Levkas

lavakas scenary in Levkas Levkas (Lefkadha), located some 80 km south of Corfu, can be reached by ship while making your way in or out of Greece and In combination with other Ionian Islands. But Levkas enjoys a unique distinction: it can also be reached directly by vehicles over the causeway that links the island to the mainland opposite the northeast tip. This causeway, incidentally, highlights an argument that has long divided the experts: that is, has Lavkas always been a true island or was it once simply an extension of the mainland? This question then comes down to whether the isthmus now here has always been here; some insist that it has been and point to signs of a canal that the early colonists from Corinth dug here and a bridge that the Romans then built. Others believe that the isthmus has been built up in more recent centuries by the accumulation of sand and silt – so that Levkas has to be regarded as a true island.

Visitors today need not become involved in this argument, but they will note the thin band of land that has built up to curve across the northern corner and now encloses a lagoon, shallow and marshy in many parts. About midway across the connecting land a great fortress was erected to control the approach from the mainland to the island; the Franks began this fortress, but the Venetians greatly enlarged it (and even the Turks added some to it). The only approach to the island ran through this fort with its drawbridge and moats, but eventually the Turks built a separate causeway (with 260 arches) but this was destroyed in an earthquake in 1704. A modern causeway now serves to carry vehicular traffic; the ship canal that cuts through the isthmus dates from 1905.

The fort remains the dominating structure over the lagoon and town. It is not in especially good condition these days and most visitors will not feel the need to visit it. But its name has its own interest – it is generally known as Santa Maura. The story is that St. Maura’s nameday was being observed back in 1453 when the former Empress of Byzantium, Helen Palaeologus, sought shelter here in Levkas from a storm. She was fleeing from Constantinople after the Turks had captured it (and killed her son, Constantine XI). In gratitude, she built a monastery and church within the great citadel and dedicated them to Ayia Maura – and the Italian version of the name eventually became applied to the fort (and for a long while to the entire island).

The town of Levkas that sits along the lagoon has its own atmosphere, nothing spectacular but restful. Its cathedral dates from 1648 and holds the tomb of Aristotle Valaoritis, a native son and prominent poet (1824-79). The church of Ayios Dimitrios has paintings attributed to Panayiotis Doxaras (of the late 17th-early 18th-century Ionian School), while the church of Ayios Menas has ceiling paintings attributed to his son, Nicholas.

One excursion that should definitely be taken by all who have come this far is to Cape Leukatas on the south western tip of the island; its name means “white cape” and apparently proÂ¬vided the name for the whole island. To the ancient Greeks, this was the edge of their world and thus an entry to the land of the dead – usually located off to the West, where the sun sank each day. A temple to Apollo once stood at the top of the steep white cliff at the end of the cape – rising some 70 meters from the sea – now with a lighthouse instead of a temple. Here the ancients engaged in what was known as the “kataponstismos,” “leaping into the sea” – a ritual that appears to have been practiced for various reasons, from testing the guilt of people to sacrificing them to cure certain illnesses, including lovesickness. The priests of the temple of Apollo near the top of the cliff jumped as a sort of demonstration of their faith and powers, but they cheated – they slowed their fall and softened the impact by tying feathers (sometimes, it is said, live birds) to themselves. But the most famous leaper of all was Sappho, the poetess from Lesbos; some claim she jumped to her death deliberately from this cliff because Phaon rejected her love. True or not, this is as good a place as any to pay tribute to the ideal behind Sappho’s work and fate. It involves a walk on some 8 km each way from the nearest village served by the road, Ayios Nikolaos, so not everyone will feel up to it.

Another excursion on Levkas would be to ancient Leucas and the islet of Meganissi, on the southern part of the island. Leaving Lefkas Town and heading south, about 4 km from the centre and up on the right are the remains of the Mycenaeanage settlement known as Nirikos and the early Corinthian settlement, Leucas. Dorpfeld, Schliemann’s assistant, excavated here and tried to establish that this – not Ithaka – was the home of Odysseus; Dorpfeld was never able to win many converts to this view: for one thing, for each topographic problem he solved by locating Odysseus’s home here, he raised two more questions.

Proceeding on another 15 km, you arrive at Nidro, a small fishing port; opposite is Cape Ayia Kyriaki, where Dorpfeld lived while excavating; he is buried near his house. At Nidri you can hire a small boat to take you out to the islet of Meganissi, a favorite locale for those who like to swim (and with reputedly reputedly fishing in the sea here). On the way you pass another islet, Madouri, where the poet Valaoritis was born, and another, Skorpios which achieved some fame in recent decades as the islet owned by Onassis, the Greek shipping magnate and husband of Jacqueline Kennedy.

There are still other excursions to be made around Levkas; for one thing, its coast is marked by sea caves in the cliffs. Hire a boat and you can explore some of these. There are numerous picturesque villages around Levkas; in some, women still wear the traditional clothing and carry large baskets on their heads. The most important festival on the island is held on August 11-12 in the village of Karia in honour of St. Spyridon, the Cypriot bishop whose remains are carried in the 4 processions in Corfu Town. But above all, come to Levkas prepared to escape the distractions of modern life, a place to relax and enjoy the timeless world.