Analysis on going.
Proposition 1: Nausicaa was the Authoress of the Odyssey.
Proposition 2: Identification of Nausicaa.
Status of the analysis:
Re proposition 1 the analysis is substantially concluded; it now needs to be properly articulated and published.
Re proposition 2 the analysis is still on-going and much more work is required. These are the options under evaluation:
- Nausicaa could have been one of the two daughters of Tisias (Stesychorus).
- The Authoress could have been Sappho, alias Nausicaa; she could have written the poem while she was in Syracuse during the period 603-595. She traveled from Lesbo to Syracuse, Sicily, and remained there for eight years. It is very likely that she would have traveled round the Island of Sicily to collect first hand information for her novel, such as the geographic description of Ithaka and the other Aegadean Islands . We know that Sappho had contacts with Alkaeus (his lover?), with Pittakos and with Stesychorus. The Syracusans erected a statue in her honour. Syracuse had become a magnet for the Arts and a great city. A must visit place. Cicero described Syracuse as the greatest and most beautiful city of Ancient Greece.