# Cavafy's "η Ιθάκες"



## wonderment

Hi there,

Cavafy’s beautiful Ιθάκη ends with this verse (complete poem here, English translation here):

Έτσι σοφός που έγινες, με τόση πείρα,
ήδη θα το κατάλαβες η Ιθάκες τι σημαίνουν. 

I’ve been wondering: Why is it η Ιθάκες and not oι Ιθάκες? And why the sudden switch to the plural? Any thoughts? Many thanks.


----------



## modus.irrealis

About the η, I know that it used to be an alternate spelling for the plural feminine article -- in fact, if you look at some of the older Greek grammars available on google books (this one for example), only η is given as the spelling. My guess would be that's what Cavafy wrote. In fact, that site has some images of his manuscripts here, and if you take a look at κεριά, you can see he wrote ἡ μέρες. So it looks like that site's approach is only to update the accents but nothing else that has to do with orthography.


----------



## eva 62

Well, I believe that at the end of the poem he does not refer to Ulysses' Ithaca any more but to every Ithaca (one or many) each one of us has (the goal he/she wants to achieve in life).
As for the article, Kavafis is famous for his spelling (I won't say mistakes). He made some of them on purpose (oops, I hadn't seen the previous post - so, this isn't a mistake!!).
By the way, do you happen to know why his name is written with -y- [Kavafy] in English?
Regards


----------



## slourp_d

Well, using "η" for the plural feminin article is not correct, but yes it is used in some regions in Greece. In a sense of a local, regional dilect. You would hear it from old people, on isolated areas (islands, small villages on the mountains). Not used any more. But generally, poets are allowed to "make mistakes". It's what is known as "Ποιητική αδεία" and it serves the poet´s right to  express himself and "hide" other meanings behind the actual words.
And also Eva´s opinion, on why KAvafys is using Ithakes and not Ithaki, is correct. After all, the whole poem is symbolic and refers to what people can gain from the adventures in life while they are fighting for their goals. And, to his opinion, the benefits of these adventures is of more value than the actual goals. And that's why people should set goals, or according to his saying, have Ithakes. For the journey. 
I hope i didn't make it more confusing


----------



## modus.irrealis

eva 62 said:


> By the way, do you happen to know why his name is written with -y- [Kavafy] in English?


Cavafy is how he personally spelt his name in English (and I assume French as well), as mentioned on this web page.


----------



## eva 62

Thank you!


----------



## wonderment

Many thanks again, everyone, for your helpful replies. 

modus.irrealis, what a useful and fascinating link to Romaic grammar—I never knew! The year of publication is 1858 which coincides with Cavafy’s time span, so it makes sense that he would use the older form of the feminine article (now out of use). 

Eva, I’ve seen Kαβάφης transliterated as Kavafis, Kavaphes, and Kavafi, but as modus.irrealis pointed out, Cavafy is the spelling his family adopted for official use.

As for Cavafy’s choice of Ithakes and not Ithaki, though I’m familiar with the interpretation of Ithaka as symbolic of one’s goal in life, I’ve always thought of that destination as death. (“Keep Ithaka always in your mind/ Arriving there is what you are destined for.”) It’s a common theme in classical poetry that mindfulness of death or human mortality heightens our appreciation and enjoyment of the present moment. Anyway the poem seems to be about how happiness is the journey, not the destination. But I didn’t know how to make Ithakes (plural) fit—perhaps (to expand on Eva’s idea) in the end Cavafy speaks about how all our individual destinities lead ultimately to the same place because we are mortal. It is this awareness that gives meaning to the journey. Just my own peculiar reading...


----------



## Vagabond

wonderment said:


> As for Cavafy’s choice of Ithakes and not Ithaki, though I’m familiar with the interpretation of Ithaka as symbolic of one’s goal in life, *I’ve always thought of that destination as death*.


THANK YOU!!! I'm not the only one then, and the ones that have given me weird looks in the past when I said this, can get lost


----------



## ireney

Moderator's note: Contrary to every personal feeling and taste and inclination of a teacher of literature (φιλόλογος) who happens to just _love_ Cavafy, I will have to ask you to discuss the literary interpretations of this or any future passage via PMs.


----------



## Spectre scolaire

wonderment said:


> modus.irrealis, what a useful and fascinating link to Romaic grammar—I never knew! The year of publication is 1858 which coincides with Cavafy’s time span, so it makes sense that he would use the older form of the feminine article (now out of use).
> 
> Eva, I’ve seen Kαβάφης transliterated as *Kavafis*, *Kavaphes*, and *Kavafi*, but as modus.irrealis pointed out, Cavafy is the spelling his family adopted for official use.


*****This usage was a fad. The original form of the plural feminine article was αἱ (with _spiritus asper_). The modern form οι is an _analogy_ to masculine plural. In the infancy of contemporary Greek vernacular writing there were often competing orthographies. This one may have been chosen because of its similarity to αἱ - a curious similarity, though: Modern Greek pronunciation of αἱ would correspond to Classical pronunciation of ἡ (if you just skip the _spiritus asper_  ).

*****British Library still consistently, as far as I know, transliterates Καβάφης as *Kabaphes* which reflects the phonetic value of the letters in Classical Greek. This is all the more curious when we look at the history of name in question: Arabic [χaffāf], “maker or seller of cheap (_or_ coarsely made) shoes” > Turkish kavaf > Modern Greek Καβάφης > Classical Greek Kabaphes. 
 ​


----------

