Ithaca

Greek island in the Ionian Sea, area 93 sq km/36 sq mi; population (1996 est) 3,700. Important in pre-classical Greece, Ithaca was (in Homer's poem) the birthplace of Odysseus, though this is sometimes identified with the island of Lefkada (some archaeologists have equated ancient Ithaca with Lefkada rather than modern Ithaca).

Ithaca

City and seat of Tompkins County, in central New York State; population (1990) 29,500. Ithaca, which is located in the Finger Lakes region 80 km/50 mi southwest of Syracuse, is the site of Cornell University (founded 1865).

Ithaca stands at the southern end of Cayuga Lake and is the southern terminus of the New York State Barge Canal. It was established in 1789 by the surveyor general of New York, Simeon DeWitt, and developed as an agricultural and forestry centre. The foundation here of Ithaca College in 1892 stimulated further development. It remains an important agricultural centre, housing the state Veterinary College and the College of Agriculture, farm cooperative organizations, and a federal plant and soil laboratory. Industries here manufacture salt, chain drives, research instruments, heat-resistant materials, and dairy goods. The city is also home to Tompkins-Cortland Community College. Several gorges, carved by creeks, run through the city. Buttermilk Falls, Taughannock Falls, and Robert T Treman state parks are nearby. Surrounding the city to the east, south, and west is Ithaca township; population (1990) 17,800.