What does Ithaca symbolize? The hope for returning to a homeland that may seem lost, the nostalgia and longing for seeing again familiar places and people, the memory that remains intact despite the relentless passage of time. The Odyssey points out how important the destination is; without it the journey would be a pointless wandering. The destination, whether material or not, urges us to an inner journey of quest for the Root that gave birth to us, to a periplus that continues throughout life, around the shores of self-knowledge and the understanding of our human existence, defined by eternity and distance.