Islands of Greece facts

Corfu is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, west of Greek Peninsula. It was long controlled by Venice, which repulsed several Turkish sieges, before falling under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars. Corfu was eventually ceded by the British Empire and unified with the modern Greece in 1864.

In Zakynthos. The beach is named after the shipwreck of MV Panagiotis, a smuggler's ship. It ran aground in 1980, probably while carrying contraband cigarettes and being chased by the Greek Navy. According to a popular story, locals raided the cargo, and for the following four years no 'official' tobacco products were bought on the island.

Euboea, with 3670 km2 (1417 sq.m.) is more than twice as large as the third largest island, Lesbos. Euboea is separated from mainland by just 40 m wide Euripus Strait. A bridge over the strait was first constructed in the twenty-first year of the Peloponnesian War (410 BC).

Crete is by far the largest of the Greek Islands. With 8,336 km2, (3,219 sq. m.) it is more than twice as large as the second, Euboea.