Greek colonisation father of the poet Archilochus, Telesicles. The region of the Ionian Sea and that of Illyria were colonized strictly by Corinth. The Corinthians founded important overseas colonies on the sea lanes to Southern Italy and the west which succeeded in making them the foremost emporia of the western side of the Mediterranean. Important colonies of Corinth included Leucada, Astacus, Anactoreum, Actium, Ambracia, and Corcyra. The Corinthians also founded important colonies in Illyria, which evolved into important cities, Apollonia and Epidamnus. Nymphaeum, was also a Greek colony in Illyria. The first to colonise Southern Italy were the Euboeans, who with the
Ionian Islands Ionian Islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ; ) are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e. "the Seven Islands" (, "Heptanēsa" or , "Heptanēsos"; ), but the group includes many smaller islands as well as the seven principal ones. As a distinct historic region they date to the centuries-long Venetian rule, which preserved them from becoming part of the Ottoman Empire, and created a distinct cultural identity with many Italian influences. The Ionian Islands became part of the modern Greek state in 1864. Administratively today they belong