Ithacus

Ithacus appears only once in the Odyssey, and that single mention ties him directly to the most essential of civic resources: the town's water supply. When Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, approaches the city with the swineherd Eumaeus, they pass "the fountain from which the citizens drew their water." The narrator explains that this fountain "had been made by Ithacus, Neritus, and Polyctor." The three figures are named together as the builders of the structure, which is described as being surrounded by "a grove of water-loving poplars planted in a circle all round it," with "clear cold water" coming down to it from a high rock. Above the fountain stood "an altar to the nymphs, at which all wayfarers used to sacrifice." This is the only place in the poem where Ithacus is named, and his role is entirely functional: he is a founder, a builder of a public work that serves the entire community.

Identity and Background

Nothing is known of Ithacus beyond this single reference. He is not a character who acts or speaks in the narrative; he has no genealogy, no epithet, and no story of his own. His name, however, is clearly derived from the island of Ithaca itself, suggesting that he was conceived as an eponymous hero—a legendary figure from whom the island took its name. He is grouped with two other figures, Neritus and Polyctor, who are likewise otherwise unknown. Neritus shares his name with the wooded mountain that dominates Ithaca, while Polyctor's name means "the very mighty one." Together, the three represent a primordial generation of Ithacan founders, men who shaped the physical landscape of the island before the time of Odysseus.

The Fountain and Its Significance

The fountain built by Ithacus, Neritus, and Polyctor is the only named public water source in Ithaca. It is described in some detail: a grove of poplars encircles it, the water flows from a high rock, and an altar to the nymphs stands nearby, a place where all travelers customarily made offerings. This fountain is the site of a significant encounter in the poem. As Odysseus and Eumaeus approach it, they are overtaken by the goatherd Melanthius, who insults Odysseus and kicks him. The fountain thus becomes the setting for an act of gratuitous cruelty that deepens Odysseus's resolve for revenge. The fact that the fountain was built by Ithacus and his companions gives the location a layer of historical depth: the water that sustains the town flows from a structure created by the island's legendary founders, linking the present moment of the narrative to a distant, unnamed past.

Narrative Role and Significance

Ithacus's role in the Odyssey is that of a name only, a marker of the island's pre-Odyssean history. He does not influence the plot, interact with any character, or possess any attributes beyond his act of construction. His significance lies entirely in the way his name anchors the geography of Ithaca in a legendary foundation story. The fountain he built is a real, functioning place within the poem's world, a landmark that Odysseus passes on his way to his own house. By naming Ithacus as its builder, the poet gives the landscape a history that predates the hero's return, suggesting that Ithaca has always been a place shaped by human hands. Ithacus, Neritus, and Polyctor are the shadowy predecessors of Odysseus, the founders whose work made the island habitable for the generations that followed.