Albanian Illyrian connection

1. An interesting article which identifies Odysseus's home with the island ofOthoni. In the author's veiw, best fits Homer's de scription ofthe
place, andhe backs this contention withthe fact thatthenameoftheisland, Othoni, inMagyar means 'home", theassumptionbeing that what
Odysseus consideredhome eventually ended-up as thenameoftheisland. Healso dwells on some other Magyar etymologies relating to the
subject, which incidentally are also present in the Albanian language.
He indicates that"the suggested Illyrian origin ofthenameOdysseus is noteworthy", but does notsay howHomericinfluence filtered into the
Magyar language.The island ofOthoniis only 38miles fromAlbania. Homer seems to haverendered major roles to subjects from this general
area, According to G.N.L. Hammond, the original home ofAchilles was the area ofpresent day Albania. (wb)
The Homeric Ithaca Identified with the Island of Othoni
By Kazmer Ujvarosy
March 29, 2010
The mystery of the whereabouts of Odysseus´ island home described in Homer´s Odyssey has baffled
researchersfornearly3,000 years.Nowphilologyprovidesconvincingevidence thatthe islandof Othoni
in the westernmost part of Greece is the homeland of Odysseus.
In Homer´sepicpoems,the Iliad and the Odyssey, the king of Ithaca, Odysseus, plays a key role. In the
IliadOdysseusendedthe 10-year-old Trojan War by the stratagem of the wooden horse, which victory
not even the bravery of Achilles could accomplish.
In the OdysseyHomerdescribesthe travelsandadventuresof the resourcefulandguile Odysseus. After
Troy was captured, Odysseus set sail for the island he called home, but reached his destination only
after 10 eventful years.
For many centuries it has been widely believed that the modern Ionian Island known as Ithiki is the
Homeric Ithaca or Ithaka, the presumed homeland of Odysseus. However Homer describes the island
home of Odysseus with no small variety of detail, and over time it became evident that no ingenious
arguments can reconcile the descriptions given by Homer with the actual topography of Ithiki.
The identificationiscomplicatedbythe possibilitythatmanynamesandtermsinthe Odyssey may have
roots inlanguagesotherthanGreek.Afterall ithas beenestimated that Homer wrote the poems some
time between 900 and 600 BC, i.e. nearly 3,000 years ago.
For instance according to the French scholar Samuel Bochart (30 May 1599 - 16 May 1667) -- who
possessedathorough knowledge of the principal Oriental languages -- Homer´s Ithaca has its origin in
the Hebrew ithaca, meaning a hard and rugged island, because Homer, Plutarch and Cicero with
common consent describe Ithaca to be such.
If the etymology given by Bochart is correct, then the term Ithaca is applicable to any hard and rugged
island of the Ionian Sea. But, as we shall see, in this case Bochart was mistaken. At any rate since the
Greek geographer Strabo (64/3 BC - c.21 AD) to the present day no less than 22 proposals were made
for the location of Homer´s Ithaca.

2. Just to mention a couple, in 1900 Professor W. Dörpfeld first announced to the German Institute at
Athens that Leukas, instead of Thiaki (as they called Ithiki at that time) was Odysseus´ homeland,
because LeukasfitsmuchbetterHomer´s descriptions of Ithaca. Controversy erupted, it raged without
intermissionfor many years, but eventually the majority of scholars rejected the idea that Leukas was
Homer´s Ithaca. So the old theory that Ithiki or Thiaki is Homer´s Ithaca prevailed again.
In recent years the peninsula of Paliki has been proposed as Homer´s Ithaca by Robert Bittlestone, a
management consultant from England. For purposes of exploration Bittlestone enlisted the help of
Professor James Diggle, a classicist at Cambridge University, and Professor John Underhill, a geologist
from the University of Edinburgh.
Because itis plainthatPaliki isa peninsula, whereas Homer´s Ithaca is an island, these explorers argue
that in Odysseus´ lifetime Paliki was an island. But even if we practice credulity and accept the
speculation that when Odysseus was making his voyages Paliki was an island, Paliki still fails to fit
Homer´s descriptions.
The details are beyond the scope and limits of the present article, therefore only two points will be
made:
According to Homer Ithaca is one of the Ionian Islands which is farthest west and farthest out to sea;
Ithaca is part of an Ionian island complex consisting of no less than four islands.
These descriptions fail to fit Ithiki, as well as Leukas and Paliki, but provide sufficient information to
make the breakthrough identification:
Othoni inthe IonianSeafitsHomer´sdescriptions best because it is the westernmost island of Greece,
with coordinates 39´ 50´ 59.10 Latitude, and 19´ 24´ 08.61 Longitude;
Othoni, Erikousa, Mathraki, Corfu, Paxoi and several smaller islands in the Ionian Sea form an island
complex.
Most significantly,the very name Othoni tells us that the island was Odysseus´ home, because Othoni
means "home."
Here it is:
http://www.magyarangolszotar.com/o/Otthoni.html
Magyar Word or Term: Otthoni
English Translation: Home

3. So Othoni Island is literally Home Island. The spelling is not the same, but there is no difference in
meaningbetweenOthoni and Otthoni, just as there is no difference in meaning between traveler and
traveller.
It may be arguedthat if Ithaca, Ithakaor Ithaken(Ἰθάκην) isOthoni,whydon´twe have the wordOthoni
inthe Odyssey?The answeris,we have otthoni in the Odyssey, but only in the Magyar translation. For
example in Book 10 of the Odyssey the terms πατρίς (patrís) and πατρίδος (patrídos), "native," are
translated otthoni, "home."
The Greek sentence, "ἐννῆμαρ μὲν ὁμῶς πλέομεν νύκτας τε καὶ ἦμαρ, τῇ δεκάτῃ δ᾽ ἤδη ἀνεφαίνετο
πατρὶςἄρουρα,"hasthe followingMagyartranslation:"Kilenc napon át éjt nappá téve hajóztunk, majd
tizedik nap fölbukkantak az otthoni földek."
In English the translations of the same sentence run as follows:
-"Nine days and nights we sailed, and on the tenth our own land was in sight."
-"Nine days and nine nights did we sail, and on the tenth day our native land showed on the horizon."
-"For nine days we sailed, night and day alike, and now on the tenth our native land came in sight."
Thus the Greekπατρίςἄρουρα (patrísaroura),"native land,"inthe Magyartranslationisotthoni földek,
"home lands," and in English "own land" or "native land."
The next part of the sentence, "καὶ δὴ πυρπολέοντας ἐλεύσσομεν ἐγγὺς ἐόντες," means in Magyar, "s
láttukaz őrtüzeket,mertimmárolyközel értünk,"and in English, "and lo, we were so near that we saw
men tending the beacon fires."
So far scholars failedtorealize thatthispartof the sentence providesthe keywordtothe interpretation
of Homer´sIthaca or Ithaka.The term"πυρπολέοντας"(purpoléontas) is translated as "beacon fires" in
English,andas "őrtüzeket"inMagyar.The emphasizeison"fires,"Magyartüzek,because itgives us the
Greek term tzáki (τζάκι), "hearth." Thus the Magyar tüzek, "fires," tells us that Ithaca or Ithaka means
tzáki,"hearth"or "home."All told, Ithaca or Ithaka is the tzáki, "hearth" or "home" of Odysseus, which
home is Othoni Island.
Incidentally the present lighthouse, Othoni Kastri, built in 1872, is on the island´s west coast, and
conceivably was the place where in Odysseus´ time people tended the beacon fires to aid navigation.
At this point the name of the Roman fortress, Othona, comes into mind. Othona was Roman Britain´s
SaxonShore fort,and itsname survivedonly in the Roman Empire´s Notitia Dignitatum (late-4th early-
5th centuries). Less than three centuries later Othona appears in the writings of the first English
historian Bede as Ythancaester.

4. So far no satisfactoryetymology has been offered for the name Othona, which state of affairs gives us
the opportunity to fill that gap.
In light of the etymology we have for Othoni Island it seems evident that the fort was named Othona
because itwasthe otthona,i.e."home,"of the numeri Fortensiumor"companyof Brave Men." The fact
that the fort bearsthe name Othonaindicates that auxiliary soldiers from Sarmatia -- more specifically
from Greuthungorum (Ammianus xxxi. 3), i.e. from Great Hungary --, speaking the Magyar language,
built and made the fort their home.
In additiontoOthonaat leastone more fortin RomanBritain is likely to have served for Huns as home,
away from their home.
The name of the Halton Chesters fort first appears in the Notitia Dignitatum of the late-4th/early-5th
centuries as Hunnum. After hinting that the Unnigardae praised in the letters of Synesius (c. 373 – c.
414) were a small cavalry corps of Huns serving the defense of Pentapolis in Libya against the raids of
the "barbarians," Otto Maenchen-Helfen in his The World of the Huns (1973) notes:
Another Hunnic formation was possibly stationed in Britain. One of the commanders per lineam valli,
Hadrian´s wall, was the praefectus alae Sabinianae, Hunno. Could Hunnum be "the fort of the Huns"?
The likelyhood that Huns were stationed in the forts Othona and Hunnum appears to confirm the
legends, mentioned by Jordanes in his De origine actibusque Getarum (The Origin and Deeds of the
Geta) or Getica,writtenin551, that at one time the Hunuguri livedin"subjectionto slavery in Britain or
in some other island," who gained their "redemption by a certain man at the cost of a single horse."
The Magyar termotthon,"home,"alsoseemstoprovide the correctetymology for the name Athene. It
isinferable thatAthene hasitsorigininotthon, "home," because originally she was the goddess of the
hearth, home or household.
The Magyar language providesnot only the above etymologies and the key to Odysseus´ island home,
but to the meaningof the termsOdysseyandOdysseus as well. However these terms need correction.
In Homer´s "original" Greek we do not have Odyssey, but Odusseia (Ὀδύσσεια), and we do not have
Odysseus, but Oduseus (Ὀδυσεὺς).
Whatever the spelling, the fact is beyond dispute that essentially Homer´s Odusseia tells the story of
Oduseus´ travel from Troy back to his island home, which now we know must be Othoni in the Ionian
Sea.
In the Magyar language útmeans"way,road,passage,"andutazás "journey,travel,voyage."The person
whotakesthe voyage may have the designationsutas, "traveler, passenger;" utazó, "traveler, voyager,
explorer, wanderer;" or utazós, one who travels a lot or takes voyages.

5. The above designations suggest that Odusseia is cognate with utazás, "journey, travel, voyage," and
Oduseusiscognate withutazó,"traveler,voyager,explorer,wanderer,"or with utazós, which term also
means a person who does a lot of travel, wandering or exploration.
The belief is prevalent among scholars that when Odysseus identifies himself to the Cyclops
Polyphemus,he givesthe name Outis,"Nobody." Well, it appears to be a misconception because most
probablyOdysseusgave the name Utas,"Traveler,"whichMagyar term Polyphemus took for the Greek
term Outis, "Nobody." In other words Odysseus, by telling Polyphemus that his name was Utas,
"Traveler," told the truth, but at the same time fooled him, because he knew that Polyphemus would
mistranslate UtasintoOutis,meaning"Nobody."SowhenOdysseusblindedthe onlyeye of Polyphemus
withinthe closedcave,andwhenPolyphemuscalledforoutside help by yelling, Nobody is hurting me,
his fellow Cyclops left him alone, hearing that Nobody was hurting him.
Notonlythe word Utas, "Traveler,"canbe confusedwithOutis,"Nobody,"butthe Magyar termutász as
well, meaning "sapper."
In the militaryasapperis a professional whosetaskisto impairor undermine the stability of defensive
structures,like fortifications,byinsidiousmeans. Given the fact that according to Homer Odysseus was
"world-famed for stratagems," and that he was the one who invented the legendary stratagem of the
Trojan Horse,itis highlyprobable thatOdysseuswasconsideredtobe a professional utász,"sapper." So
the possibilitycannotbe ruledoutthatOdysseusidentifiedhimselfasan utász,whichterm Polyphemus
confused with outis, "nobody." In either case Odysseus told the truth, and by telling the truth, fooled
Polyphemus.
The postulate that the terms Odusseia and Oduseus are cognate with the Magyar utazás, "travel," and
utazós, "traveler," is supported by the facts that the Greek word for road is odós (οδός), and that the
Etruscan name for Oduseus is Utuze or Uthuze.
Allegedlythe Etruscans -- a pre-Roman race of unknown origin speaking a language unrelated to other
language groups -- "adoptedOdysseus"intotheirreligionunderthe name Utuze.Inlight of the fact that
the Magyar utazós, "traveler, voyager," provides the correct etymology for the name Oduseus or
Odysseus, the statement that the Etruscans "adopted Odysseus" must be questioned. After all the
Etruscan Utuze is considerably closer to the Magyar terms utas or utazós than to Odysseus. These
findings suggest that instead of the Etruscans adopting Odysseus, the Greeks adopted the Etruscan
Utuze.
Finally the postulate that the correct etymologies for the terms Odusseia and Oduseus are utazás,
"travel,"andutazó or utazós, "traveler," finds support in the fact that in the language of the Albanians
udhe means "route, travel," and Odysseus "traveler."

6. These findingsare remarkablebecause Othoni, the island home of Odysseus, is only 38 miles from the
Albanian cape Linguetta. It may be assumed that the Albanians retained the correct etymology of
Odysseus, "traveler," because he lived so near to the shores of Albania.
Now let´s compare the etymologies scholarship managed to provide. A Google search yields the
following, among others:
Odysseus' name suggests that he was the "victim of enmity" (Greek odyssesthai: "to hate" or "to be
angry").
The name Odysseus means a "man of constant sorrow" or "man of wrath."
The verb οδυσσομαι (odussomai) means "to get angry", and the latin word "odium" (hate) shares its
origin.
CorinthianGreekOlysseus,Olytteus,general GreekOdysseus, probably of Illyrian origin, influenced by
popular connection with odyssesthai, to be hated.
We could go on ad nauseam. In any case the suggested Illyrian origin of the name Odysseus is
noteworthy. At different times Illyrian tribes inhabited lands from Vienna to Athens. The Greeks
recognized some kinship between themselves and the Illyrians, but described them as a barbarous
people resembling the tribes of Thrace. Both Illyrians and Thracians offered human sacrifices, and
tattooed their bodies, similarly to the Picts of Britain.
Under Bardylis(385 to 358 BC) the Illyriansnearlysucceededindestroyingthe kingdomof Macedon,but
eventually Philip the Great conquered them and annexed part of their country. During the next
centuries they prayed on the commerce of the maritime powers as pirates. Under the Illyrian queen,
Teuta, the Greeks turned to Rome for help. After fighting the Romans in several wars, in AD 6-9 the
Illyriansjoined the rebel Pannonians, but the Romans managed to crush their forces. According to the
Roman historian Seutonius they were the most formidable enemies with whom the Romans had to
contend with since the Punic Wars (264 to 146 BC).
A Google searchon the Thraciansshowsthat inancienttimesasceticscalled the Ctistae lived in Thrace.
The Ctistae dedicatedtheirlivestothe gods, and were held in great honor among the people, because
theylivedacelibate lifeandnevermarried.The informationprovidedmakes it sufficiently evident that
Ctistae iscognate withthe Magyar tiszta(pronouncedtista),meaning"pure, clean, undefiled." There is
no doubt that the ascetics were called Tiszta, "Undefiled," because they remained celibate. This
etymology constitutes one more attestation of the Magyar language´s presence among the tribes of
Illyria and Thrace.

7. It needstobe pointedoutyetthat Josephus(37– 100 AD),in discussingthe Essenesinthe Antiquitiesof
the Jews (Book 18 §22), writes: "They live no differently from, but most similarly to those who among
the Dacians are called Ctistae."
Common sense says that "among the Dacians" the ascetics were called Tista or Tiszta, "Undefiled,"
because the givers of that designation spoke the Magyar language, and the native Székelys or Siculi in
the Transylvanian heartland of ancient Dacia still speak the same language.
To conclude,at this stage the postulate that Othoni is the island home of Odysseus remains what it is,
simply a theory. More fact-finding is needed. At any rate the failure to realize that the Magyar term
utazó,"traveler,"isthe correctetymology for the name Odysseus, does not reflect well on the current
state of philology and Homeric studies. This failure is excusable in the case of scholars who are not
familiar with the Magyar language. But when Harvard University´s Hungarian-born Gregory Nagy,
praisedas"renownedauthorityinthe fieldof HomericstudiesandarchaicGreekpoetry,"failstodiscern
the connection between Homeric names and the Magyar language, that incompetence is hardly
excusable.