the phaeacians lived at scheria in the odyssey.
the phaeacians lived at scheria in the odyssey.
where do the phaeacians live in the odyssey?
scheria
the earliest reference to corfu is the mycenaean greek word "ko-ro-ku-ra-i-jo (""man from kerkyra") written in linear b syllabic script, c. 1300 bc. according to strabo, corcyra (κόρκυρα) was the homeric island of scheria (σχερία), and its earliest inhabitants were the phaeacians (φαίακες). the island has indeed been identified by some scholars with scheria, the island of the phaeacians described in homer's "odyssey", though conclusive and irrefutable evidence for this theory or for ithaca's location have not been found. apollonius of rhodes depicts the island in "argonautica" as a place visited by the argonauts. jason and medea were married there in 'medea's cave'. apollonius named the island "drepane", greek for "sickle", since it was thought to hide the sickle that cronus used to castrate his father uranus, from whose blood the phaeacians were descended. in an alternative account, apollonius identifies the buried sickle as a scythe belonging to demeter, yet the name "drepane" probably originated in the sickle-shape of the island. according to a scholiast, commenting on the passage in "argonautica", the island was first of all called macris after the nurse of dionysus who fled there from euboea.
corfu
in "odyssey" 8, odysseus lands on the island of the phaeacians. during odysseus' time there, the phaeacians stage a series of athletic contests for odysseus so that he could spread stories about the phaeacians' athletic prowess. first, the phaeacians competed in a foot race. following the foot race, the phaeacians battled each other in a fierce wrestling competition. after wrestling, the phaeacians held jumping and boxing contests. the fifth and final event was the discus throw. after the discus competition, odysseus is invited to show his athletic skills, but he declines the offer. after declining the offer, one phaeacian, euryalos, joked that odysseus did not have the skills to compete in an athletic competition. this infuriated odysseus. the angered odysseus then grabbed a discus much larger and heavier than the ones used by the phaeacians, and he swung back and released the discus. the discus landed well clear of the phaeacians' earlier marks. odysseus then challenged the phaeacians to other athletic competitions, which they declined.
athletics in epic poetry