Greek legend has it that the beautiful maiden Io was turned into a white heifer by her lover, Zeus. She then raced through the Ionian Sea with Hera, Zeus' wife, in hot pursuit - and so the Ionian Islands were named.

Homer's Odyssey tells of Ulysses journey from the Ionian island of Ithaki to fight in the Trojan Wars, and the island has consequently come to symbolise the end of a long journey.

The Ionian islands of Ithaki, Kefallonia, Zakynthos, Lefkada and Corfu have a long history of occupation. The Corinthians, Romans (who built the town of Nicopolis, the remains of which are situated just outside Preveza) occupied the Islands, which later became part of the Eastern Roman Empire and then part of the Byzantine Empire .

Venetians occupied the whole area whilst only the island of Lefkada was occupied by Turks. Having been occupied by the French and the British the Ionian islands finally became a part of Greece in 1864.