Lefkada boasts a rich tapestry of history that spans from prehistoric times to the modern era. Its strategic location on the route between Greece and the Italian peninsula, and being both an island and connected to the mainland, has made it a crossroads of civilisations and cultures, each leaving an indelible mark on the island. It is both unique and a conglomeration.
The name “Lefkada” is believed to derive from the Greek word “leukos,” meaning white, referencing the island’s striking white cliffs at Cape Doukato (or Lefkatas). The cliffs are steeped in legend; it’s said that the poetess Sappho leapt from them due to unrequited love. Myths also associate the island with Apollo, suggesting it was once sacred to the god. There are still ruins of a temple on the cape.
Prehistory
Lefkada wasn’t always the clear-cut island we see on today’s maps. A low rocky sill ran across the middle of the Sound, tying the northeast corner of Lefkada to the Acarnanian shore. North of that sill lay a long barrier beach with a quiet lagoon behind it; to the south the coast opened to the sea. In other words: beach ridges and wetlands above, open water below, and in between a shallow “sometimes-causeway, sometimes-ford” that could be dry in places or ankle-deep depending on season and storms.
Nature kept rearranging that landscape. Sediment cores show several powerful marine floods—tsunamis—washing over the barrier and surging across the sill every few centuries from the mid-Holocene into historical times. Those surges repeatedly scoured a natural shallow channel along the line of today’s canal. When later writers argue whether Lefkada was an island or a peninsula, this is the reason: sometimes the neck was passable on foot, and sometimes it was a trickle or a proper channel after the sea had torn through.
People were here all along. Archaeology on the island and nearby shows human presence from the Palaeolithic, and by the Early Bronze Age communities were living on the Nydri plain—where the famous tumulus cemetery at Steno belongs to the Early (and early Middle) Bronze Age, not to the later Mycenaean period as once thought. Think fishermen’s shallows, fresh-to-brackish edges, and beach ridges that shifted a little with each big event: a good place to make a living long before history had a name for it.
Classical Antiquity and Hellenistic Period
In the 7th century BCE, Lefkada was colonized by the Corinthians. They founded a city a few kilometres south of the current Lefkada town, and dug the first man-made canal, likely deepening a pre-existing channel.
Little is known for certain about the city, with sources giving conflicting accounts, even the name. A fortified town named Nirikos was originally “on the mainland”. The Corinthians may have moved this to their new city, or not, it is not entirely clear. The city was later known as Leucas, but perhaps from the start too.
Lefkada played very active roles in major historical events, contributing ships to the Battle of Salamis in 480 BCE and participating in the Peloponnesian War alongside Sparta.
During the Hellenistic period, Lefkada joined the Acarnanian League, becoming its capital.
A number of major projects were completed during these times demonstrating considerable wealth and importance of the city:
- A southern mole or pier protecting the city from the south, 600m long and 10m wide. This likely existed from the 5th century BCE.
- The recently discovered 3,000-seat theatre, unique in the Ionian islands. The theatre was probably constructed in the 4th century BCE.
- A 750m long stone bridge connecting the city to the mainland; said to be the longest stone bridge in ancient Greece. It crossed where the isthmus was located when the city was built. Evidence shows the isthmus was swept away about 300 BCE by a tsunami, so we can infer the bridge was built after that.
The remains of the city wall and theatre can be seen on Lefkada Trail day 1.
Roman Period
The Romans arrived in 197 BC, when the consul T. Quinctius Flamininus besieges and takes Leucas, which Livy calls the capital of Acarnania. In describing the place, Livy notes that Leucas was “now an island,” split from the mainland by a shallow, man-cut strait—a neat Roman-era snapshot of the canal and its chronic shoaling.
After Actium (31 BC), Augustus reorganised the whole coast by founding Nicopolis across the gulf. Ancient writers say he gathered and resettled nearby communities into the new city; modern scholarship places Leucas within that orbit, even as the old harbour and channel kept serving traffic (Cicero casually tells a friend to “catch us up at Leucas,” and Pliny explains the Dioryctus (canal), “three stadia” long, often drifting shut). In other words, under Rome the island is firmly integrated into imperial administration and sea-routes, while daily life still revolves around keeping that narrow waterway open.
Byzantine and Medieval Eras
Following the division of the Roman Empire, Lefkada became part of the Byzantine Empire. Its position made it vulnerable to pirate attacks, prompting the Byzantines to fortify the island. In 1204, after the Fourth Crusade, Lefkada came under the Despotate of Epirus. Later, in 1294, it was given as a dowry to Giovanni Orsini, who initiated the construction of the Castle of Agia Mavra, a structure that still stands today .
Ottoman and Venetian Rule
The island’s control oscillated between various powers over the centuries, although the islanders frequently rebelled. The Ottomans ruled the island from 1479, during which they made significant architectural contributions, including the construction of an aqueduct to supply water to the Castle of Agia Maura. In 1502 – 1503 there was a short-lived Venetian occupation. From 1503 to 1684 the island is re-conquered by the Turks. Then in 1684 to 1797 it reverted to Venetian sovereignty with another brief interval of Turkish rule between 1715-1716.
Modern Era and Greek Independence
The fall of Venice in 1797 led to Lefkada’s brief occupation by the French, followed by a Russo-Turkish alliance. The island became part of the Septinsular Republic, the first autonomous Greek state since the fall of Constantinople. After another period of French control, the British took over in 1810, incorporating Lefkada into the United States of the Ionian Islands. In the 1820s Lefkada acted as a safe base during the independence wars in mainland Greece. Finally, in 1864, Lefkada was united with the Kingdom of Greece and achieved independence too.
20th Century
In the last century, Lefkada experienced significant challenges and transformations that shaped its modern identity. At the century’s outset, the island’s economy, heavily reliant on viticulture, suffered a severe blow when a plant disease known as peronospora devastated its vineyards around 1900. This agricultural crisis plunged many residents into poverty, prompting a wave of emigration to countries like America and Canada in search of better opportunities. The shift to dictatorship in Greece lead to further unrest.
During World War II, Lefkada, like the rest of the Ionian Islands, was occupied by Axis forces. Initially under Italian control from 1941 to 1943, the island came under German occupation following Italy’s capitulation. The local population organized a resilient resistance movement against the occupiers. However, the subsequent Greek Civil War brought further horrors, leaving deep scars on the community. More people left the mountain villages, both to escape and through government policy.
The later part of the century and the return of Greek democracy marked a turning point for Lefkada. Improvements in infrastructure, such as the construction of a floating bridge connecting the island to the mainland, facilitated economic recovery and growth. More recently the development of Preveza-Aktion airport added to this. Tourism has played a large part in renewal, but being based on sailing and beaches, left the interior largely untouched.
Present
The future for Lefkada remains poised between the demands of tourism and the needs of the islanders. The island is now linked into the motorway network of Greece and the Balkans. Along the coasts and overlooking hills many villas are being built, but arguably infrastructure (water, waste management, and roads) lag behind. The interior is being restored more slowly, but perhaps the slow way is better. Hopefully Lefkada will retain its unique charms despite these challenges. We believe hiking and other sustainable tourism will help.