Greece the islands are scattered down the west coast of the mainland. The islands differ from other island groups in Greece being less quintessentially Greek and more reminiscent of Corfu’s neighbor - Italy. The Ionian islands receive a great amount of rain during the winter months and consequently the vegetation is more lush than on other islands. The average temperature in Corfu in July and August is around 33c with days exceeding 40c. The winters are mild, with the wet season stretching from October to early April. The average temperature during December and January is 15c. Archaeological evidence indicates that Corfu has been inhabited since Paleolithic times (30,000-7000 BC). Excavations near Sidari in the north coasts discovered a Neolithic settlement dating from 6000 BC. The first Greeks to arrive on Corfu were Eretian emigrants around 750 BC. Corinthians settled on the island in 735 BC in the area where Corfu Town now stands. Thanks to its trading position Corfu rapidly gained wealth and in order to gain its independence fought a sea battle with Corinth in 664 BC, although the Corinthians again imposed their rule from the end of the 7th century BC. Corfu’s revolt against Corinth and subsequent allegiance to Athens sparked the Peloponnesian Wars which lasted from 431 until 404 BC. Following the defeat the island took a long time to recover and was subjected to the tyrants of Syracuse in Sicily and the Kings of Epiros and Macedonia before becoming the first Greek territory to assume Roman protection in 229 BC. It remained under Roman rule until AD 395 when the island passed into the Byzantine empire. As the island was poorly defended it came under repeated attack from the Vandals, Goths, Saracens and Normans amongst others. from the 11th to the 14th century Corfu was ruled by Norman and Angevin kings, who were followed by the Venetians who held the island for 400 years and protected it from Turkish occupation. Venice fell to Napoleon in 1797 and Corfu and the other Ionian islands were alotted to France. In 1799 Russian forces wrested the islands from Napoleon but by 1807 they were his again. In 1815 after the downfall of Napoleon the islands became a British protectorate until 1862 when Britain relinquished the islands to Greece.