Zakynthos, also known as Zante, Levanta, sweet-smelling Island, with its area of 406 km2 and its coastline of 123 km is the third largest island in the Ionian sea and the eleventh largest of all Greek islands. It lies 17 nautical miles from the shore of Ilia (the western part of the Peloponnese) and about 14 nautical miles south of the island of Kefalonia. Politically and administratively the Strophades islands (Arpina – inhabited, Stamvanio– uninhabited) some 65 km to the south also belong to Zakynthos. As they are only 10 metres above sea level at their highest point they look as if they are floating and are therefore known as the "floating islands".

The monastery on the larger of the two islands contained the remains of St. Dionysus who lived and died there. However, in 1717, following repeated pirate attacks, they were taken to Zakynthos. Not far from the Strophades islands, is the area known as the Inoussian Trench where the Mediterranean is at its deepest (approximately 5 000 m).

Zakynthos is primarily hilly and mountainous. The highest mountain of Vrachionas measures 758 metres. The extensive lowlands divide the island into three parts – the hilly and mountainous west and east, and the fertile central part. Since ancient times Zakynthos has enchanted visitors with its unforgettable beauty, mountains and hills covered in dense pine forests, the undulating scenery of its western and soutwestern coast with hundreds of large and small sea caverns, its many beautiful beaches in the east and northwest and the unheard of lushness and diversity of the vegetation everywhere you look.

Not without reason did the Venetians call the island "Fiore de Levante" or the "Flower of the East" and the goddess Artemis and the god Apollo preferred to spend their free time here. There are several theories as to how the island got its name. The most widespread of these is that which says that the island is named after Zakynthos, son of the Trojan king Dardanos, who settled here and founded the first city (around 1500 – 1600 BC). There is another version which says that the island's name derives from the words "ZA" meaning "many" and "KYNTHOS" meaning "hills", which is a truly realistic description of the local landscape.
Another theory claims that the island's name comes from the wild hyacinths (Jacinthum). There are, of course, many more theories, some of which are less credible than others.

There are about 40 000 inhabitants living on the island, of which 12 000 live in the capital. The main source of income is agriculture (olives, citrus fruits, almonds, fruit, wine, raisins, pistachios etc.) and increasingly also tourism, which is of a relatively high standard, namely in certain parts of the island.

Zakynthos is an acknowledged centre of cultural and political life among the Ionian islands. At the time of the foundation of the Seven Island Republic by the British at the beginning of the 19th century the capital of Zakynthos was also the capital city of this group of islands. The Greek poet Dionysios Solomos, author of the Greek national anthem was born here as was the poet Ugo Foscolo and others.

The island has retained a strong Italian–Venetian character as it belonged to the Venetians for more than 300 years. Many important historical monuments were destroyed by the powerful earthquakes in 1515 and 1953, but some of them have been restored or rebuilt. And so even today it is possible to see the landmarks which would have been seen by those approaching the island in the 17th century.

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