ZANTE (anc. Zacynthus), southernmost of the Ionian Islands, west of Greece, in 37° 4o' N. lat. and E. long.; 25 m. long, about 12 broad, and 64 m. round, with an area of 277 sq.m., and a population in 1928 of 40,492. Zante lies 8 m. S. of Ceph alonia, forming with it, Leucas and Ithaca a crescent-shaped group, the crest of a submerged limestone ridge facing the Gulf of Patras. Zante is of somewhat irregular oval shape, indented by a deep inlet at its south end. A wide fertile central plain is skirted on the west by bare limestone hills i,000 to 1,200 ft. high, which fall gently landwards, but with steep sea cliffs culminating northwards in Mount Skopos (ancient Elatos, 1,600 ft.). On the east the plain is also limited by a low ridge. These hills are still densely clothed to the summit with olives, figs, myrtles, laurels, oranges, aloes, vines and other sub-tropical plants. The central plain is an almost continuous stretch of gardens and vineyards, with a few cornfields and pastures. The peculiar dwarf vine, the "currant" (from Corinth) of commerce, is the staple export of Zante, as of the neighbouring mainland: it grows to 3 ft., begins to yield in seven years and lasts a century. Earthquakes are frequent and at times disastrous. During recent times the most destructive were those of 1811, 182o, 1840 and 1893. Other volcanic indications are the oil springs on the coast, and in the bed of the sea near Cape Skinari on the north, and especially the bituminous wells in a swamp near the coast village of Chieri, mentioned by Herodotus (iv. 195). These still yield pitch.
Zante, capital and seaport, on the east side, with a population in 1928 of 12,063, occupies the site of ancient Zacynthus, said to have been founded, like the neighbouring citadel of Psophis, by Zacynthus, son of Dardanus, a legendary Arcadian chief.
Traditionally Zacynthus belonged to Ulysses, king of Ithaca, and was peopled by settlers from Achaea or Arcadia. It figures occasionally in history as a base for belligerents. Thus during the Peloponnesian War and again in 374 B.C. the Athenians used it; in 357 it was the headquarters of Dion on his expedition against Syracuse ; in 217 it was seized by Philip V. of Macedon. The Romans captured it in 211, but restored it temporarily to Philip; in 191, to keep it out of the hands of Greek powers, they annexed it themselves. In 86 it was raided by Mithradates' admiral Archelaus. Under the Roman Empire, Zante was included in the province of Epirus. In the iith century it passed to the Norman kings of Sicily; after the Fourth Crusade it belonged at various times to the despots of Epirus, the emperors of Constantinople, and the Orsini counts of Cephalonia. After remaining from 1357 to 1482 in the hands of the Tocco family it became a Venetian possession. In 1797 it was ceded to France, and after a short occupation by the Russians was brought under British protection; in 1864 it was ceded with the other Ionian islands to Greece.
The long Venetian occupation is reflected in the appearance, character, and to some extent even the language and religion of the Zantiots. Nearly all the aristocracy claim Venetian descent ; most of the upper classes are bilingual, speaking both Greek and Italian; and a considerable section of the population are Roman Catholics. Even the bulk of the people, although mainly of Greek stock, form in their social usages a connecting link between the Hellenes, whose language they speak, and the Western nations by whom they were so long ruled.
See B. Schmidt, Die Insel Zakynthos (Freiburg, 1899).