Search results
- In Byzantine Greek Koryphai means ‘peaks’ and the Byzantine word Korypho means ‘city of the peaks’ – the name was given to the island because of the twin peaks of the town’s Old Venetian Fortress. ‘Corfu’ was the Italian version of Korypho and so that became the name that was eventually used worldwide.
www.crystaltravel.gr › blog › the-name-of-corfu
People also ask
Is Corfu a Greek name?
Why is Corfu important to Greek history?
Why is Corfu called the island of the Phaeacians?
Why is Corfu called korifos?
From the twin peaks of the new site, the medieval city received its new name, Korypho (Κορυφώ, "city on the peak") or Korphoi (Κορφοί, "peaks"), whence the modern Western name of "Corfu".
- 610.9 km² (235.9 sq mi)
- 99,134 (2021)
- 906 m (2972 ft)
- 490 81, 490 82, 490 83, 490 84, 491 31, 491 32 (former 491 00)
- Korkyra, The Beautiful Nymph
- Phaiax, The First Corfiot
- Korypho-Corfu
Kerkyra or Korkyra (Corcyra) was a beautiful Naiad Nymph. Her father was Asopos, the Sikyonian River God and her mother the river nymph Metope. Poseidon, the god of the sea, fell in love with her, abducted her and took her to the northernmost island in the Ionian Sea, which was as yet unnamed. He gave the island her name – Korkyra, which gradually ...
They had a child, which they called Phaiax, after whom the islanders were named Phaiakes. In Latin this is Phaeaciani and Corfu is often called the island of the Phaeacians. Phaiax was supposedly the grandfather of King Alcinous, who welcomed Odysseus to the ‘island of the Phaeacians’ in Homer’s Odyssey.
So how come we call it Corfu? In Byzantine Greek Koryphai means ‘peaks’ and the Byzantine word Korypho means ‘city of the peaks’ – the name was given to the island because of the twin peaks of the town’s Old Venetian Fortress. ‘Corfu’ was the Italian version of Korypho and so that became the name that was eventually used worldwide.
Jul 18, 2022 · Corfu’s cultural history stretches back to the age of mythology, with the island’s Greek name originating from a Poseidonian tale. The island’s Greek name is Kerkyra, a slight variation on the name Korkyra – itself, the name of a nymph with which Poseidon fell in love.
May 7, 2024 · The name Corfu is an Italian corruption of the Greek koryphai (“crests”) and is often a more familiar moniker to visitors than the Modern Greek name. According to legend, the island was Scheria, home of the Phaeacians in Homeric epic.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
From the word Korifo came the Latin name Corfu, by which the island is known abroad. The Ancient Times During the Corinthian occupation, Corfu developed into a major commercial, naval and artistic power of the ancient world.
The ancient city of Corfu, known as Korkyra, took part in the Battle of Sybota which was a catalyst for the Peloponnesian War, and, according to Thucydides, the largest naval battle between Greek city states until that time.
May 14, 2024 · Around 775 BCE, the written history of Corfu officially begins with the arrival of Dorians from Eretria of Euboea. This initial settlement saw a significant boost in 750 BCE when Dorian refugees from Corinth, led by Hersikrates, established a robust colony.
