History of Zakynthos

The name of the island comes from Zakynthos, son of the king of Phrygia, Dardanus. Then, according to mythology, the island was conquered by Arcisios, grandfather of Odysseus. According to Homer, the inhabitants of Zakynthos participated in the raid to Troy under the leadership of Odysseus, along with the inhabitants of Ithaca.

During the Greece-Persian wars Zakynthos maintained its neutrality, and similarly during the Roman period it was granted autonomy.

In the Byzantine period, the island was twice raided by pirates and vandals.

In 1185 the island was captured by the Normans from Sicily and remained under their control until 1479, after which it became in the hands of the Venetians. The Venetians liked the island very much and called it " the flower of the Levant".

In the long wars of the Ottoman Empire with the Republic of Venice (XV-XVIII centuries) for the possession of the Ionian archipelago participated actively the island's inhabitants.

Venice's rule was interrupted by republican France at the Treaty of Campo Formi in 1797, and then in 1798 the French were knocked out during Admiral Ushakov's campaign.

With Ushakov's support, the Greek state of the Seven Islands was established, which persisted from 1800 to 1809. According to the Peace of Tilsit, the French returned to the islands.

At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1813, the islands became a British protectorate under the name "Ionian Republic".

In 1864 the British, under pressure from the islanders, were forced to transfer the islands, including Zakynthos, to the Greeсу state, reborn in the War of Liberation of 1821-1829.

In 1953, the island was severely damaged by an earthquake.