The Municipality of Ithaca island in Greece, the legendary homeland of Homer’s hero Odysseus, has rejected a proposed marketing of the entirety of the Ionian islands as The Islands of Odysseus for promotional reasons.
The label was put on the table on behalf of the Regional Authority by the Deputy Regional Governor for Finance and Commerce, Savvas Koulouris, during the Regional Council on Saturday, August 22 as part of the proposal for the participation of the Ionian Islands in a leading international tourism fair next November in London. “Ithaca is Ithaca. Odysseus has his homeland, and it cannot be transferred into a general tourism brand for the Ionian Islands,” the Municipality of Ithaca responded with a statement.
Governor’s “surprise” marketing label for the Ionian Islands
The discussion emerged after Deputy Governor Savvas Koulouris told the latest Regional Council that the Governor of the Ionian Islands, Giannis Terpeklis, a former mayor of the city of Corfu, is preparing “a surprise” for the Ionian Islands Region’s participation at World Travel Market (WTM) 2026.
“Since the film by American director Christopher Nolan, The Odyssey, is in the spotlight, a special event will be held [at WTM] to proclaim the Ionian Islands as ‘the Islands of Odysseus,’ that is, to become a strong brand name, because, while of course each island has its own dynamics, at this moment we want there to be a brand name that applies to all the Ionian Islands,” he put forth.
However, the idea was strongly rejected by the Municipality of Ithaca. “While we support the extroversion and tourism promotion of the Ionian Islands, the proposal to name the Ionian Islands “the Islands of Odysseus” cannot be accepted by the Municipality of Ithaca,” a statement read.
“For such a serious issue, which concerns the history, identity, and international brand of Ithaca, others cannot decide without Ithaca,” it was added. The Municipality therefore calls on the Regional Council of the Ionian Islands “to respect Ithaca, its history and its unique relationship with Odysseus.”
“The tourist promotion of the Ionian Islands can, and should be done with many and different comparative advantages. Ithaca does not grant its history and name,” the statement concluded.
How the Ionian Islands got their name
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece, traditionally known as the Heptanese (“Seven Islands”), but the group includes many smaller islands in addition to the seven main ones. The Ionian Sea and Islands got their name from the ancient Greek princess of Argos, Io, who swam across the sea between modern-day Greece and Italy, according to myth.
The islands were settled by Greeks at an early date, possibly as early as 1200 BC. Between 750 BC and 650 BC, the Greek poet Homer produced his epics that narrated the events of the Trojan War and the adventures of the legendary Kind Odysseus of Ithaca. Throughout classical antiquity, the Ionian Islands were known as Greek kingdoms and citadells. They were later absorbed into the empire of Macedon, annexed by Rome, and passed to the control of the Byzantine Empire.
Thereafter, a centuries-old Venitian rule kept the Ionian Islands outside Ottoman control. In the 18th and 19th centuries, they were consecutively ruled by the French, the Russian, and the British rules until they eventually became part of the modern Greek state in 1864. Administratively today, they belong to the Ionian Islands Region except for Kythera, which belongs to the Attica Region.
