This was a fascinating breakdown! Tim Severin's theory really resolves so many of the 'fairytale' gaps by grounding the journey in a plausible and close real-world route. Honestly, this makes so much more sense than anything else I’ve seen, and I’m fully convinced this is closer to reality. Really appreciate the effort put into this research! 👍👍👍

He went to Disney World.

Reporter:  "Odysseus, you just won the Trojan War!  What are you going to do next?"
Odysseus:  "I'm going to Disney World!!  And I'm taking all my best soldiers!!"
🎆🏰🎆

Being Greek and having studied the Odyssey with detail at school, I agree with you 100%.
Firstly the travels described are clearly NOT very long. Boats at the time had to stop every evening on a beach. The longest journey would have been from Africa to Crete without stopping but an easy trip to navigate.
Secondly, as you very well said, Odysseas was not lost for the best part of his journey.  He knew the waters. It was unfortunate events (acts of Gods) that troubled his journey. Versions about western Med or even Atlantic ocean are impossible.

"You will find the scenes of Odysseus' wanderings when you find the cobbler who sewed up the bag of winds." - Eratosthenes (3rd century BCE)

This is awesome! I don't even know why Severin's theory isn't officially considered the most plausible interpretation of Odysseus' route.

First of all: I enjoyed that take on the route, since the usual route across the mediteranean always seemed kind of unlikely to me, given the distances travelled. But Masapo's bay at 08:11 looks way to small to harbor 11 ships, let alone leave enough space to navigate for them in there.

Wow.  Amazing breakdown.  Mesapos bay!? What a fascinating theory... The bay looks perfect for telepylos.

You are making a lot of sense and I can't really argue against that, but it doesn't really sit right with me that Odysseus had so much trouble so close to home.

There was also a theory that the Phaiakes were a metaphor for the destroyed city of troy, were Odysseus confesses about his part of their destruction and sees what was lost. It's there he told about his voyages, but we know how unreliable he was.

Fascinating video, but we must not forget the old writers.
Thucydides himself (V century BC) says Scylla and Charybdis are located near Sicily as if was common knowledge.

While your suggestion is intriguing we shouldn’t forget only big locations can start myths, nor isolated narrow paths.

I agree this new theory makes more sense “realistically” but we’d strain off the old sources if we look at the Odissey in a more grounded way.

Mycenean ships were rickety at that time. Navigation was difficult. They would have stayed close to the cost.

Now that this age old question has been resolved, we really need to put our investigative acumen to that other great mystery from Antiquity and make a final determination of "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin".

100% AGREE

Can you please make a response to Lantern Jack's video on this?

The Odyssey i think took place in a major geographical scale. Odysseus crossed the mediterranean Sea and arrived Gibraltar. He went beyond the portuguese coast and he crossed the Atlantic ocean as well. Probably Charybdis and Scylla were huge typhoons in the ocean.

Someone made so many stops on the way home, like my mom.

First to hype this video 😎

Stellar as always!
Hyped! 👍

I'm curious what makes you think that Thrinacia isn't synonymous with Sicily since it was historically known as Trinacria?

11:44 “for I have not yet come near to Achaea (Greece)” (Od. 11. 166) would be weird to say on the banks of the Acheron if it was the Acheron in mainland Greece. Also makes it altogether unlikely that his whole journey up to that point could be anywhere σχεδον Αχαιιδος (near Greece).