Lefkas - The White Island: “Land of Myth and Legend”

Lefkas has a rich and colourful history, some of it fact and much of it legend; many disagree over exactly where the truth ends and the stories begin...

“Many disagree over exactly where the truth ends and the stories begin...”The island was first called Lefkas by the geographer Strabo in 24BC. Circa 94AD Thucidides called it Lefkadia. The name means 'White Island' - a reference to the white limestone that makes up the majority of the landscape.

Lefkas has not always been an island. Around the six century BC a channel was dug through the low spit of land connecting the mainland and Lefkas, to facilitate the route of Corinthian warships heading for the Eastern Mediterranean. This channel now forms part of the Lefkas canal and a causeway carries the only road onto the island over the salt flats of the lagoon. The canal itself is crossed using a floating boat-bridge - many locals will tell you that this is ensure they keep their island status and all the tax breaks that go with it.

Since the Corinthians, Lefkas has since been occupied by the Turks, Venetians, Russians, French and British. All have left their mark. The Corithains colonised the area with a thousand people and forced the inhabitants of the original capital, Nericos (about 5km south west of the canal), to move to Lefkas Town. The modern capital, with its eclectic mix of British colonial and Venetian architecture is protected by the fortress of Santa Maura (Agia Mavra in Greek), which hosts outdoor classical concerts during the summer.

“...there are many beautifully preserved churches and monasteries.”

As in the rest of Greece, the Greek Orthodox Church has played an important part in the lives of the inhabitants and there are many beautifully preserved churches and monasteries to pay testament to this.

The German archaeologist Dorpfeld, (something of a local hero and buried near Nidri), was convinced that Lefkas and not Ithaca, was the site of Odysseus' landing on his return from the Trojan War. Whilst Dorpfeld never managed to conclusively prove this theory, he did uncover many indicators to the islands past, some dating back to the Bronze Age.