideas can be laid at the feet of Strabo, who knew Italy (and Georgia, where he correctly deduced the voyage of the original Argo), but didn't know Greece at all and so moved much of the action of the Odyssey to places that  he knew. The fact that some of his theories were taken seriously at all shows how the field of archaeology quite often can allow itself to be led in circles.

Severin starts out with a simple theorem - if I was Odysseus, how would I travel home from Troy? With that in mind, he proceeds along the coast of Greece, using the poem as a guide. Severin explains that in Ancient Greece, galleys proceeded at  slow pace, and only when weather conditions were favourable. Severin also shows us that while the course of the Odyssey takes ten years to return to Ithaca, the actual sailing part of the story could be completed in one season. He then posits that the Odyssey is a conglomeration of many sailors stories turned into a narrative. Severin constantly discovers as he sails that much of the Odyssey that refers to the techniques and realities of sailing a Bronze Age galley is surprisingly accurate.

Some of the descriptions of localities are very accurate as well, and Severin discovers plausible sites for the lair of Scylla and the Cyclops, the island of Circe and of the Laestrygonians. He backs his theories with descriptions from Homer, and explaining how the sailing times would match from previous waypoints, and also on many occasions explaining how local legends have been used by Homer (the Cyclops a case in point), which also help to pinpoint locations.

The Ulysses Voyage reminds the reader to be wary of both complicated explanations for myths, and of putting current thinking onto the past. Greek galleys did not sail as far or as fast as later ships, for example - sailing stages of hundreds of miles simply weren't plausible for these vessels, and so some of the wilder theories could be fairly easily discounted. Likewise, deciding that a place must be part of the story, and then trying to bend reality to fit is not a way forward - Severin is very careful to try and not do this, which means that the island of Ogygia remains elusive. After all, the Odyssey is a poem, and not strict geography.

I found this book very enjoyable - it's easy to read, and neatly blends Severin's voyage with the ancient poem, and brings new light to the voyage of the wily Odysseus, and reaffirms his good sense (most of the time). If you are a fan of Homer (and if you aren't, you should be!), this is well worth reading.

Cheers for now, from

A View Over the Bell