According to mythology the first human settlement in Kefalonia took place by Ptereleus after his father Tafius that was Neptune’s son. The first inhabitants of Kefalonia were named Tafii or Televoes. During an expedition for the conquest of the island Ptereleus was defeated by Amfitrio- King of Thebes who offered the island as a reward to Kefalus.
The mythical Kefalus was first ancestor of the race of the Kefalides in Attica and it was the man who was in fact the first King of Kefalonia giving it his name. There are several controversial to each other theories in the greek mythlogy about Kefalus. We come to realise out of several resourses that he was son of Mercury or according to others son of Aiolos or Diion- king of Fokida. When he accidentally killed his wife during hunting, he was exiled by the Arios Pagos. According to others kefalus was purified of the homicide by the Thebeans and thus found himself to what we call Kefalonia in our days following Amfitrio to the expedition against Ptereleus. Kefalus chased the Teleboes out and settled himself in the island. He had many sons; Cranius, Paleas, Pronissos and Samos each of which founded a city. Another son of his, Arkissius was later on father of Laertes and grandfather of the leggendary Ulisses. Another well-known myth is also that of the abduction of Kefalus by Io who chased him to Syria in order to be unified with him.
Despite the doubts about which Ionian island makes today’ s Omeric Ithaka, the certain thing is that what we call Ithaka and Kefalonia today,both made part of the leggendary kingdom of Ulysses.
