city state · Greece and the Aegean

Leucas

640 BCE – 167 BCE (approx.) · capital Leucas

Corinthian colony on the Ionian island of Lefkada, which cut a canal through its isthmus and later became the capital of the Acarnanian League.

Origins

Corinthians led by a son of the tyrant Cypselus founded Leucas c. 640 BCE on what was then a peninsula of Acarnania. The colonists dug a canal through the isthmus, making it an island. Its white cliffs at Cape Leucatas were linked with the legend of Sappho's leap.

Rule and society

Leucas stayed close to Corinth, fighting at Salamis in 480 BCE and with Corinth at Sybota in 433 BCE, and was a member of the Peloponnesian League. It was an oligarchy living from trade along the route to Italy. In the Hellenistic period it joined the Acarnanian League and became its meeting place.

Decline and legacy

After the Third Macedonian War Rome separated Leucas from Acarnania in 167 BCE, and it came under Roman control. The island is today's Lefkada.

Connections (1)

More states of Greece and the Aegean →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Leucas. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/leucas
MLA
“Leucas.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/leucas. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Leucas.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/leucas.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Leucas’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/leucas (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻