The history of Zakynthos runs from ancient myth to the modern day. Settled in antiquity and named in the oldest Greek legends, the island passed through Roman and Byzantine hands. It then spent long centuries under Venice, which shaped its towns, its art and its way of life. French, Russian and British rule followed, before union with Greece. A great earthquake in the twentieth century reshaped the island. Through it all the island kept its rich culture. Trace the long story of the Ionian island with My Greece Tours.
The island’s long past is written in its towns, churches and customs. Ancient roots, Byzantine faith, Venetian art and British works all left their mark, and a great earthquake set the stage for the modern town. The layers of history give the island much of its character. The sections below cover the ancient era, the Venetian centuries, the later rulers and union, the earthquake, and the traces you can still see. Set the history in its wider surroundings with our Zakynthos travel guide.
What is the ancient history of Zakynthos?
Zakynthos was settled in antiquity and named in early Greek myth and epic. It grew into a Greek city-state, later falling under Roman and then Byzantine rule, with an acropolis on the hill above the present capital.
The island’s story reaches deep into antiquity. It is named in the oldest Greek legends and epic poetry, tied to the heroes of the age. According to the tales, it took its name from an early settler, and it appears among the islands of the Ionian in the great epics of the Greek world. In historical times it became a Greek city-state, with its acropolis on the hill that now carries the castle above the capital. It kept a place in the wars and alliances of the ancient Greeks, valued for its position on the sea routes. The long human presence on the island begins here, on the same heights and shores that visitors know today.
With the rise of Rome, the island passed under Roman control, as did the rest of Greece. It later became part of the Byzantine world, the Greek Christian empire that followed, and took on the Orthodox faith that remains central to the island. Through these centuries it faced raids and changing fortunes, yet the settlement on the castle hill endured. The Bochali heights above the capital have thus been a place of habitation and defence since the earliest times. This ancient and Byzantine foundation set the stage for the long era of foreign rule that would shape the island most of all.
In the classical age the island stood as an independent Greek city-state on the Ionian sea lanes. Its ships and harbours tied it to the trade of the wider Greek world. The island took part in the rivalries of the great powers, drawn into the long conflict between Athens and Sparta. Athens counted the island among its allies, valuing its position on the western routes. Later the island fell within the orbit of the leagues and kingdoms that rose across Greece. Rome then absorbed it, as the republic extended its reach eastward across the sea. Under Roman order the island enjoyed a long spell of calm and steady growth.
This early record, from myth to Greek city to Roman province, forms the deep bedrock of the island’s story.
How did Venice shape the history of Zakynthos?
Venice ruled Zakynthos for about three centuries, longer than any other power. It made the island a fortified trading base, built the castle and the arcaded town, and fostered the art, wine and culture that still mark the island today.
The longest and most formative era was the rule of Venice. The great maritime republic took the island and held it for around three centuries, longer than any other power. Under Venice the island became a fortified outpost and a busy centre of trade in the Ionian Sea. The old town sheltered within the walls of the castle on the hill, and later spread down to the shore in a handsome style of arcaded streets and squares. Venetian nobles and a local aristocracy ruled the island, and a rich cultural life grew up, open to the art and learning of Italy and the West. The mark of these centuries is still the deepest layer of the island’s character.
The Venetian centuries shaped the island’s art, faith and economy. A distinctive school of icon painting, blending Byzantine and Western styles, flourished in the churches. The crisp white wine Verdea was shipped across Europe, bringing wealth. The Italian influence entered the food, the language and the music of the island. Even the great poet Dionysios Solomos, born under this culture, was educated in Italy before writing in Greek. The buildings, the art and the customs that Venice fostered define the island to this day, and what draws visitors, from the town to the traditions, dates its shape to this long and defining age.
Venice governed the island through a class of nobles whose names were entered in a golden register of the aristocracy. The great fortress crowned the hill above the harbour, guarding the town and the anchorage below. Traders shipped wine, currants and oil from the island to the markets of the West. The republic prized the island as a flower of the Levant, a jewel of its eastern holdings. Ottoman raiders struck at the coast during these centuries, yet the island held under the shelter of the walls. A rich civic life grew within the town, with schools, theatres and a lively bond to the culture of Italy.
This blend of Greek roots and Western polish gave the island the layered identity it still carries.
What happened after Venetian rule ended?
Zakynthos passed briefly to France and Russia after Venice fell, then spent decades under British protection with the other Ionian Islands. The islands were united with the newly independent Greek state in the later nineteenth century.
The fall of Venice opened a time of rapid change. The island passed first to revolutionary France, then, after a short-lived joint Russian and Ottoman arrangement, to a brief island republic, and back to France again. In time the Ionian Islands came under the protection of Britain, which held them for decades as a separate state under a British high commissioner. British rule left its own works: roads, public buildings, waterworks and bridges across the islands. Through all these changes the island kept its Greek identity and Orthodox faith, and its people increasingly looked toward the emerging Greek nation taking shape on the mainland across the water.
The great turning point came with union. As the independent Kingdom of Greece grew, the people of the Ionian Islands pressed to join it. In the later nineteenth century Britain ceded the islands, and Zakynthos, with its neighbours, was united with Greece at last. The island had long nourished the Greek cause: it had sheltered fighters and ideas during the struggle for independence, and its poet had given the nation its anthem. Union brought the island fully into the Greek state, ending centuries of foreign rule.
From this point the island’s history joins that of modern Greece, through the wars and changes of the following century, up to the life of the island seen along its shores and Zakynthos beaches today.
The years between Venice and union gave the island its most famous son. The poet Dionysios Solomos was born on the island under the fading Venetian order and educated in Italy. He chose to write in Greek, and his verses in praise of freedom became the words of the Greek national anthem. Another island poet, Andreas Kalvos, added his own voice to the birth of modern Greek letters. The island thus stood at the heart of the cultural awakening that ran alongside the struggle for Greek freedom. Its people gave money, shelter and ideas to the national cause across the water. This literary and patriotic spirit made the island far more than a distant outpost.
It became a cradle of the modern Greek nation and its language.
How did the great earthquake change Zakynthos?
A powerful earthquake in the twentieth century struck the Ionian Islands and devastated Zakynthos. It levelled most of the old Venetian town and sparked a great fire, after which the capital was rebuilt in a controlled style that echoed its arcaded past.
The most dramatic event of the modern era was the great earthquake that struck the Ionian Islands in the middle of the twentieth century. Zakynthos was hit especially hard. The powerful quake, followed by a sweeping fire, destroyed the great majority of the old Venetian capital, with its churches, mansions and arcaded streets. Centuries of building and art were lost within days. A handful of structures survived, among them the church of the island’s patron saint, which the people took as a sign of protection. The disaster was a deep wound in the island’s history, erasing the fabric that Venice and the later centuries had raised by the shore.
The rebuilding shaped the town seen today. Rather than raise a modern city of concrete alone, the island chose to rebuild the capital in a controlled way that recalled its Venetian past, with arcaded streets and squares and low, earthquake-resistant buildings. Religious art rescued from the ruined churches was gathered into the Byzantine Museum to preserve what had survived. The great church of Saint Dionysios was restored as the heart of the town’s faith. So the modern capital, though rebuilt, keeps the spirit of the old, and the story of the earthquake and the recovery is a defining chapter of the island’s recent past.
A quieter act of courage marks the island’s modern record just before the great earthquake. During the wartime occupation, the authorities demanded a list of the island’s Jewish residents for deportation. The mayor and the bishop refused to hand over the community to the occupiers. The bishop wrote his own name at the head of a near-empty list, and the mayor hid the Jewish families in villages across the countryside. Not a single member of the island’s Jewish community was lost to the deportations. The island stands as one of the rare places in occupied Europe whose entire Jewish population survived. A monument in the town honours the two leaders and the rescue.
This chapter of quiet resistance sits among the proudest in the island’s long history.
What historical sights can you see on Zakynthos?
Historical sights on Zakynthos include the Venetian castle on Bochali hill, the rebuilt arcaded capital, the church of Saint Dionysios, the Byzantine Museum of icons, and the monuments to the poet Solomos in the main square.
The layers of history are visible across the island. Above the capital stands the ruined Venetian castle on the wooded hill, marking the ancient acropolis and the old walled town. Below it, the rebuilt capital keeps the arcaded streets and squares that echo the Venetian style, raised again after the earthquake. The great church of the island’s patron saint, one of the survivors of the disaster, draws pilgrims and visitors alike. In the main square, the museums preserve the island’s art and honour its great men. Together these sights tell the story of the island from antiquity through Venice to the modern day, all within and above the capital by the sea.
Beyond the town, the past lingers in the villages and countryside. Old churches with their carved bell towers, monasteries in the hills, Venetian country houses and the terraced vineyards all speak of earlier centuries. The craft village of Volimes keeps traditions of weaving that reach back generations, and the wineries continue a trade that Venice made famous. Even the great natural sights, such as the cliffs and coves of the coast, carry names and legends rooted in the island’s long history. For the traveller who looks beyond the beaches, the whole island is a record of its past, from ancient myth to the recovery from the earthquake, written in stone, art and custom.
The main square of the capital gathers the memory of the island in one place. A statue of the great poet stands there, honouring the man who gave the nation its anthem. The square also holds the museum of religious art, where icons rescued from the ruined churches now hang. Nearby, the museum devoted to the island’s writers keeps their manuscripts and portraits. The bell tower of the cathedral rises above the arcaded streets, rebuilt in the old style after the disaster. A monument marks the wartime rescue of the island’s Jewish community by the mayor and the bishop. Within a short walk the visitor passes ancient myth, Venetian art, poetry and quiet heroism.
Cafes and old townhouses frame the space where island life gathers. The square is a compact chronicle of the island’s past.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has ruled Zakynthos through history?
Zakynthos has been ruled by a long succession of powers over its history, each leaving its mark. In antiquity it was a Greek city-state, tied to the wider Greek world and named in early myth and epic. It then passed under Roman control, and later became part of the Byzantine Empire, taking on the Orthodox Christian faith. The most formative era was the long rule of Venice, which held the island for around three centuries and shaped its towns, art, wine and culture more than any other power. Venice fell, and the island passed briefly to France, then to a short-lived Russian-backed arrangement and island republic, before coming under British protection with the other Ionian Islands for decades.
Finally, in the later nineteenth century, the Ionian Islands were united with the independent Greek state, and the island became fully part of modern Greece. This layered past, above all the Greek, Byzantine and Venetian eras, gives the island the rich and distinctive character that visitors encounter today in its towns, churches and traditions.
Why was the great earthquake so important to Zakynthos?
The great earthquake that struck the Ionian Islands in the middle of the twentieth century was one of the most important events in the modern history of Zakynthos, because it destroyed most of the island’s old capital and reshaped the town that stands today. The powerful quake, followed by a devastating fire, levelled the great majority of the Venetian-era town, with its churches, mansions and arcaded streets, wiping out centuries of building and art in a matter of days. A few structures survived, most notably the church of the island’s patron saint, which the islanders regarded as a sign of divine protection.
In the aftermath, the community faced the huge task of rebuilding, and chose to raise the new capital in a controlled style that recalled its Venetian past, with arcaded streets and low, more earthquake-resistant buildings. Religious art rescued from the ruins was gathered into a museum for safekeeping. The disaster and the recovery that followed are a defining chapter of the island’s story, and they explain why the capital, though historic in feel, is in fact carefully rebuilt.
Is Zakynthos a good place for history lovers?
Zakynthos is a rewarding destination for those interested in history, thanks to the layers of its long and varied past. The island’s story runs from ancient myth and its life as a Greek city-state, through Roman and Byzantine rule, to the long and formative centuries under Venice, followed by French, Russian and British eras and finally union with Greece. Each of these periods left traces that can still be seen, from the ruined Venetian castle on the hill above the capital to the arcaded streets of the rebuilt town, the church of the patron saint, and the icons and religious art gathered in the Byzantine Museum.
The island also honours its great poet, whose words became the Greek national anthem, in its main square. The dramatic story of the great earthquake and the careful rebuilding that followed adds a further compelling chapter. For visitors willing to explore beyond the beaches, the towns, churches, museums and villages of the island offer a deep and fascinating window onto the history of the Ionian Sea and of Greece itself.
Which poets and writers came from Zakynthos?
Zakynthos holds a special place in the story of modern Greek literature, above all through the poet Dionysios Solomos. Born on the island during the last years of Venetian influence, Solomos was educated in Italy before choosing to write in the Greek language. His long poem in praise of freedom supplied the words that became the Greek national anthem, and he is honoured as the national poet of Greece. The island also gave the nation Andreas Kalvos, another major poet of the same generation, whose odes helped shape the literature of the young Greek state.
This flowering of verse grew out of the island’s rare blend of Greek roots and Western learning, the legacy of the long Venetian centuries. The main square of the capital honours these writers with a statue and a dedicated museum of their manuscripts. The literary heritage adds a further layer to a place already rich in castles, churches and art. It marks the island as a home of poetry as much as a resort by the sea.