CASSIUS: Did Cicero say any thing?

CASCA: Ay, he spoke Greek.

CASSIUS: To what effect?

CASCA: Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again; but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too; Marullus and Flavius, for pulling scarfs off Caesar's images, are put to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Julius Cæsar. Act I, Scene 2.

"Ithaca. A city (pop. 29,541) and town (pop. 17,797), Tompkins County.
Ithaca was named for the Greek island. The naming is traceable to Simeon DeWitt, the Surveyor General of the State of New York and owner of much of the land in the area (ca. 1789). He is considered the founder of Ithaca and chose the name based on its central position in the former township of Ulysses, just as the Greek isle was the mythological capital of Homer's hero, Ulysses. It is also said that the area resembled Ulysses' description of his homeland, being rugged and good for grazing goats. The name of Ithaca was popularized by Jacob Vrooman, an innkeeper, who put up a sign advertising his tavern, the Ithaca Hotel. The hamlet of Ithaca was on an official map of New York State as early as 1802 and opened its post office in 1804. The town of Ithaca officially took its name as its founding from Ulyssss on March 16, 1821. Ithaca appears to be of Phoencian origin and translates as "island."

Ithaca, a Greek island in the Ionian Sea off the west coast of central Greece, was one of the most popular sites in the mythological world. It was the birthplace of Ulysses (Odysseus), who became its king and was the subject of Homer's Odyssey."

Farrel, William R. Classical Place Names in New York State: Origins, Histories

and Meanings. Pine Grove Press: Jamesville, NY, 2002.

Olin Library F117 F37 2002+