Paxos () is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, lying just south of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

. As a group with the nearby island of

Antipaxos Antipaxos (, ) is a small island (5 km2) in Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest ...

and adjoining islets, it is also called by the plural form Paxi or Paxoi (, pronounced in English and in Greek). The main town and the seat of the municipality is

Gaios Gaios (, ) is the main port on Paxos, the smallest of the seven principal Ionian Islands, in Greece. Gaios is situated on the east coast of the island. It is named after a homonymous pupil of Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tars ...

. The smallest of the seven main

Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

(the Heptanese), Paxos has an area of , while the municipality has an area of and a population of about 2,500. Paxos lies some 15 km from the southern tip of Corfu and at about the same distance from the town of

Parga Parga (, , ) is a town and municipality located in the northwestern part of the Preveza (regional unit), regional unit of Preveza in Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Kanallaki. Parga lies on ...

on the mainland. It is connected by ferry lines from

Igoumenitsa Igoumenitsa () is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia. Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, connecting northwestern Main ...

and

with Gaios. The island is hilly, the highest point having an elevation of 230 m. In

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

created the island by striking Corfu with his

trident A trident (), () is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. As compared to an ordinary spear, the three tines increase the chance that a fish will be struck and decrease the chance that a fish will b ...

, so that he and his wife

Amphitrite In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; ) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and her consort is Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Under the influence ...

could have some peace and quiet.

History

Paxos is a historical island that has been inhabited since prehistoric times. According to tradition, the

Phoenicians Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syrian coast. They developed a maritime civi ...

were the first settlers on Paxos, and it is believed that the name "Paxos" originated from the Phoenician word "Pax," meaning "trapezoidal." In ancient times, Paxos played a significant role, especially during the First Illyrian War in 229 BC when the

Battle of Paxos The Battle of Paxos was a naval battle between a coalition of Illyrian federation with their Acarnanian allies, against the allies of Corcyra (modern Corfu), the Achaean League and Aetolian League. The battle took place in the spring of 229&n ...

was fought between the ancient Greek and Illyrian fleets. The account of this battle is documented in The Histories, a work by the ancient historian

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

. Paxos has been ruled by various conquerors, including the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

in the 2nd century BC, pirates during the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

era and

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and by

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

. Eventually, the Venetians gained control of the island at the end of the 14th century. During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, the Ionian Islands were occupied by the French and the Russo-Turkish alliance. However, Paxos surrendered to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

frigate HMS ''Apollo'' and 160 troops from the 2nd Greek Light Infantry from Cephalonia and the 35th Regiment of the

Royal Corsican Rangers The Royal Corsican Rangers was a unit of the British Army, composed mainly of émigrés, which served during the later part of the French Revolutionary Wars and throughout the Napoleonic Wars. First embodiment In 1794, the Corsicans under Pasqu ...

on February 13, 1814. The United Kingdom established the Ionian Union in 1815, and in 1864, Paxos, along with the rest of the Ionian Islands, was ceded to Greece.

Geography

Paxos lies some 15 km from the southern tip of Corfu, and at about the same distance from the town of

on the mainland. The island is approximately long and up to wide, stretching in northwest–southeast direction. Much of the hilly landscape is covered in olive groves. These stretch from

Lakka Lakka or is a liqueur produced in Finland which derives its flavor from the cloudberry fruit. The word means cloudberry in Finnish. The beverage is produced by soaking the berries in alcohol anywhere between two and six months until sweete ...

, the harbour community in the north, through Magazia to Gaios, the capital. Coastal communities of Gaios, Lakka and Longos on the east coast are the three main settlements, while the interior features numerous scattered hamlets. The west coast is dominated by steep white, chalky cliffs that are greatly eroded at sea level, and harbour many "blue caves". The highest point of the island is Agios Isavros at an elevation of 231 m. Several islets lie very close to the coast of Paxos: Agios Nikolaos and Panagia protect the harbor of Gaios, while Mongonisi and Kaltsonisi lie off the southeastern tip. Antipaxos lies some 5 km further southeast. The production of olive oil, soap manufacture and fishing were supplanted by tourism as the main industry in the mid-1960s, resulting in a construction boom, which has greatly altered the coastline around Gaios, the capital of the Paxiot ''demos'' (community).

Fauna

Reptiles and amphibians

Only a few articles have been published on the herpetofauna of Paxos and Antipaxos; the latest in 2014 and 2017, where the following reptile species were confirmed: ''

Hemidactylus turcicus The Mediterranean house gecko (''Hemidactylus turcicus'') is a species of house gecko native to the Mediterranean region, from which it has spread to many parts of the world including parts of East Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and the ...

'', ''

Mediodactylus kotschyi Kotschy's gecko (''Mediodactylus kotschyi)'' is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southeastern Europe and the Middle East. It is named in honour of the Austrian botanist and explorer Theodor Kotschy. B ...

'', ''

Algyroides nigropunctatus The blue-throated keeled lizard (''Algyroides nigropunctatus''), or Dalmatian algyroides, is a species of lizard in the Family (biology), family Lacertidae. Description The maximum total length (including tail) is which makes it significantly ...

'', ''

Hierophis gemonensis The Balkan whip snake (''Hierophis gemonensis'', formerly known as ''Coluber gemonensis'') is a species of snake in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. It is found in Italy, Greece (including the Greek islands) and most of the Balkan countri ...

'', and ''

Zamenis longissimus #REDIRECT Aesculapian snake {{redirect category shell, {{R from another capitalisation{{R from move ...

''. Earlier reports of ''

Lacerta viridis The European green lizard (''Lacerta viridis'') is a large lizard distributed across European midlatitudes from Slovenia and eastern Austria to as far east as the Black Sea coasts of Ukraine and Turkey. It is often seen sunning on rocks or lawns, ...

'', ''

Laudakia stellio ''Laudakia stellio '' is a species of agamid lizard.Baig KJ et al. (2012)"A morphology-based taxonomic revision of ''Laudakia'' Gray, 1845 (Squamata: Agamidae)".''Vertebrate Zoology'' 62 (2): 213–260. (''Stellagama'', new genus, p. 222). also ...

'', and ''

Platyceps najadum ''Platyceps najadum'', also known Common name, commonly as Dahl's whip snake or the slender whip snake, is a species of non-venomous snake in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. The species is native to Eurasia. Four subspecies are recognize ...

'' were not confirmed. No amphibians have been reported on the islands.

Province

The province of Paxoi () was one of the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

of the Corfu Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipality Paxoi. It was abolished in 2006.

Foreign residents

Among well known semi-permanent British inhabitants were Audrey Good, former commander of the UN refugee bases in

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

following the

Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War () took place from 1946 to 1949. The conflict, which erupted shortly after the end of World War II, consisted of a Communism, Communist-led uprising against the established government of the Kingdom of Greece. The rebels decl ...

, actor

Peter Bull Peter Cecil Bull, (21 March 1912 – 20 May 1984) was a British actor who appeared on the stage and in supporting roles in such films as '' The African Queen'', '' Tom Jones'' and '' Dr. Strangelove''. Peter Bull wrote twelve books. Biograph ...

(author of ''It Isn't All Greek to Me''), and actress

Susannah York Susannah Yolande Fletcher (9 January 1939 – 15 January 2011), known professionally as Susannah York, was an English actress. Her appearances in various films of the 1960s, including '' Tom Jones'' (1963) and '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' ...

. Members of the

Agnelli family The Agnelli family () is an Italian multi-industry business dynasty family founded by Giovanni Agnelli, one of the original founders of the Fiat motor company which became Italy's largest automobile manufacturer. They are also primarily known fo ...

(of

FIAT Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

fame) have built a palatial holiday home—complete with ''faux'' medieval tower—on a small island of ( Kaltonisi) situated near the southernmost tip ('the heel') of Paxos, close to the beach of Mongonissi. Paxos is part of a European network called

Cultural Village of Europe Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

. The annual Paxos Festival was founded by John Gough, and is now organised by the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in London, and attracts some of Europe's finest young performers. This festival events usually take place between June and September and are usually held in the disused school of Longos.

Transport

The island is serviced by combined passenger and vehicle ferries which operate year-round from the port of

on the mainland of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(1.5 hours). In the tourist season hydrofoils, passenger ferries and sea-taxis operate from Corfu (1–2 hours). A hydrofoil passenger service operates outside the tourist season, but is infrequent and weather dependent. Winter visitors should anticipate occasional periods of isolation.

Climate

Communities and settlements

(nearby island) * Mogonisi (nearby island) *Panagia (nearby island) *Agios Nikolaos (nearby island) * Katsonisi (nearby island) * Apergatika * Argyratika * Arvanitakeika * Aronatika * Dalietatika *

(seat) * Gramatikeika *

(second-largest settlement) * Loggos (third-largest settlement) * Magazia * Makratika * Ozias * Platanos (or Fontana / Fountana) * Velianitatika (or Veliantatika) * Vlachopoulatika * Zenebissatika File:Paxos gaios square bgiu.jpg, Square of Gaios File:Mouseio Paxon.jpg, Museum of Paxos File:Paxoi - Nature pool.jpg, Paxi - Antipaxi coast File:Giorgos Anemogiannis 1821.jpg, Giorgos Anemogiannis monument 1821

References

External links

Paxos International Music FestivalThe Prefecture of Corfu official page
{{Authority control Populated places in Corfu (regional unit) Mediterranean port cities and towns in Greece Islands of the Ionian Islands (region) Islands of Greece Municipalities of the Ionian Islands (region) Provinces of Greece Septinsular Republic Phoenician colonies in Greece Landforms of Corfu (regional unit)