IONIAN ISLANDS, a number of islands belonging to the kingdom of Greece, in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Albania and the western and southern shores of Greece, the most southern, Cerigo, and its dependent islets being off the southeastern extremity of the Morea. The principal islands, seven in number, are, reckoning from north to south, Kerkyra (Corfu), Paxos, Levkas (Santa Maura), Ithaki (Ithaca), Kephallenia (Cephalonia), Zakynthos (Zante) and Kythira (Cengo). To each of these larger islands a number of smaller, scattered along their respective coasts, are attached and included in their several local jurisdictions. Area of the whole, 1,117 square miles. Pop. about 226,590. All these islands be long to the great calcareous formation of Greece. They are extremely mountainous, and do not contain enough arable land to produce the corn required by the population; and were it not for the vine, olive and currant, all of which they produce, they could support but a small num ber of inhabitants. The climate is even more temperate than that of the neighboring main land. Snow often falls in the winter and lies on the mountains, but rarely on the plains. The staple exports are oil, currants, valonia, wine, soap and salt. The few manufactures are
chiefly textile and ornamental. The religion is that of the Eastern Greek Church, to which four-fifths of the population belong. Each island has its own bishop, and at the head of the whole is an exarch or primate. In 1867 a series of disastrous earthquakes took place. The Ionian Islands, so called from lying in that part of the Mediterranean anciently known as the Mare Ionicum or Ionian Sea, often figure in the ancient history of Greece, but only singly, not collectively. In 1809 all the islands were captured by the British troops except Corfu, which did not come into their hands till it was assigned to them by the Peace of Paris in 1814, possession being finally fixed and regu lated by another treaty concluded at Paris in 1815. The seven islands were then formed into a republic, under the protectorate of Great Britain. In 1857 a desire was expressed by their representatives for reunion with Greece, and the islands, with the consent of the other European powers, were transferred to the king dom of Greece in 1864. See GREECE.