Zante is the third largest island found in the Ionian Island chain, and has a coastline that measures around 123km and an area of about 410 km sq. It gets its name from the son of the Arcadian chief Dardanus, Zakynthos, which is Pelasigian in origin. Although English speaking countries refer to the island as Zante, its actual Greek name is Zakynthos.
Zante has been an inhabited island since the Neolithic Age according to archaeological evidence. It was first mentioned in literature by the Greek poet Homer who referenced it in both the Odyssey and the Iliad. According to Homer, the first people to call Zante home was the son of the son of Troy, for which the island gets its name, and the men that arrived on the island with him between 1500BC and 1600BC.
After their arrival the island was then taken over by the Imperial King Arkeisios and later Ulysses. After the last conquest a treaty was signed that turned Zante into an independent democracy, which was the first democracy during the Hellenic period.
For centuries after the treaty became outdated, Zante was a subject of the Republic of Venice and under its rule was made into a feudal oligarchy that was protected from Ottoman domination. Wealthy citizens on the island during this time period would send their sons to Italy for education, which resulted in a heavy cultural influence in language and customs on the island.
During the reign of Napoleon and the subsequent wars, the island was owned by Russia, France, Turkey, and eventually Britain until 1864 when they were finally ceded back to Greece under the rule of the current King of Greece, Georgios I.
One substantial note in Zante history is that during World War II even though Greece was under Nazi occupation the Mayor and Bishop of Zante refused to deport the Jewish members of the community instead hiding the Jews on the islands rural villages. As a result all 275 Jews survived the war.
Zante’s original infrastructure was destroyed in August of 1953 when a series of four earthquakes totalled most of the island including its state buildings. After the quakes only three buildings in Zante were still standing, the National Bank building, St. Dionysios Cathedral, and the church of St. Nicholas. Due to the fact that the island was rebuilt following a strict anti-seismic code it has been able to sustain all earthquakes reasonably well since the past destruction.
In 2006 Zante was once again struck by a series of earthquakes that hit on almost a daily basis for a year until April 11th when a large earthquake hit prompting intervention by of the Greek Ministry of Environment and Public Works. Moderate damage occurred in particular along the roads but for the most part due to the anti seismic standards the buildings were not seriously affected.
