Corfu has strong connection to mythology through famous myths that either referred to people and landscapes or to how the island got the name, “Kerkyra –Corfu”:
The first myth concludes the nymph Corkyra, daughter of the river Asopos. She was abducted by the god Poseidon and brought to the island. She later gave birth to his son, Phaiax. Since then, the inhabitants of the island were called “Phaecians”, as mentioned by Homer. Thus the Phaecians are considered ancestors of the God Poseidon. The etymology of the word Phaeacians includes the first part ‘Phaios’ meaning ‘Grey’, probably referring to them as people with dark skin.
The name “Scheria”, also mention by Homer, was the land of Phaecians. The most well known hero of Homer, Odysseus, started his adventurous return back to his homeland –Ithaka, having a stop to Scheria to escape from the urge of god Poseidon. Another version of the island’s name originated from“Gorgyra” or “Gorgo”, the Medusa, who was snake-haired and had the power to transform people who looked her into stone. Another tradition, placed the roots of the name “Corfu” from the corypho = coryphi (peak), by the twin peaks- today bastions- of the Corfu town where the old fortress is located. “Drepane” - which means scythe – was another name used for the island, inspired by how its shape looks from high above.
Myths concerned, Corfu’s landscapes are most known from references to the petrified ship of Odysseus.
The famous Pontikonisi and the rocky hill “Kolovri” on Palaiokastritsa’s seafront are according to myth these “mythological” places.
