Ithaca by Constantine P.

Cavafy (1911) When you set out for Ithaka ask that your way be long, full of adventure, full of instruction. The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops, angry Poseidon - do not fear them: such as these you will never find as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare emotion touch your spirit and your body. The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops, angry Poseidon - you will not meet them unless you carry them in your soul, unless your soul raise them up before you. Ask that your way be long. At many a Summer dawn to enter with what gratitude, what joy ports seen for the first time; to stop at Phoenician trading centres, and to buy good merchandise, mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony, and sensuous perfumes of every kind, sensuous perfumes as lavishly as you can; to visit many Egyptian cities, to gather stores of knowledge from the learned. Have Ithaka always in your mind. Your arrival there is what you are destined for. But don't in the least hurry the journey. Better it last for years, so that when you reach the island you are old, rich with all you have gained on the way, not expecting Ithaka to give you wealth. Ithaka gave you a splendid journey. Without her you would not have set out. She hasn't anything else to give you. And if you find her poor, Ithaka hasn't deceived you. So wise you have become, of such experience, that already you'll have understood what these Ithakas mean. SHORT BIOGRAPHY Constantine P. Cavafy (also known as Konstantin or Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis, or Kavaphes; April 29, 1863 April 29, 1933) was a renowned Greek poet who lived in Alexandria and worked as a journalist and civil servant. He published 154 poe ms; dozens more remained incomplete or in sketch form. His most important poetry was written after his fortieth birthday. "I am from Constantinople by descent, but I was born in Alexandria -- at a house on Seriph Street; I left very young, and spent much of my childhood in England. Subsequently I visited this country as an adult, but for a short period of time . I have also lived in France. During my adolescence I lived over two years in C onstantinople. It has been many years since I last visited Greece." The first version of Ithaka was probably written in 1894. Cavafy revised the poem in 1910, and it was first published in 1911. The first English translation was p ublished in 1924, and there have been a number of different translations since t hen. The poem can be found in Cavafy s Collected Poems, translated by Edmund Keele y and Philip Sherrard, edited by George Savidis, Princeton University Press, 198 0.

Ithaka is an unrhymed poem of five stanzas that employ conversational, everyday la nguage. The narrator, probably a man who has traveled a lot, addresses either Od ysseus, the hero of Homer s epic poem the Odyssey, or an imaginary modern traveler or reader. The narrator tells the traveler that what is really important is not Ithaka, the island home that was the goal of Odysseus s years of wandering, but t he journey itself. It is the journey that must be fully enjoyed at every moment, using all the resources of senses and intellect, because the goal itself is lik ely to be disappointing. THEME AND SYMBOLISM In his poem Ithaca Constantine Cavafy uses the familiar story of the Odyssey as a metaphor for the journey of life. Cavafy wrote his poetry in Greek (Constantin e P. Cavafy) Although some of the lyricism and rhyme of the original is probably lost in translation, it is still a powerful piece that speaks to the reader in any language. The major theme of the poem is to take your time on your journey through life, s topping to obtain wisdom, pleasure and experience. Some people always find the s traight and easy way through life, proceeding linearly and avoiding distractions and detours. When they reach the end, what do they have to show for it? Cavafy seems to be saying that the things that really matter in the end are experiences and memories. You can not get many of these on the straight and narrow path. Od ysseus ten year voyage home from the Trojan war, with its many turnings and adven tures, is a metaphor for a fulfilling life. One unusual feature of the work is that it is written in the second person imper ative. It tells the reader, the metaphorical Odysseus, what to do. While this po int of view is almost never workable in a narrative work, it is effective in a s hort lyrical poem like this. Ithaka uses several strong symbols, loosely drawn from the Odyssey. In the first stanza, for instance, refers to the Laistrygonians, the Cyclops, and Angry Posei don . These were among the most terrifying of Oddyseus enemies. The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops were gigantic cannibals who ate most of his followers. Poseidon was a vengeful god who persecuted him for years. Cavafy chooses these enemies to symbolize conflict, particularly conflict with people or powers that are much b igger and more powerful than the reader. Luckily, the reader need not fear these external conflicts: you won t meet them / unless you carry the in your soul (11-12). A person without internal strife is less likely to encounter external strife. Another symbol the idea of coming into new harbors. The harbors are happy times and places in the life of the reader where pleasure, knowledge and experience ar e gained. Cavafy mentions two main types, Phoenician trading stations, and Egypt ian cities. In the Phoenician stations, one is to buy fine things and sensual pe rfumes. Cavafy is not telling the reader to amass treasure. The message is to en joy luxury and beauty when the chance arises. One should appreciate the fine thi ngs that come into one s path for the sake of the experience. The Phoenician tradi ng stations symbolize times in life when one is exposed to art and beauty and cu lture. The Egyptian cities, on the other hand, symbolize times of knowledge and education. This could be a time of formal education such as going to college. It could just as easily by an informal educational experience. Either way, Cavafy enjoins the reader to visit many of these Egyptian Cities . Education is not someth ing that is sought once in life. Rather, should occur in a series of episodes th roughout a lifetime. When he wrote this reference to Egyptian cities, Costantine Cavafy was undoubted ly thinking of Alexandria, where he spent most of his life. Alexandria has alway s been a great center of learning and a confluence of cultures and ideas. It was the sight of the largest library of the ancient world. It would not, however, h ave existed at the time the events in the historical Odyssey took place. Cavafy is thus either creating a deliberate anachronism or referring to other older Egy ptian cities. The symbolism is still effective either way. The final, and perhaps most important, symbol in Ithaka is Ithaka itself. Ithaka , Odysseus island kingdom, represents both the starting and ending place. Everyon e comes from somewhere. There was a time and place them shaped them and made the

m they are. As they reached adulthood they left home. Some went far indeed, even as this poem recommends. Ironically, the farther people get from home (physical ly, temporally, and ideologically) the more they want to return. The great risk, however, is of idealizing your own personal Ithaka. In the penultimate stanza C avafy warns against expecting too much: Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey. Without her you would not have set out. She has nothing left to give you now. The point of life is the journey and the experiences along the way. If you go lo ng enough you will eventually get back to where you began. As natural as this is , this starting and ending point is simply that: a starting and ending point. It is the path in between that makes life worth living. Cavafy is justifiably referred to as the father of Greek modernist poetry, and I thaka is widely regarded as one of his finest poems. In it he develops elements of a familiar story, The Odyssey, into powerful symbols to support his theme. Cavafy's poem reminds us of the Odyssey's hidden truth, that the hero's journey to Ithaca is the soul's journey home.Ancient tradition says that Homer's epics, the Illiad and the Odyssey, combine into a grand mystery tale, understood by ini tiates as describing the stages and struggles of the soul's inner journey.Too of ten seekers decry the road, its bumps and turns, impatient for the destination.B ut the stops along the journey are not roadblocks, they are stepping stones. Act ually, even that's not true. Seen clearly, the journey and the destination are a single continuum. The river pours into the sea, and they are one. Seated on the slow-moving river, we already touch the sea. Cavafy suggests that worldly experience, the senses, a certain amount of materia lism, these too are part of the journey. The physical world is the realm through which the soul journeys. Encountering marvels and terrors the soul strengthens and comes to know itself. Knowing itself in victory and adversity, the soul is f inally ready to return. But to navigate through such bewildering, overwhelming e xperiences, the destination must never be forgotten: "Always keep Ithaca on your mind." Don't rush through the journey, impatient only for its end. The adventur e is your soul's story: "Wise as you have become, with so much experience, you must already have understood what these Ithacas mean." The wisdom you attain with each step reveals the destination's true meaning. And it is just as true t o say that the destination's gift is contained in the journey itself: "Ithaca ha s given you the beautiful voyage." "Ithaka is about about facing fears and enjoying life for the things that are mo st important in shaping us as human beings. Experiences, and the wisdom that is gained from them. It is an inspirational poem and i use it as a reminder when i find myself in a comfort zone and i have doubts or fear about setting upon a new adventure in life." "Basically saying life is a journey. It\'s all about the climb and not what\'s o n the other side.. Learn from others, and be confident in your dreams...after al l life is a journey...success is a journey...life is a climb but the view is gre at..and when you get there, it doesn\'t matter if it offers you riches or turns out to be the opposite of what you\'re looking for...but atleast you\'ll learn t he meaning of what it takes to get there..." "C.P. Cavafy seems to be referring to Ithaka as being life in this poem. He s sayi ng life is an adventure, full of discovery. As you travel through life you have obstacles placed in front of you, Laistrygonians, Cyclops, and Poseidon but if you keep positive and believe in yourself and your values in life, you shall be pro sperous. You also gain from your experiences mother of pearl, coral, amber, and e bony . The poem also talks about don t hurry through life, Hope your road is a long one and i t is Better if it lasts for years because if you take life as it comes and think w ell of yourself, well then you shall be quite wealthy with all you have gained on

the way . Ithaka refers to life and the wisdom you ve gain along the way as being v aluable, not great riches. Knowledge and happiness if far more valuable than mon ey could ever be.Cavafy uses imagery in this poem quite well. He compares life t o objects and monsters so the reader can easily identify with what is being said . This really helps to define what is good and bad in life." MEANING In the Greek view it is an inner-self quest for rediscovering who you really ar e; at the same time it is a celebration of the human nature and the capability o f achieving your goals, even if it means that you have to go through the most di fficult and unexpected obstacles to reach those goals. Therefore, Ithaca acts s ymbolically as a representation of the achievement of the goals people set in th eir lives. Consequently, the quest for reaching Ithaca stops being just a fanta stic voyage full of extraordinary and unrealistic incidents. Instead, it can no w be thought as everybody s quest in their lives to make their dreams come true.It haca exists for each and everyone of us, but in a different way.All of us set so me goals that they want to achieve in their lifetime and they strive hard throug hout their lives to reach these goals. As a result, we can all relate to Odysse us quest to reach Ithaca as being our own journey in our lives to reach the goals we set before we start this long voyage. Just like Odysseus, we will all face difficulties and problems while we try to achieve what we want. The question no w becomes whether we have the strength and patience to remain focused on achievi ng these goals when we come face to face with the extreme difficulties of life, just like Odysseus finally made it and reached Ithaca. However, what happens if we do not achieve all our goals when we finally reach o ur Ithaca ? Should we be considered unsuccessful? Should we feel that we have fai led in our lives? The answer is definitely not. The reason for this is that th e objective is not to actually achieve all the goals that you set before you sta rted your journey in life. The actual objective lies in making the voyage itsel f, and to face all those difficulties; to overcome the difficulties in life and gain experience while you are out making the voyage. Therefore, by the time you reach your Ithaca you will already have gained so much from the trip that it does not matter so much whether you reached your goals or not. For instance, Odysse us goal was definitely not to lose his men; but, he did. That does not mean that he was unsuccessful, even though he failed in achieving all his goals.