Corfu (Greek: Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, [ˈcercira]; Ancient Greek: Κέρκυρα or Κόρκυρα; Latin:Corcyra; Italian: Corfù) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of theIonian Islands.[2] The island is part of the Corfu peripheral unit, and is administrated as a single municipality. The municipality includes the island Corfu and the smaller islandsEreikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality (pop. 33,886) is also named Corfu.[3] Corfu is home to the Ionian University.
The island is connected to the history of Greece from the beginning of Greek mythology. Its Greek name, Kerkyra or Korkyra, is related to two powerful water symbols: Poseidon, god of the sea, and Asopos, an important Greek mainland river.[4] According to myth, Poseidon fell in love with the beautiful nymph Korkyra, daughter of Asopus and river nymphMetope, and abducted her.[4] Poseidon brought Korkyra to the hitherto unnamed island and, in marital bliss, offered her name to the place: Korkyra,[4] which gradually evolved toKerkyra (Doric).[5] Together, they had a child they called Phaiax, after whom the inhabitants of the island were named: Phaiakes. This term was transliterated via Latin to Phaeacians.
The island's history is laden with battles and conquests. The legacy of these struggles is visible in the form of castles punctuating strategic locations across the island. Two of these castles enclose its capital, which is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfu's capital has been officially declared a Kastropolis ("castle city") by the Greek government.[5] Corfu was long controlled by Venice, which repulsed severalTurkish sieges, before falling under British rule following the Napoleonic Wars. Corfu was eventually ceded by the British Empire along with the remaining islands of the United States of the Ionian Islands, and unification with modern Greece was concluded in 1864 under the Treaty of London(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corfu)
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