Lefkada

Lefkada, or Leucas or Leucadia (Greek: Λευκάδα, [lefˈkaða]; Auncient Greek an Katharevousa: Λευκάς, Lefkás, [leu̯kás]), is a Greek island in the Ionie Sea on the wast coast o Greece, connected tae the mainland bi a lang causewa an floatin brig. The principal toun o the island an seat o the municipality is the ceety o Lefkada. It is situatit on the northren pairt o the island, approximately 20 minutes bi automobile awa frae Aktion Naitional Airport. The island is pairt o the regional unit o Lefkada. History The meeth aboot Sappho's suicide at Cape Lefkada is relatit tae ither meeths linkin the island tae the auncient Greek goddess o luve, Aphrodite, an tae Odysseus, the hero o Homer's Odyssey. The German airchaeologist Wilhelm Dörpfeld, haein performed excavations at various locations o Lefkada, wis able tae obtain fundin tae dae wirk on the island bi suggestin that Lefkada wis Homer's Ithaca, an the palace o Odysseus wis locatit wast o Nidri on the sooth coast o Lefkada. Thare hae been suggestions bi local tourism offeecials that several passages in the Odyssey pynt tae Lefkada as a possible model for Homeric Ithaca. The maist notable o thir passages pushed bi the local tourism buird describes Ithaca as an island reachable on fuit, which wis the case for Lefkada syne it is no really an island, that it wis connectit tae the mainland bi a nairae causewa. Accordin tae Strabo, the coast o Acarnanie wis ried Leucas in earlier times. The auncient soorces caw Leucas a Corinthian colony, aiblins wi a Corcyraen participation. Durin the Peloponnesian War Leucas haed jynt the Spartan Confederation. The Ottomans cried it "Ayamavra" (a renderin o the Greek Αγία Μαύρα, the island's medieval name), an ruled it atween 1479–1502, 1504–1684 an 1715-1716. Geography Lefkada measures 35 km frae north tae sooth, an 15 km frae east tae wast. Its aurie is 336 km2. Its heichest pynt is the muntain Stavrota, 1158 m elevation, situatit in the middle o the island. The east coast section o the island haes sma resorts o Lygia, Nikiana an Perigiali, aw north o Nidri, the lairgest resort on the island. It is set in a sheltered location wi views athort tae Skorpios—awned bi Aristotle Onassis, Meganissi an ither sma islands, as well as the Greek mainland. The main coastal road frae Lefkada tae Vasiliki runs throu the veelage, awtho a bypass haes nou been completit which skirts the veelage tae the wast. Thare are regular caur ferries tae Kefalonia, Ithaca an Meganissi. 20 km sooth o Nidri is the resort o Vasiliki, a windsurfin center. Thare are ferries tae Kefalonia an Ithaca frae Vasiliki. Sooth o Vasiliki is Cape Lefkada, whaur the Greek female poet Sappho allegedly leapt tae her daith frae the 30 m heich cliffs. The famous beach o Porto Katsiki is locatit on Lefkada's wast coast. Lefkada wis attached tae mainland Greece (see abuin aboot Homer's Ithaca bein Lefkada). The Corinthians dug a trench in the 7t century BC on its isthmus. Climate The island haes a teepical Mediterranean climate: het simmers an ceul winters, especially in the muntains. Municipality The present municipality Lefkada wis formit at the 2011 local govrenment reform bi the merger o the follaein 7 umwhile municipalities, that became municipal units: Apollonioi Ellomenos Kalamos Karya Kastos Lefkada (ceety) Sfakiotes The municipality covers the island Lefkada an the smawer islands Kastos an Kalamos. Transport Greek Naitional Road 42 Twa ither roads Notable fowk (in chronological order) Spiridon Zambelios (1813-1881), historian Frederick Temple (1821-1902), Airchbishop o Canterbury Aristotelis Valaoritis (1824-1879), poet an politeecian Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904), Greco-Erse orientalist an writer, namit efter the island Dimitrios Golemis (1874–1941), athlete Aggelos Sikelianos (1884–1951), poet an playwricht Tzavalas Karousos or Karoussos (1904–1969), actor Panos Rontoyannis (1911–1996), philologist an historian Theodoros Stamos (1922–1997), Greek-American painter Apostolos Kaklamanis (1936), politeecian Agnes Baltsa (1944), opera sangster George Contogeorgis (1947), poleetical scientist Elli Stai (1954), jurnalist an talk show presenter Aristotle Onassis, Greek shippin tycoon Maria Vamvakinou (1959), Greek-Australie politeecian Spyros Vrettos (1960), poet Evagelia Aravani (1985), fashion model Notes Freemit airtins Lefkada Prefectur Lefkada Archived 2012-06-03 at the Wayback Machine The offeecial wabsteid o the Greek Naitional Tourism Organisation Template:Ionian Islands Template:Kallikratis-Ionian Islands