Lefkada ( el, Λευκάδα, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
and
Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'',
modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a
Greek island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...
in the
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...
on the west coast of Greece, connected to the mainland by a long
causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tr ...
and
floating bridge. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is
Lefkada.
It is situated on the northern part of the island, approximately 25 minutes by automobile away from
Aktion National Airport
Aktion National Airport is an airport serving Preveza and Lefkada in Greece. It is also known as Preveza Airport. It is also used by NATO and Hellenic Air Force Command. The airport commenced operations in 1968.
History
In December 2015, the ...
. The island is part of the
regional unit of Lefkada.
Geography
Lefkada measures from north to south, and from east to west. The area of the island is about , the area of the municipality (including the islands Kalamos, Kastos and several smaller islets) is .
Its highest point is the mountain
Stavrota,
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''.
Th ...
,
[Oreivatein.com]
/ref> situated in the middle of the island. The east coast section of the island has small resorts of Lygia
Lygia ( el, Λυγιά) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Vartholomio, Elis, Greece. Its population in 2011 was 286 for the village and 787 for the community, which includes the villages Arkoudi, Glyfa, Ioniki and Paralia. Lygi ...
, Nikiana and Perigiali, all north of Nidri, the largest resort on the island. It is set in a sheltered location with views across to Skorpios (formerly owned by Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; el, Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης, Aristotélis Onásis, ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975), was a Greek-Argentinian shipping magnate who amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and wa ...
), Meganisi and other small islands, as well as the Greek mainland. The main coastal road from Lefkada to Vasiliki runs through the village, although a bypass has now been completed which skirts the village to the west. There are regular car ferries to Kefalonia
Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...
, Ithaca
Ithaca most commonly refers to:
*Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey''
*Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca
*Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College
Ithaca, Ithaka ...
and Meganissi.
south of Nidri is the resort of Vasiliki, a windsurfing
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
center. There are ferries to Kefalonia and Ithaca from Vasiliki. South of Vasiliki is Cape Lefkada, where the Greek female poet Sappho
Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...
allegedly leapt to her death from the 30 m high cliffs.
The famous beach of Porto Katsiki is located on Lefkada's west coast. Lefkada was attached to mainland Greece (see below about Homer's Ithaca being Lefkada). The Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...
ians dug a trench in the 7th century BC on its isthmus.
The southernmost tip of the island is called Cape Dukato, a name sometimes applied to the whole island.
Climate
The island has a typical Mediterranean climate: hot summers and cool winters, especially in the mountains.
History
Antiquity
The stories of Sappho
Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...
's suicide and that of Artemisia of Caria jumping from the cliffs at Cape Lefkada are related to other myths linking the island to the ancient Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols incl ...
. The island is also linked to Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...
, the hero of Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's Odyssey. The German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
archaeologist Wilhelm Dörpfeld, having performed excavations at various locations of Lefkada, was able to obtain funding to do work on the island by suggesting that Lefkada was Homer's Ithaca
Ithaca (; Greek: Ιθάκη, ''Ithakē'') was, in Greek mythology, the island home of the hero Odysseus. The specific location of the island, as it was described in Homer's ''Odyssey'', is a matter for debate. There have been various theories ...
, and the palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
of Odysseus was located west of Nydri on the south coast of Lefkada. There have been suggestions by local tourism officials that several passages in the Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) 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 '' Iliad'', ...
point to Lefkada as a possible model for Homeric Ithaca. The most notable of these passages pushed by the local tourism board describes Ithaca as an island reachable on foot, which was the case for Lefkada since it is not really an island, being connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. According to 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 ...
, the coast of Acarnania
Acarnania ( el, Ἀκαρνανία) is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today i ...
was called Leucas in earlier times. The ancient sources call Leucas a Corinthian colony, perhaps with a Corcyraen participation. In medieval British legend, Brutus of Troy
Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British history as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears in the '' Historia Brittonum'', an anony ...
found Lefkada abandoned after pirate attacks, and after offering a sacrifice to a statue of Diana in the temple of a ruined city there, was granted a vision telling him to go to Britain and found an empire.
The ancient town was founded in the 7th century BC, somewhat to the south of the modern capital of the island. During the Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of ...
, Leucas joined the Peloponnesian League
The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of ancient Greek city-states, dominated by Sparta and centred on the Peloponnese, which lasted from c.550 to 366 BC. It is known mainly for being one of the two rivals in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 ...
.
The town was conquered during the 3rd century by Agathocles of Syracuse.
Middle Ages
Byzantine period
No information survives on the island during the early Byzantine period
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, when the town possibly disappeared in the turmoils of the Migration Period
The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roma ...
. Nevertheless, unlike the Epirote mainland, where widespread Slavic settlement is attested from the late 6th until mid-8th centuries, only a handful of traces attest to a Slavic settlement in Lefkada.
Information continues to be sparse during the middle Byzantine period. The island is attested as a bishopric at the Fourth Council of Constantinople in 879, and was raised to archbishopric under Emperor Leo VI the Wise (). Administratively, it was likely part of the Theme of Cephallenia. Liutprand of Cremona visited the island during his 968 embassy to Constantinople. In 1099 it was raided by Dagobert of Pisa, and it is mentioned in al-Idrisi's geography in the mid-12th century.
Epirote and Latin rule
The Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...
was accorded privileges in the island in 1198 and possession of the island in the treaty of partition of the Byzantine Empire in 1204. Lefkada apparently became part of the Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate of Epirus ( gkm, Δεσποτᾶτον τῆς Ἠπείρου) was one of the Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It clai ...
, although this is not explicitly attested until 1259.
The name Santa Maura is first attested for the island and its capital in 1292, when Genoese ships in Byzantine employ raided it. In 1295, the Despot of Epirus Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas ceded the island to his son-in-law, the Count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos John I Orsini. Orsini soon after received permission from Charles II of Naples
Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (french: Charles le Boiteux; it, Carlo lo Zoppo; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Mai ...
to build a castle there, which became the core of the Castle of Santa Maura
The Castle of Santa Maura ( el, Κάστρο της Αγίας Μαύρας) is a fortress on the northeastern tip of the Greek island of Lefkada. The castle began as a small fortification in to control access to the island, before it was expanded ...
.
The Orsini family lost Lefkada in 1331 to Walter VI of Brienne
Walter VI of Brienne (c. 1304 – 19 September 1356) was a French nobleman and crusader. He was the count of Brienne in France, the count of Conversano and Lecce in southern Italy and claimant to the Duchy of Athens in Frankish Greece.
Lif ...
, who in 1343 ceded the ''castrum Sancte Maure'' and the island to the Venetian Graziano Giorgio. In 1360/62, Leonardo I Tocco seized Lefkada, assuming the title of duke (''dux Lucate''), whence the island is sometimes also referred to as "the Duchy" (''el Ducato'' and variants thereof) in Western sources of the period. The local Orthodox archbishop was evicted. After Albanian clans took over much of Epirus in the 1350s and 1360s, they launched frequent attacks on the island between 1375 and 1395. Carlo I Tocco Carlo I Tocco was the hereditary Count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from 1376, and ruled as the Despot of Epirus from 1411 until his death on July 4, 1429.
Life
Carlo I was the son of Count Leonardo I Tocco of Cephalonia and Leukas by Madda ...
() made the island the capital of his domains, which apart from the County palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos also included much of the Epirote mainland, and enlarged the fortified town.
In 1413, the Prince of Achaea
The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Though more or less autonomous, the principality was never a fully independent sta ...
, Centurione II Zaccaria, launched an attack on Lefkada and its castle with Albanian mercenaries, but were defeated with help from the Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...
. The Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
captured most of Epirus and raided the island, leading the Tocci to consider ceding it to the Venetians.
Faced with expanding Ottoman power in the mainland, the Tocci became vassals of the Ottoman sultans. The last of them, Leonardo III Tocco () was helped to maintain his rule through his marriage to Milica Branković, a niece of the highly esteemed stepmother of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed the Conqueror
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
(); but when she died, he married the Aragonese Francesca Marzano. The couple quickly became hated by their Greek subjects due to their oppressive taxation. Lefkada, along with Cephalonia and Zakynthos, was captured by the Ottoman admiral Gedik Ahmed Pasha in 1479. Part of the population was deported to Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
as part of Mehmed's
policy to repopulate his capital.
Ottoman period
The Ottomans called the island Levkada ( ota, لفكادة or ), with the name Aya Mavra (, from Greek , meaning "Santa Maura") reserved for the castle and capital of the island, where almost the entire population lived. Under Ottoman rule, it was initially a ''kaza
A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough')
* bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза
* el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also ()
* lad, kaza
, ...
'' of the ''sanjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
'' of Karli-Eli, which from belonged to the Eyalet of the Archipelago, subordinated to the chief admiral of the Ottoman navy, the ''Kapudan Pasha
The Kapudan Pasha ( ota, قپودان پاشا, modern Turkish: ), was the Grand Admiral of the navy of the Ottoman Empire. He was also known as the ( ota, قپودان دریا, links=no, modern: , "Captain of the Sea"). Typically, he was bas ...
''. The ''kaza'' of Lefkada comprised not only the island, but also part of the adjoining mainland. The Venetians briefly occupied the island in 1502–03 during the Second Ottoman–Venetian War
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...
, but returned it to the Ottomans in the final peace settlement. With about a thousand inhabitants in , the town of Lefkada was both the largest settlement and the main military installation in the ''sanjak'', with 111 soldiers and 9 artillerymen. As with the rest of the ''sanjak'', at the time the entire population appears to have been Christian, and only the fortress garrisons and administrators were Muslim; thus the only mosques were located inside the fortresses.
A lack of water led to the construction of a long aqueduct from the island's interior to the town in 1564, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
(). Bringing water to the walled town as well as to the much larger—some 700–800 houses—open town that had grown around it was one of the most important works of Ottoman civil architecture in the western Balkans. On top of the aqueduct was a footpath that provided the only access to the island other than by the sea. In the aftermath of the Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...
, the castle was unsuccessfully besieged by the forces of the Holy League. As a result, it was completely rebuilt and enlarged by the ''Kapudan Pasha'' Kılıç Ali Pasha in 1572–1574 into a hexagonal fortress with large towers as artillery platforms.
In the 17th century, Lefkada became a separate ''sanjak'' within the Eyalet of the Archipelago, although according to Evliya Çelebi it belonged briefly to the Morea Eyalet in the 15th and 17th centuries. Evliya visited the island in 1670/71 and left a long and accurate description of the fortifications as well as of the town, where Islam had apparently made considerable progress. According to Evliya, the walled town boasted five Friday mosques, including an Imperial Mosque (''Hünkar Camii''), which was a converted church, a minor mosque (''masjid''), a ''madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
'', two schools ('' maktab''), a bath ('' hammam''), and five public fountains (''çeshme''). The walled town with its 200 stone houses was now occupied exclusively by Muslims, while the two suburbs (''varosh'') to the east and west were built of wood and had a mixed population. The western one was far larger, with 300 houses to 40–50 in the eastern one, and had a wooden mosque and ''masjid'', a '' tekke'', a ''maktab'', two caravanserai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
s, as well as seven small churches. Evliya remarks that this suburb had many wineshops, which were popular with both the inhabitants and the garrison. Another suburb (the ''Varosh-i Lefqada'') was located on the island itself, with some 700 houses, all of them inhabited by Christian Greeks, who had 20 churches. Evliya's account is corroborated by Jacob Spon
Jacob Spon (or Jacques; in English dictionaries given as James) (1647 in Lyon – 25 December 1685, in Vevey, Switzerland) was a French doctor and archaeologist, was a pioneer in the exploration of the monuments of Greece, and a scholar of inte ...
and George Wheler George Wheler may refer to:
* Sir George Wheler (travel writer)
Sir George Wheler (20 January 1651 – 15 January 1724 ) was an English clergyman and travel writer.
Life
The son of Charles Wheler of Charing, Kent, colonel in the Life Guards, ...
's account that the town had about 5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants, mostly Greeks or Turks.
According to the descriptions of travellers like Evliya, Lefkada was an urban centre of some importance, boasting "two of the largest works of Ottoman civil and military architecture in the Western Balkans", namely the aqueduct built by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
() and the Castle of Santa Maura, which was completely rebuilt by Kılıç Ali Pasha in the reign of Sultan Selim II
Selim II (Ottoman Turkish: سليم ثانى ''Selīm-i sānī'', tr, II. Selim; 28 May 1524 – 15 December 1574), also known as Selim the Blond ( tr, Sarı Selim) or Selim the Drunk ( tr, Sarhoş Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire f ...
().
Venetian period
The island was conquered by the Venetians under Francesco Morosini
Francesco Morosini (26 February 1619 – 16 January 1694) was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694, at the height of the Great Turkish War. He was one of the many Doges and generals produced by the noble Venetian family of Morosini.Encyclopæd ...
following a sixteen-day siege in 1684, during the opening stages of the Morean War
The Morean War ( it, Guerra di Morea), also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as the " Great Turkish War", between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Militar ...
. Morosini evacuated the walled town and demolished both it and the two suburbs directly outside the walls, turning them into the castle's ''glacis
A glacis (; ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More generally, a glacis ...
''. Only the island suburb remained, known as "Amaxiki" until the 19th century. With the evicted inhabitants settling there, this became the main town of the island, the predecessor of the modern city of Lefkada. The Venetians also removed all buildings associated with Islam.
The Venetians modernized the castle in the 1710s, removing the last traces of the medieval castle and adding outworks towards the eastern, mainland side. During the Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War, following the Ottoman reconquest of the Morea in 1715, the Venetians initially abandoned Lefkada to focus their resources on the defence of Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
. The castle was abandoned and partly demolished, but after the Siege of Corfu ended in a Venetian victory, the island was reoccupied and the fortifications restored.
Venetian rule over the island was uninterrupted, apart from a rebellion of the local Greeks in 1769, until the Fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797.
Post-Venetian period until the union with Greece
Following the end of the Republic of Venice in 1797, Lefkada, like the other Venetian Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands were an overseas possession of the Republic of Venice from the mid-14th century until the late 18th century. The conquest of the islands took place gradually. The first to be acquired was Cythera and the neighboring islet ...
, was occupied by the French, who held it until a Russo-Turkish expedition under Fyodor Ushakov
Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov ( rus, Фёдор Фёдорович Ушако́в, p=ʊʂɐˈkof; – ) was an 18th century Russian naval commander and admiral. He is notable for winning every engagement he participated in as the Admiral of t ...
captured it in 1799. In 1800, the Septinsular Republic was established, a Russian protectorate under ''de jure'' Ottoman suzerainty. The Russian Empire employed troops recruited from fugitive klepht
Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were kno ...
s and armatoloi in the Ionian Islands, particularly of Lefkada. Among these were captains Anastasios Tselios and Apostolos Levendakis, the latter of whom in 1802 offered to raise a company of 60 fighters on Lefkada to support the Russians. Ali Pasha of Ioannina
Ali Pasha of Ioannina (1740 – 24 January 1822), was an Albanian ruler who served as pasha of a large part of western Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territories, which was referred to as the Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioann ...
, who coveted possession of the Ionian Islands, besieged Lefkada in 1807. For this purpose he erected two forts on the mainland shore, the Tekke Castle and the St. George's Castle, but his attacks on the Castle of Santa Maura were successfully repulsed by the local Russian and Greek forces of the Septinsular Republic. French rule was restored in 1807 after the Treaty of Tilsit, but in 1810, the British captured the island. In 1815, the United Kingdom set up the United States of the Ionian Islands as a protectorate, including Lefkada.
Much of the town, including the Ottoman aqueduct, was destroyed in an earthquake in 1825. After this, the town was rebuilt in wood to prevent similar damage. In 1864 the islands were ceded to Greece. The island then numbered about 24,000 inhabitants.
Lafcadio Hearn Historical Center
The first museum in Europe for Lafcadio Hearn
, born Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (; el, Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χέρν, Patríkios Lefkádios Chérn, Irish: Pádraig Lafcadio O'hEarain), was an Irish- Greek- Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture a ...
, who was born on the island and is named after it, was inaugurated in Lefkada on July 4, 2014, as Lafcadio Hearn Historical Center. It contains early editions, rare books and Japanese collectibles. The visitors, through photos, texts and exhibits, can wander in the significant events of Lafcadio Hearn's life, and also in the civilizations of Europe, America and Japan of late 18th and early 19th centuries through the open mind of his lectures, writings and tales. The municipalities of Kumamoto, Matsue, Shinjuku, Yaizu, as well as Toyama University, the Koizumi family, and other people from Japan and Greece contributed to the establishment of the Lafcadio Hearn Historical Center.
Municipality
The present municipality of Lefkada was formed in the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 7 former municipalities, which became municipal units:[
*]Apollonioi
Apollonioi ( el, Απολλώνιοι) is a former municipality on the island of Lefkada, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lefkada, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the ...
* Ellomenos
*Kalamos
Kalamos ( grc, Κάλαμος, lit= reed, reed pen; la, Calamus) is a Greek mythological figure. He is son of Maiandros, the god of the Maeander river.
Mythology
A story in Nonnus's ''Dionysiaca'' tells about the love of two youths, Kalamos ...
* Karya
* Kastos
* Lefkada (city)
* Sfakiotes
The municipality covers the island of Lefkada and the smaller islands of Kastos and Kalamos
Kalamos ( grc, Κάλαμος, lit= reed, reed pen; la, Calamus) is a Greek mythological figure. He is son of Maiandros, the god of the Maeander river.
Mythology
A story in Nonnus's ''Dionysiaca'' tells about the love of two youths, Kalamos ...
.
Education
Regional Development department, part of Ionian university based in Lefkada.
Transport
* Greek National Road 42
* Aktion (Preveza) Airport
Notable people
(in chronological order)
* Marcos Christino Fioravanti (1775–1862), co-founder of Santo Antônio da Patrulha in Brazil
*Frederick Temple
Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902).
Early life
T ...
(1821–1902), Archbishop of Canterbury
*Aristotelis Valaoritis
Aristotelis Valaoritis ( el, Αριστοτέλης Βαλαωρίτης; 1824–1879) was a Greek poet, representative of the Heptanese School, and politician. He was also the great-grandfather of Nanos Valaoritis, one of the most distinguishe ...
(1824–1879), poet and politician
*Lafcadio Hearn
, born Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (; el, Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χέρν, Patríkios Lefkádios Chérn, Irish: Pádraig Lafcadio O'hEarain), was an Irish- Greek- Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture a ...
(1850–1904), Greco-Irish orientalist and writer, named after the island
*Petros Soumilas
Petros Soumilas or Soumilis ( el, Πέτρος Σουμίλας/Σουμίλης) was a Hellenic Army officer who reached the rank of lieutenant general.
Life
He was born in Leukas (then under British rule) on 1 January 1861. He joined the He ...
(1861–1955), Greek Army officer who reached the rank of lieutenant general.
* Dimitrios Golemis (1874–1941), athlete
* Grigorios Karydis (1912–1968), musician, opera composer and professor of philharmonic orchestra
* Aggelos Sikelianos (1884–1951), poet and playwright
*Tzavalas Karousos
Tzavalas Karousos (Greek: Τζαβαλάς Καρούσος; 8 September 1904 – 3 January 1969) was a Greek actor.
Career
He was born in Lefkada and first acted in the theatre participating in the Veakis- Nezer (Nesser) theatrical company. ...
or Karoussos (1904–1969), actor
*Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; el, Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης, Aristotélis Onásis, ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975), was a Greek-Argentinian shipping magnate who amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and wa ...
, (1906–1975), Greek shipping tycoon
* Panos Rontoyannis (1911–1996), philologist and historian
*Theodoros Stamos
Theodoros Stamos (Greek: Θεόδωρος Στάμος) (December 31, 1922 – February 2, 1997) was a Greek-American painter. He is one of the youngest painters of the original group of abstract expressionist painters (the so-called " Irasc ...
(1922–1997), Greek-American painter
* Apostolos Kaklamanis (1936-), politician
Evaggelos Vlassopoulos
(1935–2002), politician
* George Ktenas (1938-2004), politician
*Gerasimos Caclamanes Gerasimos ( el, Γεράσιμος) is a Greek given name derived from Greek "γέρας" ("gΕras", "gift of honour, prize, reward"). The suffix -ιμος gives the meaning "the one who deserves honour". It can also be anglicized as "Gerassimos" or ...
(1940-2003) mathematician and author
*Agnes Baltsa
Agni Baltsa ( el, Aγνή Mπάλτσα; also known as Agnes Baltsa; born 19 November 1944) is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer.
Baltsa was born in Lefkada. She began playing piano at the age of six, before moving to Athens in 1958 to conce ...
(1944-), opera singer
* Spyros Vrettos (1960-), poet
* John Zavitsanos (1962-), American trial lawyer
*Spiros Marangos
Spyros Marangos ( el, Σπύρος Μαραγκός, born 20 February 1967) is a former Greek football player. He played for Panionios, Panathinaikos, PAOK, Omonia and APOEL at the club level. He also made 26 appearances for the Greece natio ...
(1967-), footballer
* Marina Lambrini Diamandis (1985-), singer and songwriter
Gallery
File:Lefkas Grèce 0023.JPG, Traditional street of Lefkada (city)
File:20140412 lefkada184.JPG, Panagia ton Xenon, Lefkada city
File:Porto Katsiki 6108.JPG, Porto Katsiki beach
File:Kalamos Town 2.jpg, Kalamos village
File:Vraka Lefkas Greek Costume.JPG, Traditional dress
See also
* Egremni
Notes
Sources
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External links
Travel Guide to Lefkada
Municipal Port Fund of Lefkada Official page
Lefkada Official App
*[http://www.lefkada.gr Lefkada Prefecture
*[http://www.lefkadaslowguide.gr/en Travel Guide to Lefkada">Lefkada Prefecture">Lefkada Official App
Lefkada Prefecture
Travel Guide to Lefkada
The official page of Greek National Tourism Organization
Map of Homer's Ithaka
(Lefkada), Same (ancient Greece), Same
and Asteris according to Wilhelm Dörpfeld. Digital library of Heidelberg University
.
Photo of Dörpfeld's excavation site
at Lefkada near Nydri, early in the 20th century. Digital library of Heidelberg University.
Lafcadio Hearn Historical Center
Lefkadian Traditional Winery
Hiking trails on Lefkada
{{Authority control
Islands of the Ionian Islands (region)
Islands of Greece
Municipalities of the Ionian Islands (region)
Corinthian colonies
Septinsular Republic
Landforms of Lefkada (regional unit)
United States of the Ionian Islands
Populated places in Lefkada (regional unit)