The Achilleion Palace was built by the Austro-Hungarian empress Elizabeth of Austria, who was known by the nickname Sissi. She was the wife of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph. The reason for building the palace was the double suicide of her son, the Austrian prince Rudolph and his lover Baroness Mary Vetsera in 1889. The palace was built from 1889-1891. year and served as a refuge for empress after this tragedy. After her death, the palace was abandoned for some time, and in 1907 it was bought by the German Emperor Wilhelm.

The Achilleion Palace was named after the Greek hero Achilles, who tragically died in the Trojan War.

The palace was supposed to represent the ancient palace of the mythical people of the Phaeacians, mentioned by Homer in his Odyssey.  Homer used the name Scheria for Corfu and claimed that there is a palace of the Phaeacian king Alcinous, which has not been confirmed historically. His luxurious palace had silver stairs, columns and golden doors, made by Hephaestus himself.  Just before returning to his home in Ithaca, Odysseus landed on the island of Scheria. Odysseus’ help provoked the wrath of the Olympian gods, which caused Alcinous’ kingdom to fall, as the gods shielded his city and harbour with high mountains.

The peristyle (corridor with columns) is decorated with sculptures of nine muses.

A painting inside the palace shows Achilles dragging the lifeless body of the Trojan hero Hector, whom he had previously killed in a duel, thus avenging the death of his close friend Patroclus.

There is also a sculpture, which represents the death of Achilles. His mother, the goddess Thetis, wanted to make Achilles invulnerable, so she drowned him in the water of Styx. But his right heel, by which she was holding him, remained unwetted, due to which he remained vulnerable only in that place. Achilles chose between a short but glorious life, rather than a long but monotonous and dishonorable one, which is why he went to the Trojan War. In that war, Achilles was killed by Paris, who shot him with an arrow in the only vulnerable spot on his body, the right heel.

The courtyard of the palace offers a panoramic view of the city of Corfu.

Check other Corfu’s Wonders Corfu Beaches, Corfu Town, Myths and Legends, Medieval Castles and Mount Pantokrator.