Zakynthos

About

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. 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, with an international airport served by charter flights from northern Europe. The island's nickname is "Fioro di Levante" (Flower of the East), bestowed upon it by the Venetians, who ruled Zakynthos from 1484 to 1797.

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.

Pausanias writes that the acropolis of Zacynthus was called Psophis because the first man to sail to the island was Zacynthus, the son of Dardanus of Psophis, who became its founder. Stephanus of Byzantium also states that the colony on the island was named Zacynthus after him.

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.

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 agreed with Venice to accept 10,000 refugees from this region. Leonardo III Tocco and his realm were increasingly vulnerable to Ottoman Turkish attacks. These refugees consisted of Greeks, Arvanites, and some Venetian officials. Zakynthos was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1478 but was conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1482. It remained in Venetian hands, as part of the Venetian Ionian Islands, until the Fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. It then passed successively under French rule, became part of the autonomous Septinsular Republic in 1800, and returned 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.

- Further information: Rescue of the Jews of Zakynthos and History of the Jews in Zakynthos During the Axis occupation of Greece, Mayor Loukas Karrer and Bishop Chrysostomos Dimitriou refused German orders to turn in a list of the members of the town's Jewish community for deportation to the death camps. Instead, they hid all (or most) of the town's Jewish people in rural villages. According to some sources, all 275 Jews of Zakynthos survived the war. Both were later recognized as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem. In contrast, over 80% of Greek Jews were deported to death camps and murdered in the Holocaust.

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.

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.

Pausanias writes that the acropolis of Zacynthus was called Psophis because the first man to sail to the island was Zacynthus, the son of Dardanus of Psophis, who became its founder. Stephanus of Byzantium also states that the colony on the island was named Zacynthus after him.

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.

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 agreed with Venice to accept 10,000 refugees from this region. Leonardo III Tocco and his realm were increasingly vulnerable to Ottoman Turkish attacks. These refugees consisted of Greeks, Arvanites, and some Venetian officials. Zakynthos was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1478 but was conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1482. It remained in Venetian hands, as part of the Venetian Ionian Islands, until the Fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797. It then passed successively under French rule, became part of the autonomous Septinsular Republic in 1800, and returned 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.

Further information: Rescue of the Jews of Zakynthos and History of the Jews in Zakynthos During the Axis occupation of Greece, Mayor Loukas Karrer and Bishop Chrysostomos Dimitriou refused German orders to turn in a list of the members of the town's Jewish community for deportation to the death camps. Instead, they hid all (or most) of the town's Jewish people in rural villages. According to some sources, all 275 Jews of Zakynthos survived the war. Both were later recognized as Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem. In contrast, over 80% of Greek Jews were deported to death camps and murdered in the Holocaust.