Figure 1.--This is a detail of a photograph by Dimitris Charisiadis. I am not sure about the date. It shows a boy on an Aegean island (Serifos if I am not mistaken).

The Ionoian Islands are located in the Ionian and Mediterreanan Seas west of the Greek mainland and make up one of the six major geographical regions of Greece. The principal islands are Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, Ithaca, Cderigo, Leukas, and Paxos. The islands are very mountainous and the climate more temperate than the Greek mainland. The islands were colonized by the Greeks in ancient times. Ionians are one of the three important Greek ethnic groups. The Ionians may have been some of the first Greek speaking peoples to reach the Greek mainland and were possibly the originators of the Mycenæan culture. They later formed part of the Roman and Buzantine empires. They were held in part by a series of foreign invaders including the Venetian Republic (1386-1797), French (1707-98), Ottomans and Russians (1798-1800), and even for a brief time were independent (1800-07) and France (1807-14). The British administered them as a prorectorate (1814-64). The Bristish turned over soberignity to the Greek minatchy in 1864. There is a band tradition in Kerkyra island (Corfu, with influences from Italy) and Asia Minor (up until 1922). This tradition has probably to do with the strong influences of Italy in this part of Greece. The Ionian islands are an interesting part of Greece because many were not part of the Ottoman conquest and rather under Venetian control. Venice was a major naval power in the eastern Meiterreanan which fought to contol Ottoman expansion. This is part of the reason that many early Greek poets and artists came from the Ionian islands. It is interesting that the center of the Greek cultural revival in the 19th century may have been the birth place of the original Mycenæan civilization.

The Islands

The Ionoian Islands are an island group located in the Ionian and Mediterreanan Seas west of the Greek mainland and make up one of the six major geographical regions of Greece. They stretch south from the Albanian coast to the southern tip of the Peloponnese, and are often called Heptanesos ("Seven Islands"). The best known island is Corfu. Corfu today charms the tourist with two historic forts, narrow streets, tall houses, arcades, a Venetian-built Town Hall, the Saint Spyridon church (dedicated to the island's patron saint), flower-filled gardens, and balconies with beautiful wrought-iron fences. This small island is a kind of paradise on Earth. From Paleokastritsa to Kanoni, from the Achillion to Pontikonissi and the northern coast, the visitor finds crystal clear water, scenic coves, greenery and vegetation that falls into the deep blue sea. The islands are Corfu (Kerkira), Cephalonia (Kefallonia), Zacynthus (Zakinthos, Zante), Leucas (Levkas), Ithaca (Ithaki), Cythera (Kíthira), and Paxos (Paxoí), with their minor dependencies. Each of the islands has its own destinct attractions of their own.

Geography

The islands are very mountainous and the climate more temperate than the Greek mainland. The combined land area is 2,307 square kilometers. The Ionian Islands benefit from ample rainfall and arable soil, The islands produce timber, fruit, and flax (the major raw material used to produce linnen), and raise pigs, sheep, and goats. Their exports include currants, wine, cotton, salt, olives, and fish, and the islands are largely self-sufficient in grains. The Ionian harbours are superior to those of the west coast of Greece and conveniently located for international shipping. Because of the strategic location between the Greek and Italian mainlands, these islands have been fought over and occupied by succesive foreign powers.

History

The Ionian Islands are today principally known as a tourist area. The islands have, howevr, played a prominent role in Greek history. The islands were colonized by the Greeks in ancient times. The Ionians may have been some of the first Greek speaking peoples to reach the Greek mainland and were possibly the originators of the Mycenæan culture. The Ionian island were incorporated into the Roman Empire after the conquest of Greece. After the division of Rthe Roman Empire, the Islands formed part of the Byzantine empires. Byzantine Emperor Leo IV the Wise (890 AD) formed the islands into a province of the Byzantine Empire as the time of Cephalonia. The Norman adventurer Robert Guiscard captured Corfu (1081) and Cephalonia, but his death (1085) only a few years later prevented the establishment of a dynasty. When the Latin empire (1204-61) was established at Constantinople, the Venetians received Corfu. The Greek despotate of Epirus annexed the first Venetian colony (1214). In more modern times, the Ionian Islands have been held in part by a series of foreign invaders. A long period of Epirote, Sicilian, and Neapolitan-Angevin rule followed. Corfu submitted voluntarily to the jurisdiction of the Venetian republic (1386) who controlled the islands for most of the next four centuries. Even after the fall of Constaninople, the Islands were protected by Venice and its powerful fleet from Ottoman rule. It is during this time that an Italian feudal oligarchy became established in the Ionian Islands. There is, as a result, a substantial Italian cultural influence. The Ottomon Turks captured the islands of Cephalonia, Zacynthus, Leucas, and Ithaca, annexing them to their empire (1479). The Venetians retook the Isalnds (15th and 16th centuries) and controlled them until the 19th century (1386-1797). The Venetian authorities gained the loyalty of the principal local families on the islands through patonage, the bestowal of titles and appointments. As the Venetians were Roman Catholic, the Caholic Church was established on the islands. Over time the Venetians and Iobnians intermarried. Greek ceased to be spoken except by the peasantry, who remained faithful to their Greek heritage and the Orthodox communion. Wealty islanders sent their children to bItsly to be educated rather than Ittoman-dominated Greece. Dionysios Solomos, was a native of Zakynthos and became Greece's national poet. The French obtained control of the islands after the fall of the Venetian Republic (1797). The Islands became involved in the Napoleonic Wars. They were occupied by the French--the département Mer-Égée. The French promoted a peasant rebellion against the Italian nobility. The Ottomans (Septinsular Republic) and Russians briefly controlled the islands (1798-1800) and the Islands were even independent for a brief time (1800-07). This ended when Napoleon seized control ofythe Islands (1807-14). The British Royal Navy seized the Islands in 1814. After the defeat of Napoleon, the Islands under the Treaty of Paris (1815) was awrded to the United Kingdom which administered them as a prorectorate (1814-64). At the time there was no independent Greek state. The Briish permitted a local Ionian senate and legislative assembly in 1818, but the governing authority was the British high commissioner. The Ionians set up schools of higher learning. Finally the British Royal Navy seized the islands, establishing the United States of the Ionian Islands. As the Islands were able to retain contact with the West, they played an important role in the Greek independence movement. The Ionians increasingly resented the restrictions imposed by colonial British rule, especially after mainland Greece gained its independence. The Ionians were affected by the revolutions which swept Europe in 1848. After 1848, the Ionians were affected by periodic insurrections, especially in Cephalonia, had to be put down with force, and the Ionian parliament voted for immediate union with the new Greek kingdom. The Bristish finally turned over soberignity to the Greek monatchy in 1864. he Britain ceded the islands to Greece as a gesture marking the accession of a new Greek king, George I (the former Prince William George of Glücksburg), son of Christian IX of Denmark. (At the time the Princess of Wales Alexandra was William George's sister.) Following Greece's annexation of the islands, the economy was adversely affected by the loss of the special tax and trading privileges granted under the British protectorate. The Ionians were occupied by th Axis powers (first Italy and, later Germany) during World War II. With the arrival of the Germany, the Jews were rounded up an deported. They were liberated along with the rest of Greece by the British in 1944.

Band Tradition

There is a band tradition in Kerkyra island (Corfu, with influences from Italy) and Asia Minor (up until 1922). This tradition has probably to do with the strong influences of Italy in this part of Greece.

Greek Revival

The Ionian islands are an interesting part of Greece because many were not part of the Ottoman conquest and rather under Venetian control. Venice was a major naval power in the eastern Meiterreanan which fought to contol Ottoman expansion. This is part of the reason that many early Greek poets and artists came from the Ionian islands. It is interesting that the center of the Greek cultural revival in the 19th century may have been the birth place of the original Mycenæan civilization.

Etnicity

Ionians are one of the three important Greek ethnic groups.

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Created: June 6, 2002
Last updated: March 1, 2003