IONIAN ISLANDS

THE 7 GREEK ISLANDS OF THE GODS

The Ionian Islands (in Greek Ιόνια νησιά?, Iónia nisiá; in ancient Greek: Ἰόνιοι Νῆσοι?, Iónioi Nêsoi; in Venetian Ìxołe Ionie) are a Greek archipelago in the Ionian Sea. Traditionally referred to as the Eptanesos, meaning "The Seven Eptánīsa Islands.

The archipelago actually includes many other islands in addition to the seven largest.

They constitute a distinct historical region in themselves with strong Italian and especially Venetian cultural influences that developed from the centuries-old Venetian rule, which ensured that the islands were not subjugated by the Ottoman Empire.

The archipelago finally became part of the modern Greek state in 1864. Administratively, the islands today belong to the region of the Ionian Islands, except for Kythira which is part of the region of Attica.

The historical region of the Ionian Islands consists of seven major islands (and the surrounding islets), which formed the so-called "Eptanesos", meaning "The Seven Islands".

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The historical region of the Ionian Islands consists of seven major islands (and the surrounding islets), which formed the so-called "Heptanesos", or "The Seven Islands".

From north to south, they are:

Corfu (Κέρκυρα)

Passo, also called Paxos or Paxi (Παξοί)

Lefkada, also called Lefkàda or Santa Maura (Λευκάδα)

Ithaca (Ιθάκη)

Kefalonia (Κεφαλλονιά)

Zakynthos, also called Zakynthos (Ζάκυνθος)

Kiterich (Κύθηρα)

Of these seven major islands, the current administrative region does not include the island of Kythira, which today falls within Attica.

They are mostly mountainous islands, with a hot and humid climate.

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MYTHS AND LEGENDS
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The island of Corfu narrated by Homer
Corfu is pure seduction and a land of contrasts, for its coastlines between white beaches and high dark rocks, and because it was the scene of some of the most beautiful love stories in mythology. The king of Ithaca, Ulysses, a mythological hero sung by Homer in the Odyssey, includes Corfu among the destinations of his journeys to return home, famous for being studded with encounters with fantastic characters. Ulysses was shipwrecked in Corfu after Poseidon - god of the sea, tidal waves and earthquakes - transformed his boat into stone, landing on the beach of Ermones. Here he met the charming Nausicaa, daughter of Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians, intent on washing clothes with her servants and he let herself be taken by her to visit the island. The beautiful princess accompanied the hero to his father in his palace, now destroyed and corresponding to the Orthodox monastery of Paleokastritsa. To discover the island by reliving the suggestion of the Homeric myth, reach by boat the gulf of Paleokastritsa, the scene of Ulysses' shipwreck. Here the wind has carved the rock creating cliffs with particular shapes. Among these, the "Scoglio di Ulisse" is wrapped in a landscape of dark rocks, which create a suggestive contrast with the turquoise waters of the Ionian Sea and the white of the beaches of the many coves. At the top of the mountain overlooking the gulf stand the Orthodox monastery of Paleokastritsa and the adjacent church, corners of spirituality and meditation, hidden among pink bougainvillea and enchanting glimpses of the sea.

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The Legend of Sappho
Lefkada is also associated with the poet Sappho, famous for her love poetry. According to legend, when Sappho was on the edge of the cliffs of Lefkada, facing unrequited love, she chose to throw herself into the sea in an act of desperation. However, legend has it that Apollo intervened and turned her into a stone, saving her from death. Even today, it is said that her voice can be heard in the wind blowing over the cliffs of Lefkada.

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The Encounter of Odysseus and Artemis
According to Homer’s Odyssey, the Greek hero Odysseus came across Lefkada during his long journey home. During his stay on the island, Odysseus is said to have made a sacrifice to Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, to gain her aid on his journey. It is said that Artemis appeared to Odysseus and offered him her support, allowing him to continue his journey safely.

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The ruins of the Temple of Apollo
Another testimony to the myths and legends surrounding Lefkada are the ruins of the Temple of Apollo. It is said that this temple was dedicated to Apollo, the God of the Sun, and that it was built to celebrate the victory of the island over an enemy invasion. Although the ruins are now a tourist attraction, their mythological past gives them an aura of mystery and charm.

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The Kingdom of Cephalonia

According to Apollodorus of Athens, the first king of Cephalonia was Thapius, son of Poseidon and Hippotho.
Pterelaus, son of Thapius, received a golden hair as a gift from his grandfather Poseidon, which would make him immortal as long as it remained on his head.
The island of Cephalonia, which had become very powerful in the meantime, asked the Mycenaeans to give back a substantial part of the kingdom, but their king Electryon refused.
The Taphians, in retaliation, stole Electryon's flocks, and he did not forgive them; when Amphitryon, king of Thebes, asked for the hand of his daughter Alcmene, Electryon agreed on the condition that Amphitryon avenge him.
Amphitryon, aided by Cephalus and Eleius, planned the downfall of Thapius.
They would never have defeated the immortal king if it had not been for Pterelaus' daughter, Comaetho, who fell in love with Amphitryon. One night while her father was sleeping she cut the magic hair from his head and Pterelaus, now mortal, was defeated. The daughter, for the treachery, was sentenced to death and Amphitryon returned to Thebes after delivering the spoils to his friend Cephalus.

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THE IONIAN SEA

Its name, in Latin mare Ionium, in ancient Greek Ἰόνιος θάλασσα, Iónios thálassa, is linked to ancient Ionia and the Greek lineage of the same name. According to one explanation, it is called this because of Io, Ἰώ in ancient Greek, who, daughter of Inachus, lord of Argos, loved by Zeus, transformed into a heifer, persecuted by Hera, swam across the sea to escape her.

In Greek mythology, Ionio was a young man endowed with great courage, son of Durazzo, a valiant fighter known for having liberated a region of Dalmatia, victim of cannibal giants, who acclaimed him as their king. Grandson of Poseidon, he lived a peaceful life, which would have led him to marry a beautiful princess of the kingdom of the seas, until, however, a few days before the wedding, his uncles declared war on his brother Durazzo to take over his kingdom. The latter, knowing that he could not prevail over the powerful Germans, then sent his son to find trusted allies and these, surprising him, returned with the most valiant of heroes, the demigod Hercules, or Heracles, son of Zeus and Almena, a legendary and invincible figure.

Thus began a bloody war, which lasted six months, in which the hero, although wounded and blinded in one eye, managed to ensure victory for Durazzo. However, in these pitched battles, Ionio also lost his life, his body, laid out in a coffin, abandoned among the waves of that sea, so beloved, which from that moment took his name.

According to another version, the waters of the Ionian Sea concealed the mysterious Island of Ogygia, home of the mythical Calypso, also narrated by Homer in the Odyssey, where Ulysses was shipwrecked and stopped for seven years. In this place of enchantment, the beautiful nymph, daughter of Atlas, exiled by the gods for having sided with her father in the “Titanomachy”, a fight led by Zeus, Poseidon and Hades against the Titans, fell in love with Ulysses and seduced him, promising him immortality to keep him with her, which the Ithacan, however, refused. Legend places the island in this sea so much so that its deepest point, off the coast of the Peloponnese, is called “Calypso Abyss”.

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