Island
Insula Zachintus
Zakynthos
Listen to the story
In the Ionian Sea lies the Greek island of Zakynthos, which the map names Insula Zachintus. One letter in the middle of the name has faded, but the closing s is still clearly legible, which rules out a later reading that ended the word differently. The printed editions of 1598 and 1753 still show the complete name. The geographer Ptolemy lists the island, a Roman register of routes calls it Zacinthos, and a list of places compiled in Ravenna gives Jacintus.