Petalas (Greek: Πεταλάς) is the largest island (area ) of the
Echinades
The Echinades (; Greek: per Herodotus, Thucydides, and Strabo, per Homer Echinae (, it, Curzolari) are a group of islands in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Acarnania, Greece. The archipelago is commonly subdivided into three groups: the Drakon ...
, among the
Ionian Islands group of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
. , it had no resident population.
Some, including
William Martin Leake
William Martin Leake (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English military man, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British military, spending much of his career in the
Mediterrane ...
, have suggested that Petalas is the site of ancient
Dulichium
Dulichium ( grc, Δουλίχιον ''Doulíkhion''),Hom. Il2.625/ref> also called Dolicha (Δολίχα ''Dolíkhā'') or Doliche (Δολίχη ''Dolíkhē''), was a place noted by numerous ancient writers that was either a city on, or an islan ...
, from which 40 ships sailed to
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...
in the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...
''. However,
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...
and most modern authors have identified Dulichium as
Makri, a nearby island in the Echinades.
Petalas, which is privately owned, was recently offered for sale under the name Dulichium for the asking price of US$44,622,936.19.
References
External links
Island of Petalas for salePetalas on GTP Travel Pages
(in English and Greek)
Echinades
Islands of Greece
Islands of the Ionian Islands (region)
Landforms of Cephalonia
{{Ionian-geo-stub