What was the name of Odysseus’ city?

No, the name of the capital, city, village or port is not mentioned in Homer's Illiad or Odyssey. We must turn to Ploútarchos (Πλούταρχος) whom we know better as Plutarch (AD 46–after AD 119). In his book 'Quaestiones Graecae', this Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and priest, addresses the question of Ithaka's (main) city.

[Odysseus embracing his father Laertes after returning home to Ithaka]

In Question 43 of the aforementioned book Plutarch asks: τί δήποτε τὴν Ἰθάκην Ἀλαλκομενὰς ἐκάλουν; ἢ διὰ τὸ τὴν Athena Ἀλαλκομενηΐδα τιμᾶσθαι παρ’ αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὸν Odysseus μάλιστα τῇ θεῷ προσκεῖσθαι. This can be translated as 'Why did they call Ithaca ‘Alalcomenae’? Is it because Athena Alalcomeneis was honored among them, and Odysseus was especially devoted to the goddess?'

If we move beqond Plutarch, we find a much fuller antiquarian tradition, preserved in later sources (often attributed to scholia or mythographical compilations drawing on Hellenistic scholars like Istros.

πόθεν ἡ τῶν ᾽Ιθακησίων πόλις ᾽Αλαλκομεναὶ προσηγορεύθη; διὰ τὸ τὴν ᾽Αντίκλειαν ὑπὸ Σισύφου βιασθεῖσαν ἐν τῆι παρθενίαι τὸν ᾽Οδυσσέα συλλαβεῖν· ὑπὸ πλειόνων δ᾽ ἐστὶν εἰρημένον. ῎Ιστρος δὲ ὁ ᾽Αλεξανδρεὺς ἐν ῾Υπομνήμασι προσιστόρηκεν, ὅτι τῶι Λαέρτηι δοθεῖσα πρὸς γάμον καὶ ἀναγομένη περὶ τὸ ᾽Αλαλκομένειον ἐν τῆι Βοιωτίαι τὸν ᾽Οδυσσέα τέκοι· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐκεῖνος ὥσπερ μητροπόλεως ἀναφέρων τοὐνομα τὴν ἐν ᾽Ιθάκηι πόλιν οὕτω φησὶ προσαγορεύεσθαι.

Translation: 'Whence did the city of the Ithacans come to be called Alalcomenae? Because Anticleia, having been violated by Sisyphus while still a maiden, conceived Odysseus; and this has been said by many. But Istros the Alexandrian records in his Commentaries that, after being given to Laertes in marriage and conveyed by sea, she bore Odysseus near Alalcomenium in Boeotia; and for this reason he (Odysseus), as if referring back to his mother-city, is said to have given that name to the city in Ithaca'.

Thus, the city on Ithaka was called Alalcomenae in honour of a city with the same name in Boeotia.

The problem, of course, is that Plutarch (supposedly) lived more than a 1,000 years after the events that were described in the works of Homer. During that long period of time, memories will become legends. Legends fade to myth. Myths get embellished with spurious material to muddle history.

Can we walk back in history and find a more ancient source that mentions the name of Odysseus city? The sad answer is: Unfortunately no.

Possibly both the name of the island (or peninsula) and its city were both called Ithaka. This solution corroborates with our conclusion in a previous post, where we found that the name Ithaka may well have had the meaning of 'old' or 'ancient'. One would think that both the city and its surroundings may well have deserved that epithet.

A potential Ithaka on Paliki is the hamlet of Atheras, where a Medieval structure - pompously called 'a castle' - is found. The verb alalkein (ἀλαλκεῖν) can be translated as 'to ward off', 'to defend', and 'to protect' which suggest a defensive place or castle. Can Atheras be our Ithaka?