Ithaca (island)

Ithaca

Native name: Ιθάκη
View of Vathy
Ithaca within the Ionian Islands
Ithaca
Geography
Coordinates	38°22′N 20°43′E / 38.367°N 20.717°E / 38.367; 20.717
Archipelago	Ionian Islands
Area	117.8 km2 (45.5 sq mi)
Administration
Greece
Region	Ionian Islands
Regional unit and municipality	Ithaca
Largest settlement	Vathy
Demographics
Population	2,862 (2021)
Pop. density	24/km2 (62/sq mi)
Additional information
Official website	www.ithaki.gr

Ithaca, Ithaki or Ithaka (/ˈɪθəkə/; Greek: Ιθάκη, Ithaki [iˈθaci]; Ancient Greek: Ἰθάκη, Ithakē [i.tʰá.kɛː]) is a Greek island located in the Ionian Sea, off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and to the west of continental Greece.

Ithaca's main island has an area of 96 square kilometres (37 sq mi) and in 2021 had a population of 2,862. It is the second-smallest of the seven main Ionian Islands, after Paxi. Ithaca is a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. The capital is Vathy (or Vathi).^[1][2]

Modern Ithaca is generally identified with Homer's Ithaca, the home of Odysseus, whose delayed return to the island is the plot of the epic poem Odyssey.