On the track of Ulysses; Together with an excursion in quest of the so-called Venus of Melos Two studies in archaeology, made during a cruise among the Greek islands

Set against the shimmering backdrop of the Aegean, the narrator sails from island to island, retracing the legendary path of Odysseus as described in the ancient epic. Each stop is described with a mix of travel memoir and scholarly observation, inviting listeners to picture sun‑warmed harbors, crumbling ruins, and the lingering echo of myth in everyday stone. The narrative treats the old tale as a living map, suggesting plausible locations for the hero’s famous encounters while remaining grounded in the geography of the late‑nineteenth‑century voyage.

The companion essay turns to the famed Venus of Melos, the marble figure that has haunted scholars for generations. Drawing on sketches, photographs, and the ship’s own observations, the author proposes that the statue once crowned a temple dedicated to the winged goddess Nike, offering a fresh, if still tentative, solution to a long‑standing debate. Listeners will appreciate the thoughtful balance between hard evidence and the author's intuitive sense of artistic probability, all conveyed in a style that feels both scholarly and conversational.