What does Ithaca mean?

Moji to me

You get to eventually understand the poem towards the middle. Where it encourages and admonishes one not to hurry at whatever part of the journey you find yourself but to take time get a few things, equip yourself with what that level or stage has to offer!! But all the long names could get u a bit confused at first. lol… But I took something from it…Tthe probing question however is where exactly is or how does one define one's personal ithaca?? Or is it just your journey through life generally?

Well I guess that's for you to clarify in your next write-up

My thoughts:

I believe that each person gets to define his or her own Ithaca, only it must be something worth living for. One of my friends thinks Ithaca is death and there are reasons to agree with him and also reasons not to such as:

Reasons to agree that Ithaca does not mean death:

1. No one can decide when they will die unless they commit suicide.
2. The general tone of the poem indicates a higher pursuit than reaching the moment of death. For instance why talk about the monsters and dragons in your heart that can stop you achieving what you set out to do?

Reasons to agree that Ithaca means death:

1. 'Pray that the road is long' - this could mean that one can get to Ithaca in a very short time. It could mean that one can die anytime, so it’s best to pray for long life.
2. My number 2 argument for why Ithaca cannot mean death goes out here - One can get the sense that the writer is admonishing that one should set out on a purposeful journey while one is alive, gaining wisdom, giving love (sensual perfume- something that disperses in the wind), investing in things that will last (mother-of-pearl, coral) and in the process become rich in soul, body and spirit. By the time you get to Ithaca-death- (in old age- if the road is long), you don’t expect death to give you any of these things because you have achieved them while you are alive. And we all know that in death, we leave things and not take away. So if ‘we find her poor’ we will not be disappointed.
3. Also, it could be a poem that is encouraging people to get to the moment of death having lived a fulfilled life than none at all.

But I still think that Ithaca does not have to mean death. Most people live mechanical lives that have no meaning whatsoever. They go through the rituals of the day with nothing driving them. Some are desperate for meaning but others just float along. To me, Ithaca can be anything that brings you out of that stupor and puts a bounce to your strides (of course there’ll be days your steps will lag). It can be anything that makes you conquer your own fears (the monsters- fierce Poseidon etc), that makes you enrich your spirit, soul and body, something that inspires you to go outside your comfort zone (enter ports seen for the first time), something that you want to spend your life trying to achieve.

Finding his voice as a poet is what Constantine Cavafy, the poem's author, spent most of his life trying to achieve. Something he did not achieve till after he was 40 yrs. He called himself  'poet of old age', and when he died at seventy, he predicted that his works would be better appreciated after his death because his poems, based on his journey were ahead of their time. And you can bet that he travelled a lot and studied under different scholars etc.

When we finally get to a point in our life where we feel that we have achieved our objective (Mandela?) We would not expect that point to add or take away from our life’s work. We would be at rest. I think that the peace that will be in our heart could be our Ithaca, especially as it will not ask anything of us and we will not ask anything of it. And then when death comes eventually – those who find us will understand the meaning behind the smile on our lips.

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,

Pray that the road is long,

full of adventure, full of knowledge.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

The angry Poseidon – do not fear them:

You will never find such as this on your path

If your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine emotion touches

your spirit and body.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

The fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,

if you do not carry them within your soul,

if your heart does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.

That the summer mornings are many, when,

with such pleasure, with such joy

you will enter ports seen for the first time;

stop at Phoenician markets,

and purchase fine merchandise,

mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

and sensual perfumes of all kinds,

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

visit many Egyptian cities,

to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.

To arrive there is your ultimate goal.

But do not hurry the voyage at all.

It is better to let it last for many years;

and to anchor at the Island when you are old,

rich with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.

Without her you would never have set out on the road.

She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.

wise as you have become with so much experience,

You must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine Cavafy (1863 - 1933)

Translated by Rae Dalven

My first post in 2011 is a poem that means a lot to me and I suspect it will mean something to each person that reads it. We are all on a journey somewhere, defining the end with each step we take to achieve it. Constantine Cavafy wisely points out what we have all found out at one time or the other; that the process of the journey, the anticipation, the travails and joys are always sweeter than the destination itself. And perhaps that is why everytime we arrive -seemingly- at one destination, we begin to plan for the next.

I wish everyone on the great journey to Ithaca good wishes, and I pray the road will be very long. As the french will say Bon voyage et bonne chance!