ODYSSEUS' NAVIGATIONS		THE PROJECT  :
(texte français: cliquez ici)		Object
		An international project sponsored by the National Naval Museum (Paris), the Musée national des Arts et Traditions Populaires (Paris), The French Ethnology Center (National Scientific Research Center, Paris), the Center for Mediterranean Studies at Tel-Aviv University.

THE PROJECT 1 Object 2 State of knowledge 3 Research work to be done A NEW EXPEDITION THE 1999' EXPEDITION THE 2000' EXPEDITION		Jean Cuisenier steering the catamaran of the 1999 expedition during a gale offshore Sardinia.   The object is to trace the sea routes followed by Greek navigators during their great process of colonization of the Mediterranean, as they are evoked in Homer's Odyssey. In order to do this, on must : - place oneself in conditions similar to those experienced Odysseus and his companions; - trace the places where they stopped and stayed; - evoke them as precisely as possible with views of the sites, of the natural environment, of the fauna and flora, of the social pratices of the time; - follow closely Homer's text, in order to interpret it in the light of the Nautical Instructions, sea charts, seamen's and fishermen's empiric knowlege; - live through meteorological and hydrographical conditions similar to those met by Greek sailors so as to understand them, but on board a modern ship with appropriate scientific equipment, so as to study them; - collect data on these very sites and take measurements for further investigations; -finally, the results obtained must be communicated and valorized, so asto enable a full appreciation of the Mediterranean world and its ancient cultures, and of the quality of the sites to be preserved.
Texts and pictures are protected by copyright. Please send me a mail by clicking on the left icon for permission to reproduce any of them for any other purposes than private use. NB: Please d on't be surprised if I don't answer you immediately, since I am frequently working in the field or on nautical expedition.