Discover Greek Nature
The Islands

And since the hubbub was getting gradually louder and closer… Xenophon surmised that something of great moment was going on, and mounting his horse and taking Lykios and his knights with him he hastened to see. And now he could clearly hear all the soldiers shouting as one: “Thalatta, Thalatta!”
(Xenophon, Anabasis)

The sea, the sea! This was the cry raised by the Greek mercenaries of Cyrus, the heroes of the retreat of the ten thousand in 401 Bc when they finally caught sight of the sea after an exhausting march over the mountains of Asia Minor.

Greece is a country blessed with thousands of islands, islets and barren rocks rising from the water, most of them in the east of the country. The coastline of the continental part extends 11.000 km and that of the islands 4.000 km. There is not a single point on the map of Greece which is more than 65 km distant from the sea.

Ionian Islands

In the Ionian Sea off the west coast of Greece there are seven main islands running from north to south: Corfu, Paxi, Cephallonia, Ithaca, Zakynthos, Lefkas and Kythera which is off the southern tip of the Peloponnese. These emerald islands with their exotic sandy beaches, Venetian-influenced architecture, green and fertile landscape have their own distinctive character and they are very different from the islands of the Aegean Sea.

Aegean Islands

In the clear blue waters of the Aegean there is a group of islands of varying sizes. The ancients called them Cyclades because they believed they formed a circle around the small sacred island of Delos, the birthplace of Apollo and also the cradle of one of the Mediterranean’s most important civilizations, one that took its name from the islands: the Cycladic civilization. The dazzling sunlight, the sparkling sea, the little white-washed houses, the windmills and the countless tiny chapels make up some the basic features of the charm they possess.

Some of the cycladic islands are world famous while others are less known but equally beautiful.
Apart from the Cyclades there are groups of islands in the Aegean Sea like the Dodecannese and Sporades.

No matter to which island you go you will be held spellbound, you will be refreshed and there will be moments that you will wonder if it is possible that such beauty exists.

© Copyright 2004 Third Wave Travel