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Zakynthos

Zakynthos, also known as Zante, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, with an area of 405.55 km2 (156.6 sq mi), and a coastline 123 km (76 mi) in length. The name, like all similar names ending in -nthos, is pre-Mycenaean or Pelasgian in origin. In Greek mythology, the island was said to be named after Zacynthus, the son of the legendary Arcadian chief Dardanus.

Zakynthos is a tourist destination, especially amongst British tourists, with an international airport served by charter flights from northern Europe. The island's nickname is "the Flower of the Levant", bestowed upon it by the Venetians, who ruled Zakynthos from 1484 to 1797.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed] 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.

The Athenian military commander Tolmides concluded an alliance with Zakynthos during the First Peloponnesian War, some time 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. 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.

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. Alternatively, the tar could be shipped to the Athenian naval yard at Piraeus for storage.In addition to tar and miltos, the Athenians sourced timber for shipbuilding from various regions, as Greece's limited forest resources necessitated the import of quality wood. This practice ensured a steady supply of essential materials for constructing and maintaining their naval fleet.

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 except for 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.

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

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). In 880, the Aghlabids raided Zakynthos, but were defeated by the Byzantine navy under Nasar. 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. A Latin bishopric was installed on the island, alongside the Orthodox one.

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Greek island in the Ionian Sea
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