I have now shown that all the Ithacan scenes of the Odyssey are drawn with singular fidelity from Trapani and its neighbourhood, as also all the Scherian; moreover, I have shown that the Ionian islands are in reality drawn from the Ægadean group off Trapani; lastly I have shown that the voyage of Ulysses in effect begins with Trapani and ends with Trapani again. I need not deal with Pylos and Lacedæmon beyond showing that they were far removed from the knowledge of either writer or audience.
There is not a single natural feature mentioned in either case. The impossible journey of Telemachus and Pisistratus from Pheræ to Lacedæmon in a chariot and pair over the lofty, and even now roadless, range of Mt. Taygetus, causes no uneasiness to the writer. She gives no hint of any mountain to be crossed—from which we may infer, either that she knew nothing of the country between Pylos and Lacedæmon, or that at any rate her audience would not do so. It may, however, be remarked that the West wind which Minerva provided in order to take Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos, was more suitable for taking him from Sicily. A North wind would have been better for him if he had been coming from the real Ithaca, but Minerva manages things so strangely that I would not press this point.
[1] The Asinelli is a single islet much in the shape of a ship heading straight for Favognana. There is nothing plural about it, and one does not see why it should have a plural name. Who were the "asses" or "fools"?
[2] Virgil does not let it pass unnoticed. He writes:—
"Cernimus adstantes nequidquam lumine torvo
Ætnæos fratres,....
Æn. III. 667, 678.
He calls the Cyclopes "Ætnæan" because he places them on Mt. Etna.
[3] There is no Phœnician work in the bastion shown in my illustration, the restorations here are medieval.