With the exception of the myths associated with the mighty reign of the island and the gold hair of Pterelaus that allowed him to be immortal, Kefallonia, since the 11th century B.C. has been occupied in turn by the Spartans, the Athenians, king Philip and Alexander the Great, the Aetolian league, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Vandals, the Ostrogoths, the pirates, the Normans, the Venetians, the Turks, the Russians, the French, the British, the Italians, the Germans, and by Louis de Bernieres.