Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands da Màr" until Napoleon Bonaparte dissolved the Republic of Venice in 1797, annexing Corfu. The Ionian Islands are situated in the Ionian Sea, off the west coast of Greece. Cythera, the southernmost, is just off the southern tip of the Peloponnese and Corfu, the northernmost, is located at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea. In modern Greek, the period of Venetian rule over Greek territory is known as "Venetokratia" or "Enetokratia" ( or ) and literally means "rule of the Venetians". It is believed that the Venetian period on the Ionian Islands was agreeable, especially compared with the coinciding "Tourkokratia"
Ionian Sea also narratives about other eponymic legendary figures; according to one version, "Ionius" was a son of "Adrias" (eponymic for the Adriatic Sea); according to another, "Ionius" was a son of "Dyrrhachus". When Dyrrhachus was attacked by his own brothers, Heracles, who was passing through the area, came to his aid, but in the fight the hero killed his ally's son by mistake. The body was cast into the water, and thereafter was called the Ionian Sea. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Ionian Sea as follows: From south to north in the west, then north to south