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| About Lefkada Island |
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Lefkada
owes its name to the white (leukos in Greek) rocks
that characterize the southern part of the island,
the cape of Lefkata.The name of Lefkada was first
given to the town and then to the entire island. |
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| According to mythology, the poetess
Sappho threw herself to the sea from these white rocks because
she wasn’t able to endure the torture of her love for
Phaon. Corinthians colonised the island during the 7th century
BC and built the new town of Lefkas and started the construction
of the canal that separates Lefkada from the mainland in 650
BC, turning Lefkada into an island. |
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During this period the island was
constituted of many autonomous cities which kept
on flourishing over the years.Set like a jewel on
the translucent blue waters of the Ionian sea, the
island of Lefkada combines tranquility, friendliness
and inspiring natural beauty.
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Lefkada also took part in the Peloponnesian
War (431-404 BC) helping its mother-city, Corinth,
which was on the Spartans’ side.In 343 BC,
the island became an ally of the Athenians in order
to fight the Macedonians, whom king was Philip II,
but Athens lost the battle and Lefkada fell under
Macedonian rule.
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In the 21st May of 1864 a treaty was
signed proclaiming the unification of the Ionian
Islands (among which is Lefkada) with the independent
and newly born Greek State.
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