The performance with the title Ithaca was the narrative project, the 2nd Practical task that we had to create and present in a performance form. The guidlines for this task had to do with the process of divising a performance piece based on a poem, a text, a theatrical play or rehearsals through improvisation, which had to be linked with our research area.

For my performance I chose the poem Ithaca, written by K.P.Cavafys the famous Greek poet. Ithaca is a poem that describes the journey to the final destination of a human's life. A Journey full of Joy and knowledge. Full of experiences and wonders. My aim was to present a more phylosophical perspective on the matter of death and loss. In my Labs I was interested only in the grieving emotional state that death can create. My thoughts were focused now on the meaning of this life changing situation that has in general. 

"Some people always find the straight and easy way through life, proceeding linearly and avoiding distractions. When they reach in the end? Cavafy seems to be saying that the things that really matter in the end are experiences and memories. You can not get many of these on the straight and narrow path. Odysseus’ ten year voyage home from the Trojan war, with its many turnings and adventures, is a metaphor for a fulfilling life.

One unusual feature of the work is that it is written in the second person. It tells the reader, the metaphorical Odysseus, what to do. While this point of view is almost never workable in a narrative work, it is effective in a short lyrical poem like this.

Ithaka uses several strong symbols, drawn from the Odyssey. In the first part, for instance, refers to the Laistrygonians, the Cyclops, and “Angry Poseidon”. These were among the most terrifying of Oddyseus’ enemies. The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops were gigantic cannibals who ate most of his followers, his trustful men. Poseidon was a powerful god who persecuted him for years. Cavafy chooses these enemies to symbolize conflict, particularly conflict with people or powers that are much bigger and more powerful than the reader like the loss of your loved ones or sickness in the mind, in the soul. Luckily, the reader need not fear these external conflicts: “…you won’t meet them / unless you carry the in your soul” (11-12). A person without internal battle is less likely to encounter external battle.

Another symbol the idea of coming into new harbors. The harbors are happy times and places in the life of the reader where pleasure, knowledge and experience are gained. Cavafy mentions two main types, Phoenician trading stations, and Egyptian cities. In the Phoenician stations, one is to buy fine things and sensual perfumes. Cavafy is not telling the reader to amass treasure. The message is to enjoy luxury and beauty when the chance arises. One should appreciate the fine things that come into one’s path for the sake of the experience. The Phoenician trading stations symbolize times in life when one is exposed to art and beauty and culture. The Egyptian cities, on the other hand, symbolize times of knowledge and education. This could be a time of formal education such as going to college. It could just as easily by an informal educational experience. Either way, Cavafy suggests the reader to visit many of these “Egyptian Cities”. Education is not something that happens once in life. Rather, should be repeated in a series of episodes throughout a lifetime.

When he wrote this reference to Egyptian cities, Costantine Cavafy was undoubtedly thinking of Alexandria, where he spent most of his life. Alexandria has always been a great center of learning and a confluence of cultures and ideas. It was the sight of the largest library of the ancient world. 

The final, and perhaps most important, symbol in Ithaka is Ithaka itself. Ithaka, Odysseus’ island kingdom, represents both the starting and ending place. Everyone comes from somewhere. There was a time and place which shaped them and made them who they are. As they reached adulthood they left home. Some went far indeed, even as this poem recommends. Ironically, the farther people get from home (physically, temporally, and ideologically) the more they want to return. The great risk, however, is of idealizing your own personal Ithaka. In the end Cavafy warns against expecting too much:

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

The point of life is the journey and the experiences along the way. If you go long enough you will eventually get back to where you began. As natural as this is, this starting and ending point is simply that: a starting and ending point. It is the path in between that makes life worth living."