General Information

Lefkada is the fourth largest island in the Ionian Sea located between Corfu and Cephalonia. A thin strip of sea which the first Corinthian settlers here dredged in the mid 7th century BC is all that separates the island from the prefecture of Akarnania, but having said that access is easy thanks to the causeway which links the two sides of this channel.
  Lefkada owes its name to the island's most southerly tip, Cape Lefkatas, which in ancient times was known by the Greek name "Leucas akra" or "Leucas petra" meaning white end or white stone, referring to the white rock there.

The name of the island "Lefkada" routed from the name "Lefkas Petra" or "Lefkas Akra", an ancient name of today's Leukata, the southern cape of the island.

Humanity in Lefkada can be traced back to the Paleolithic era. The distinguished German archaeologist Wilhelm Dairepfeld, associate of Henry Schliemann in the Troy excavations, conducted extensive archaeological research in Nydri, and brought important findings from the copper age (2,000 B.C.) to light and hence started the theory that Lefkada can be identified with Homers Ithaca.


The ancient city of Nirikos, 7th century b.c., which was discovered in Kalligoni at Koulmos, was the island's first capital. It was surrounded by a great wall, of which only a small part is left.

The history of Lefkada, from the 7th century b.c. after becoming a Corinthian colony up until the Roman conquer, is politically connected to the city of Corinthos, which Lefkada followed in all important events of the time: the Salamina naval battle, the battle of Platees, the Peloponnesian war as an ally to the Spartans and the expedition of Alexander the Great.