Zakinthos, the southernmost of the Ionian islands, owes its name to the son of Dardanos, the king of Troy, who according to myth built the first city here. It is also mentioned in "The Iliad". All who came to this island fell under its spell. The Venetians baptized it "the flower of the Orient" (Fior' di Levante). Others gave It just as evocative names like "earthly paradise", and "Perfumed Isle", while Dionysios Solomos, the father of modern Greek poetry and a native son, wrote "Zakinthos could make one forget the Elysian Fields. No one who has been here can forget the emerald green of Its sea, Its pine-studded mountains, its musical people and their hospitality. The first thing to welcome you, as soon as you step off the ferryboat, is the town of Zakinthos.Though it lost all but three of its buildings in the earthquake of 1953, the town has been meticulously reconstructed and its former layout has been faithfully preserved.