2023 Greek Book Fair Exhibitor: Ithacan Historical Society

2023 Greek Book Fair Exhibitor: Ithacan Historical Society

The Ithacan Historical Society is the historical arm of the Ithacan Philanthropic Society, which was incorporated in Melbourne, 106 years ago, in 1916. Being one of the oldest Greek organisations in Australia it supports many charities both here in Australia and in Greece.

The society also preserves the history of Ithaca through the various eras including Venetian, English and of course ancient periods, as well as recording the Ithacan migrant experience to Australia that dates back to the Gold Rush of the 1850s, as outlined in our centenary publication “The Ithacans”.

The Ithacan Historical Society hosts regular in-house seminars, cooking classes and cultural events at Ithaca House at 329 Elizabeth Street to ensure we continue to preserve and record the fascinating and unique history of the first Greek Australians and their significant contribution to the culinary and restaurant landscape of Melbourne. The Ithacan Historical Society also holds regular free Zoom seminars relating to Ithaca and the broader Ionian region of Greece. These seminars are freely available on our YouTube channel.

Books for sale during the Greek Book Fair include:

The Ithacans – Ithacan Philanthropic Society

This centenary publication of the Ithacan Philanthropic Society documents the migratory experience of Ithacans who came to Australia during the Gold Rush and subsequent decades. It traces their early years and the establishment of the Ithacan community within Melbourne, which helped nurture new arrivals and supported those who remained in Greece. It also documents the café and restaurant businesses that Ithacans pioneered and their wider influence through sport, cinema and other community activities.

Passage to Ithaca – George Paxinos

This is a study of the settlement patterns of all the families on the island of Ithaca from the Middle Ages until recent times. It is a record of all the surnames, clan names and villages of settlements. The author researched church records, interviewed local historians and examined laographic sources and is a second updated edition. It is a mandatory resource for all Ithacans but also a scholarly work for those interested in Ionian and Greek migratory history.

In search of Homeric Ithaca – Jonathan Brown

The author examines the Odyssey in detail, draws on ancient and modern scholarly texts, reproduces antique and contemporary maps, and satellite imagery, quotes from the accounts of earlier travellers and topographers, sails the Ionian Sea, and above all, walks the landscape of Ithaki exploring the extent to which the island matches the Ithaca of the poem. For the first time, several Ithacan landmarks that conform closely to the words and action of the Odyssey are identified.

Homeric Sites Around Troy - Jonathan Brown

This book traces the historical and contemporary search for sites referred to by Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey and by others in the Trojan Cycle. The book reproduces many antique and newer maps, summarizes the results of archaeological excavations, contains many annotated excerpts of satellite imagery and has many beautiful full-colour illustrations.

www.ithaca.org.au