For the flavor of Greece, Corfu is an excellent entry--an island rife with ancient secrets.
Corfu (also known by its Greek name of Kerkyra) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the nation's northwestern frontier with Albania.
For adventurers looking for a powerful weapon, an island like Corfu, with its ancient history dating back to the time of the primeval gods, could be a well-guarded and dangerous place.
Corfu’s Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio) is a massive fortification built by the Venetians in the 15th century. It was designed to protect the city from invasions, and its strategic location on a rocky promontory made it nearly impregnable. The fortress is filled with tunnels, secret passages, and ancient battlements, offering a rich history of sieges and battles.
In your campaign, this fortress could be a critical stronghold for a kingdom or city-state, serving as a base of operations for the players or a final bastion against invading forces. The fortress’s extensive tunnels and secret passages could house hidden treasures, ancient relics, or dark secrets. Exploring these depths might lead to encounters with forgotten guardians, deadly traps, or the spirits of past defenders.
Some scholars identify the island as Scheria, mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as the island of the Phaeacians. When the angry Poseidon set eyes on the boat given to Odysseus as a gift by the Phaiakes for his return to Ithaca, he, the god, touched it with his trident and with his divine powers transformed it into a rock, petrifying it. The bay of Palaiokastritsa in Corfu is referenced by the locals to be the place where Odysseus disembarked and met Nausicaa for the first time.
Legend has it that the mythical petrified ship of Odysseus is still visible from the bay. Heroes swimming out to the boat may find it truly is petrified just as it was, and restoring it or dislodging stone artifacts from it might be a quest unto itself.
Corfu (also known by its Greek name of Kerkyra) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the nation's northwestern frontier with Albania.
The God-Killer
Apollonius of Rhodes depicts the island in Argonautica as a place visited by the Argonauts. Medea's Cave is named after where Jason and Medea were married. But more significant is the island itself, named Drepane, Greek for "sickle." The island's sickle-like shape may be a hint: it was believed that the island was the resting place of the sickle Cronus used to attack his father Uranus, from whose blood the Phaeacians were descended.For adventurers looking for a powerful weapon, an island like Corfu, with its ancient history dating back to the time of the primeval gods, could be a well-guarded and dangerous place.
The Old Fortress
Medieval castles are positioned in strategic locations across the island. Two of them enclose its capital, which is the only city in Greece to be surrounded in such a way. As a result, Corfu's capital has been officially declared a Kastropolis ("castle city") by the Greek government.Corfu’s Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio) is a massive fortification built by the Venetians in the 15th century. It was designed to protect the city from invasions, and its strategic location on a rocky promontory made it nearly impregnable. The fortress is filled with tunnels, secret passages, and ancient battlements, offering a rich history of sieges and battles.
In your campaign, this fortress could be a critical stronghold for a kingdom or city-state, serving as a base of operations for the players or a final bastion against invading forces. The fortress’s extensive tunnels and secret passages could house hidden treasures, ancient relics, or dark secrets. Exploring these depths might lead to encounters with forgotten guardians, deadly traps, or the spirits of past defenders.
The Petrified Ship
Corfu is bound up with the history of Greece from the beginnings of Greek mythology, and is marked by numerous battles and conquests. According to mythology, Poseidon, god of the sea, fell in love with a nymph named Korkyra, daughter of a river deity named Asopos and the river nymph Metope. Poseidon abducted her to the unnamed island and named it after her. They had a child, Phaiax, whom the inhabitants were later named after (in Latin, the Phaeaciani). Corfu is referenced as a "man from Kerkyra" in Myceanean Greek as far back as 1300 B.C.Some scholars identify the island as Scheria, mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as the island of the Phaeacians. When the angry Poseidon set eyes on the boat given to Odysseus as a gift by the Phaiakes for his return to Ithaca, he, the god, touched it with his trident and with his divine powers transformed it into a rock, petrifying it. The bay of Palaiokastritsa in Corfu is referenced by the locals to be the place where Odysseus disembarked and met Nausicaa for the first time.
Legend has it that the mythical petrified ship of Odysseus is still visible from the bay. Heroes swimming out to the boat may find it truly is petrified just as it was, and restoring it or dislodging stone artifacts from it might be a quest unto itself.
