Ancient history

The ancient Greek poet Homer mentioned Zakynthos in the Iliad and the Odyssey, stating that its first inhabitants were the son of King Dardanos of Arcadia, called Zakynthos, and his men. Before being renamed Zakynthos, the island was said to have been called Hyrie. Zakynthos was then conquered by King Arkesios of Kefalonia, and then by Odysseus from Ithaca. Zakynthos participated in the Trojan War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships which, if accurate, describes the geopolitical situation in early Greece at some time between the Late Bronze Age and the eighth century BC. In the Odyssey, Homer mentions 20 nobles from Zakynthos among a total of 108 of Penelope's suitors.^[5]

The Athenian military commander Tolmides concluded an alliance with Zakynthos during the First Peloponnesian War, sometime between 459 and 446 BC. In 430 BC, the Lacedaemonians led a force of about 1,000 heavy infantry, led by the Spartan admiral Cnemus, in an attack upon Zakynthos. Although the attackers managed to burn much of the surrounding countryside, the city itself refused to surrender and the attack ultimately failed.^[6] The Zakynthians are then enumerated among the autonomous allies of Athens in the disastrous Sicilian expedition. After the Peloponnesian War, Zakynthos seems to have passed under the supremacy of Sparta because in 374 BC, Timotheus, an Athenian commander, on his return from Kerkyra, landed some Zakynthian exiles on the island and assisted them in establishing a fortified post. These exiles must have belonged to the anti-Spartan party as the Zakynthian rulers applied for help to the Spartans who sent a fleet of 25 to the island.^[5][7][8]

The importance of this alliance for Athens was that it provided them with a source of tar. Tar is a more effective protector of ship planking than pitch (which is made from pine trees). The Athenian trireme fleet needed protection from rot, decay and the teredo, so this new source of tar was valuable to them. The tar was dredged up from the bottom of a lake (now known as Lake Keri) using leafy myrtle branches tied to the ends of poles. It was then collected in pots and could be carried to the beach and swabbed directly onto ship hulls.^[9] Alternatively, the tar could be shipped to the Athenian naval yard at Piraeus for storage.^[10]

Philip V of Macedon seized Zakynthos in the early 3rd century BC, when it was a member of the Aetolian League. In 211 BC, the Roman praetor Marcus Valerius Laevinus took the city of Zakynthos with the exception of the citadel. It was afterwards restored to Philip V of Macedon. The Roman general Marcus Fulvius Nobilior finally conquered Zakynthos in 191 BC for Rome. In the Mithridatic War, it was attacked by Archelaus, the general of Mithridates, but he was repulsed.^[5]

Medieval period

In 459, the island was plundered by the Vandals under Geiseric, who carried off 500 local aristocrats.^[11] Zakynthos appears to have been spared from the Slavic invasions of the 6th–7th centuries, as no Slavic names are attested on the island.^[11]

During the middle Byzantine period (7th–12th centuries), Zakynthos belonged to the Theme of Cephallenia, and the local bishopric was likewise a suffragan of Cephallenia (and later of the Metropolis of Corinth).^[11] In 880, the Aghlabids raided Zakynthos, but were defeated by the Byzantine navy under Nasar.^[11] Plundered by the Pisans in 1099, it was captured by Margaritus of Brindisi in 1185, and thereafter formed part of the County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos.^[11] A Latin bishopric was installed on the island, alongside the Orthodox one.^[11]

Venetian period and modern era

By 1460, and during the reign of Mehmed II, the Ottoman Turks eventually controlled most of the Peloponnese with the exception of the remaining Venetian-controlled towns of Argos, Nafplio, Monemvassia, Methoni and Koroni. After the collapse of the Hexamilion, which was supposed to act as a defense across the Isthmus of Corinth; and hence, protect the Peloponnese, Leonardo III Tocco made an agreement with Venice to accept 10,000 refugees from this region. Leonardo III Tocco and his realm was increasingly vulnerable from Ottoman Turkish attacks. These refugees consisted of Greeks, Arvanites and some Venetian officials.^[12] Zakynthos was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1478, but conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1482.^[11] It remained in Venetian hands, as part of the Venetian Ionian Islands, until the Fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797, and then passed successively under French rule, became part of the autonomous Septinsular Republic in 1800, before returning to the French in 1807. Seized by the British in 1809, it formed part of the United States of the Ionian Islands until the Union of the Ionian Islands with Greece in 1864.

Earthquakes

Zakynthos was hit by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake on 12 August 1953, destroying most of the buildings on the island. Subsequently, all buildings have been strengthened to protect against further tremors. On 26 October 2018, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake south of the island caused no injuries, but damaged the local pier and a 13th-century monastery.^[16]

Flora and fauna

The mild Mediterranean climate and plentiful winter rainfall endow the island with dense vegetation. The principal agricultural products are olive oil, currants, grapes and citrus fruit. The Zante currant is a small sweet seedless grape that is native to the island.

The Bay of Laganas is the site of the first National Marine Park and the prime nesting area for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean.^[18]

Climate

Zakynthos has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) with hot, dry summers and mild to cool, rainy winters. Like most of the Ionian Islands, it receives sizeable amounts of precipitation during the winter while the summers are mostly hot and sunny. The average annual temperature stands at around 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) while humidity is fairly high throughout the year, even during the summer months.

Sights

Navagio (shipwreck) bay

White cliffs on the coast of Zaknythos

Famous landmarks include the Navagio beach, a cove on the northwest shore isolated by high cliffs and accessible only by boat. Numerous natural "blue caves" are cut into cliffs around Cape Skinari; they are accessible only by small boats, which are popular amongst tourists.^[21] Keri, on the south of the island, is a mountain village with a lighthouse. The whole western shore from Keri to Skinari contains rock formations including arches.^[22]

Cliffs and stone arches at Cape Marathia

Northern and eastern shores feature numerous wide sandy beaches, some of which attract tourists in summer months. The largest resort is Laganas. Marathonissi islet (also known as "Turtle Island") near Limni Keriou has tropical vegetation, turquoise waters, beaches, and sea caves. Bochali hill above the Zakynthos town contains a small Venetian castle.

Regional unit

As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Zakynthos was created out of the former prefecture Zakynthos (Greek: Νομός Ζακύνθου). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. In the same reform, the current municipality Zakynthos was created out of the six former municipalities:^[23]

• Zakynthos (city)
• Alykes
• Arkadioi
• Artemisia
• Elatia
• Laganas

Literature

Faneromeni church, Zakynthos town

Since Zakynthos was under the rule of the Venetian Republic, it had closer contact with Western literary trends than other areas inhabited by Greek people.

An early literary work from the island is the Rimada, a 16th-century romance in verse about Alexander the Great.^[24] Notable early writers include Tzanes Koroneos, author of Andragathemata of Bouas, a work of historical fiction;^[25][26] Nikolaos Loukanis, a 16th-century Renaissance humanist;^[27] Markos Defaranas (1503–1575), possibly the author of the Rimada;^[28] Pachomios Roussanos (1508–1553), a scholar and theologian;^[29] and Antonio Catiforo (1685–1763), a grammarian and satirist.^[30][31][32]

Towards the end of the 18th century, the so-called Heptanese School of Literature developed, consisting mainly of lyrical and satirical poetry in the vein of Romanticism prevalent throughout Europe at the time. It also contributed to the development of modern Greek theatre. An important poet of this school was Zakynthian Dionysios Solomos; another was Nikolaos Koutouzis, who also figures prominently in the Heptanese School of Painting. Others include Georgios Tertsetis (1800–1873), politician, poet, and historian.

The 1998 novel 'Fugitive Pieces' by Canadian author Anne Michaels includes a section set on Zakynthos during the Nazi occupation. The young Jewish narrator, Jakob Beer, is hidden in a rural home. He notes that while he enjoyed the luxury of a room, 'thousands were stuffed into baking stoves, sewers, garbage bins. In the crawlspaces of double ceilings, in stables, pigsties, chicken coops'. The narrative refers to Mayor Karrer and Archbishop Chrysostomos's refusal to collaborate with the Germans.^[33]