Real Islands, Improbable Islands, and Imperfect Islands

The modern concept of an island as a portion of land completely surrounded by water does not always fit with the ancient conceptions, which often had a different and more nuanced view of insularity. The Greek word “nesos” could refer not only to an island in the strict sense but also to continental lands with a privileged relationship with the sea, such as some peninsulas. To what extent can we speak, then, of insular identity? How many and what different insular identities have existed? And finally, what does the island represent in the collective imagination?