The name Zakynthos, as Homer mentions, was the name of the son of King of Troy, Dardanos. Zakynthos arrived in the island from the Arcadian city of Psofida and settled in the island around 1500 BC, when he built the homonymous city.

The settlers named the acropolis of the island, Psofida to remind them of their country. So, the first inhabitants is believed to be Achaeans but according to Plinio the island was first inhabited before 3000 BC and was named Hyria by the former settler and hero Hyriea, who was coming from Hyria in Viotia. The historic researcher Wood mentions that the name of the island is due to its morphology: Za-kynthos, which in Greek means many- hills. Other researchers call it with different names as Iakynthos, Diakynthos, Zakyta, Jacinthum, Jantes and Lesante.

The history of the island is similar to the history of the other islands of the Ionian Sea and dates back to the ancient times. The oldest signs of life that were found in the island, come from the Neolithic Era. There is evidence of a wonderful civilization but they do not allow the researchers to find more clues about the past of the island because of the catastrophic earthquakes.

Next to the fortress, they have found a marble cluster of godlike figures like Apollo, Aphrodite and Artemis, which is in the Tiemblo Museum of Venice. Moreover, ruins of ancient temples, tombs and buildings are scattered in different parts of the island.

The descendants of Zakynthos created a remarkable civilization and begun to create colonies to expand it. Some of these were Zakantha, a colony in Spain, which was destroyed in 218 BC, the city of Kydonies in Crete and the city of Fokida in Spain. The king of Kefalinia, Arkisios, dominated the island until Odysseus the king of Ithaca, succeeded him. During the Mycenaean period the island was part of the kingdom of Ithaca and the inhabitants of Zakynthos along with Odysseus participated in the Trojan War. Homer used to call the island as 'green land'. After the Trojan War, Zakynthos was detached from the domination of Ithaca and for seven centuries it led a free and democratic life.

The geographical position, the fertile land and the springs of oil, helped the economic development of the island resulting, in 6th century BC, in the cutting of the first silver coin, which represented the 'tripod', the symbol of Apollo, which was then succeeded by the lyre in 5th century BC. In 455 BC Zakynthos was a member of the Athenian ally. After the collapse of the ally, Zakynthos was under the domination of Lacedaemonians, who changed the democracy to oligarchy.

During the Roman Empire, Zakynthos became part of the province of Achaia and a pole of attraction for many famous intellectuals of Rome. During the Mythridatic Wars, the inhabitants of Zakynthos were neutral while at the same time, begun the dissemination of Christian ideas by Mary Magdalene or by Agia Veatriki. 

With the establishment of Byzantine Empire, Zakynthos belonged to the province of Illyria without the right care and protection. So, around 466 AD, the king of barbarian Africans, Gilderich, sacked it. Later, in 591 AD, Zakynthos was infested by plague. The adventures of the island do not end here. Due to its geographical position between east and west, the island is sacked in the period of the Crusades.

In the end of 12th century the island passed to the French Counts Orsini, who governed the island until 1357. In 1479, Leonardo Tokkos, III fearing the Turkish attack, went to Italy and sold all his land to the Venetians. So the dynasty of Tokkos, which lasted one century, ended ingloriously.

During these years, the island managed to get organized and economically develop, resulting in the rise of population, which soon reached 25,000. Besides the Venetian efforts, the Turks seized and destroyed the island.

In 1485, through diplomatic efforts, the Venetians managed to take Zakynthos back with a term. They had to pay 500 ducats a year to the Sultan. The Venetians imposed their laws and divided the inhabitants in three categories: the aristocrats (nobili) who were registered in the "Gold Bible" (libro d oro), the middle class (civili) and the working class (popolari). They manage to liven up the island by giving privileges and tax exemptions and by allotting houses and buildings to the inhabitants.

It is important to consider that besides the constant change of population the Zakynthian element remained unchangeable. The leading roles to this were played by the inhabitants, who assimilated the best elements of the foreign civilizations, preserving intact their local elements. In a few years time, the island is called the 'Florence of Greece' due to its imposing architecture, its picturesque and unique arcades and its well-designed roads.

The peaceful life of the Venetians was interrupted by the Venetian-Turkish scuffle. The island became the station for supply and preparation of the Venetian and French fleet. Having the vision of a free Greece, many Zakynthians, with personal participation in ships, helped the Greeks in the sea-battle of Nafpaktos in 1571, where the Turkish fleet was destroyed.

During the period of Cretan War (1645-1669), the Ionian Islands would play a determinative part in the battles against Turks. The Venetians exchange Crete with the Turks, in order to stop paying taxes for Zakynthos. So, many Cretans chose Zakynthos for their new country.

In 1770, 8,000 Peloponnesians sought refuge in the island. In 1797, the island passed to the domination of the democratic French while in 1798 it surrendered to the Russians. In 1800, a treaty between Russia and Turkey was signed, where they decided for the foundation of the Ionian State, the first independent Greek state, which lasted seven years.

In 1807, after many diplomatic fights, Zakynthos passed to the French domination for two years and then to the English. The English made Zakynthos the capital of the Ionian state and they organized the areas of public health, water supply and road construction.

Around 1814, the "United States of Ionian Islands" is founded. All the islands of the Ionian Sea are included. In the same period, the Greeks established the 'Filiki Heteria' in order to organize the revolution, which they had been preparing for a long time. So, in 1818, the base of 'Filiki Heteria' was moved to Zakynthos. When the English noticed the existence of 'Filiki Heteria', they begun to investigate and persecute the organizers and the participants. With the declaration of the Independence War of 1821, the Zakynthians participated in the battles against the Turkish yoke, besides the English's reactions.

Besides the freedom of Greece, the Ionian Islands did not have the same luck and remained under the English domination. During the period of Crimean War (1852-1855), the island would be tested again since the trade and the shipping stopped while the cultivation of grapes was suffering by a disease and the epidemic of cholera was weakening the island to a catastrophic level.

In 1863, after the expulsion of Othonas by Greece and as a gesture of good will, England accepted to give to the Greek state the Ionian Islands. So, on June 5th, the treaty of England was signed in London, where England resigned from the protection of the Ionian Islands.

On May 21st, 1864 the Greek flag was raised in the castle of Zakynthos, making all the inhabitants of the island cry from enthusiasm.