The Ionian Islands

Download or read book The Ionian Islands written by Anthony Hirst and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-26 with total page 477 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Ionian Islands stretch south from the Adriatic, where Corfu’s Pantokrator mountain overlooks Albania across narrow straits, along the western coast of mainland Greece through Paxi, Kephalonia, Ithaca, Lefkada and Zakynthos, to Kythira, midway between Athens and Crete. Three crucial sea-battles were fought here – Sybota (the first recorded), Actium and Lepanto – an indication of the Ionians’ role as an East-West crossroads, between Western Christendom and the Orthodox and Islamic East. Ruled by Venice in her Stato da Mar (sea-empire), the islands became an independent state, as the Septinsular Republic and then, under British Protection, as the United States of the Ionian Islands. Before the mainland Greeks had a State, the Ionian people were proud of having a university – from 1824 – in Corfu town, a World Heritage Site. The islands were united with the Kingdom of Greece in 1864 – the first addition to its territory. This book (with over thirty illustrations) explores the history, archaeology, languages, customs and culture of the Ionian Islands. Without venturing far from the islands, readers will learn much about this distinctive part of the Mediterranean and Greek world. The chapters range from the mythology of the Bronze Age (Homer’s Scheria, where Odysseus startled Nausicaa as she bathed) to today, concentrating particularly on the British Protectorate (1815–1864). One, illustrated by contemporary maps, deals with descriptions of the islands by a fourteenth-century Venetian writing in Latin. The roles of Jews, Souliot refugees, Greek revolutionaries, rebel peasants in Cephalonia, and workers in Corfu’s port suburb of Mandouki are examined in detail. There are contributions on religion and philosophy, as well as literature, music, painting, and the folk-art of carved walking-canes.

Download or read book The Ionian Islands and Epirus written by Jim Potts and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2010 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing a portrait of the islands off the coast of Greece, Corfu resident Jim Potts narrates the cultural legacies of this unique place from Homer to modern times.

Download or read book Xenocracy written by Sakis Gekas and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2016-12-01 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of the many European territorial reconfigurations that followed the wars of the early nineteenth century, the Ionian State remains among the least understood. Xenocracy offers a much-needed account of the region during its half-century as a Protectorate of Great Britain – a period that embodied all of the contradictions of British colonialism. A middle class of merchants, lawyers and state officials embraced and promoted a liberal modernization project. Yet despite the improvements experienced by many Ionians, the deterioration of state finances led to divisions along class lines and presented a significant threat to social stability. Sakis Gekas shows that the impasse engendered de- pendency upon and ambivalence toward Western Europe, anticipating the ‘neocolonial’ condition with which the Greek nation struggles even today.

Download or read book Shrines in a Fluid Space: The Shaping of New Holy Sites in the Ionian Islands, the Peloponnese and Crete under Venetian Rule (14th-16th Centuries) written by Argyri Dermitzaki and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-12-28 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The open access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation. In Shrines in a Fluid Space: The Shaping of New Holy Sites in the Ionian Islands, the Peloponnese and Crete under Venetian Rule (14th-16th Centuries), Argyri Dermitzaki reconstructs the devotional experiences within the Greek realm of the Venetian Stato da Mar of Western European pilgrims sailing to Jerusalem. The author traces the evolution of the various forms of cultic sites and the perception of them as nodes of a wider network of the pilgrims’ ‘holy topography’. She scrutinises travelogues in conjunction with archaeological, visual and historical evidence and offers a study of the cultic phenomena and sites invested with exceptional meaning at the main ports of call of the pilgrims’ galleys in the Ionian Sea, the Peloponnese and Crete.

Download or read book Handbook for Travellers in Greece written by John Murray and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2023-07-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive guidebook for travelers exploring the diverse regions of Greece, written by John Murray. This book covers everything from ancient ruins to modern amenities, with detailed descriptions of local customs and traditions. It is an essential resource for anyone planning a trip to Greece. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Download or read book The Ionian Islands in the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, 3000-800 BC written by Christina Souyoudzoglou-Haywood and published by Liverpool University Press. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is always interesting to read studies of insular or isolated groups or environments, and to speculate on why they do not tend to mirror changes in neighbouring areas. This book studies the archaeological evidence during the period 3000-800 BC, the settlements, cemeteries, artefacts and environment of each individual island. In a concluding chapter the islands are studied as a group looking at general sequences of historical and cultural development and the role of foreign, outside influences in accounting or contributing to these changes. A clear and well illustrated archaeological study.

Download or read book The Greek Islands written by Lawrence Durrell and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2011-12-15 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lose yourself in this dazzling travelogue of the idyllic Greek Islands by the king of travel writing and real-life family member of The Durrells in Corfu. 'Incandescent.' André Aciman 'Invades the reader's every sense ... Remarkable.' Victoria Hislop 'Nobody knows the Greek islands like Durrell.' New York Times White-washed houses drenched in pink bougainvillea; dazzling seascapes and rugged coastlines; colourful harbours in quaint fishing villages; shady olive and cypress groves; terraces bathed in the Aegean sun ... The Greek islands conjure up a treasure-chest of images - but nobody brings them to life as vividly as the legendary travel writer Lawrence Durrell. It was during his youth in Corfu - which his brother Gerald fictionalised in My Family and Other Animals, later filmed as The Durrells In Corfu - that his love affair with the Mediterranean began. Now, in this glorious tour of the Greek islands, he weaves evocative descriptions of these idyllic landscapes with insights into their ancient history, and shares luminous personal memories of his time in the local communities. No traveller to Greece or admirer of Durrell's magic should miss it. 'Masterly ... Casts a spell.' Jan Morris 'Our last great garlicky master of the vanishing Mediterranean.' Richard Holmes 'Like long letters from a civilized and very funny friend - the prose as luminous as the Mediterranean air he loves.' Time