The Greek island of Corfu

6 September 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  9 minutes

Corfu City citadel © Stefanos Kozanis

Corfu City citadel © Stefanos Kozanis

Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands. The island is part of the Corfu peripheral unit, and is administrated as a single municipality. The municipality includes the island Corfu and the smaller islands Ereikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality (pop. 33,886) is also named Corfu. Corfu is home to the Ionian University. The island is connected to the history of Greece from the beginning of Greek mythology. Its Greek name, Kerkyra or Korkyra, is related to two powerful water symbols: Poseidon, god of the sea, and Asopos, an important Greek mainland river. According to myth, Poseidon fell in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra, daughter of Asopus and river nymph Metope, and abducted her. Poseidon brought Korkyra to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place: Korkyra, which gradually evolved to Kerkyra (Doric). Together, they had a child they called Phaiax, after whom the inhabitants of the island were named: Phaiakes. This term was transliterated via Latin to Phaeacians.   read more…

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