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The Ionian Islands, also known as Eptanisa
(seven islands), are a group of islands just off the
western Greek coastline, in the Ionian Sea, very
well known from Homer’s scripts. For centuries
they have maintained their own identity and
culture that is unique, set into captivating
landscapes of rugged mountains, green hills and
the turquoise waters of the Ionian Sea.
T
he seven main islands of the Ionian group are
Kerkyra (or Corfu), Kefalonia, Zakynthos (or
Zante), Ithaca, Lefkada, Kythira and Paxoi. Of
the islets the most important are Antipaxos,
Othoni and Antikythira. Today, all the islands are
part of the Greek periphery of the Ionian Islands
(Ionioi Nisoi), except Kythira and Antikythira, which are part of the
periphery of Attica. Corfu has a population of 113.479 people
(including Paxoi), Zakynthos (38.680 people), Kefalonia (39.579
people) (including Ithaca), Lefkada (22.536 people), Ithaki
(3.052), Kythira (3.000 people) and Paxoi (2.438 people).
Although the Ionian Islands region is considerably small, both in
size and in population, it has greatly contributed to the Greek
culture thanks to its long and colourful course in time and its
advantageous geopolitical position that serves as a crossroad
between East and West. The Ionian Sea and its islands offer the
unique beauty of the Greek countryside combined with the
nobility of Venetian architecture.
H I S TOR Y & CU L T URE
The islands were settled by Greeks at an early date, possibly as
early as 1200 BC, and certainly by the 9th century BC. The early
Eretrian settlement at Kerkyra was displaced by colonists from
Corinth in 734 BC. The islands were mostly a backwater during
Ancient Greek times and played little part in Greek politics.
Ithaca was the name of the island home of Odysseas in the epic
Homer’s Odyssey. Their lands have seen many conquerors, such
as Saracens, Normans and Franks, but the ones who left their
mark were the Venetians who ruled them between 1485 and 1797
when the French democratic flag was raised in the Ionians. A year
later, the Turks tried to invade the islands only to be repelled by
the Russians who established the Autonomous Greek State of the
Seven Islands. In 1809, the region becomes a domain of the
British Empire before its restitution to Greece in 1864. In 1941,
when Axis forces occupied Greece, the Ionian Islands (except
Kythira) were handed over to the Italians, who in their three years
of rule attempted to Italianize the population of Corfu. In August of
1953, the islands were struck by an extremely powerful
earthquake, of 7.1 degrees in Richter scale causing extensive
building damages, while the islands of Kefalonia and Zakynthos
were practically levelled. The islands were reconstructed from the
ground up over the following years, under a strict building code.
The code has proven extremely effective, since many
earthquakes after that time have caused no damage to new
buildings.
The islands of the Ionian seem to exist between two worlds, one
of exquisite serenity and the other of fun and entertainment. The
influences as a result of conquerors were incorporated into the
MEETINGREECE
116
IONIAN ISLANDS
Culture, luxury & tradition
meet in a
special way