Historical times

The first mention of Kefallonia within documented history comes from Herodotus, who reported that in 479 BC some 200 inhabitants of Pali joined the common force opposing the Persians at the battle of Plataea. 

During the Peloponnesian Wars, Kefallonia continued to be under the influence of Athens.

In 189 BC the Romans sieged Sami and after razing that city one year later they became the rulers of the entire island.

Following the division of the Roman Empire, Kefallonia became part of the Byzantine Empire.

In 1185 AD the Franks wrested control of Kefallonia and Ithaca away from the Byzantium.

When in 1204 AD the Crusaders and Venetians entered into an alliance and signed a treaty with the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople, Kefallonia found itself falling under the authority of Venetian rule. In 1479 AD the Turks occupied the island for only a short period.

In 1500 AD Kefallonia once again passed into the hands of the Venetians, who then held sway over the island for roughly three centuries until 1797. The French then took control of Kefallonia and introduced to the island the ideas of French Revolution. Shortly afterwards, however, the island fell under the domination of the Russian-Turkish alliance.

The British governed Kefallonia and the rest of the Ionian Islands from 1809 to 1864 when they were united with Greece. 

During the course of the Second World War, Kefallonia was occupied by the Axis powers. In 1943 it became a place of martyrdom for thousands of Italians who were executed en masse by their former allies, the Nazi.

On August 12, 1953 devastating earthquakes leveled the island forcing many of its inhabitants to migrate in search of a better life.

The island has a turbulent past but a promising future mainly due to tourism and the involvement of its inhabitants in trade and in merchant shipping. 

(Based on information published in http://www.ionion.com)