The M6.1 and M6.0 Cephalonia (Greece) earthquakes on 26 January and 3 February 2014, were right lateral strike-slip events. Both shocks occurred on the Cephalonia Transform Fault zone. Strong ground motion was recorded in the near-fault at the permanent and temporary accelerograph network of ITSAK, with the highest to date acquired peak ground acceleration in Greece (PGA = 0.77 g at Chavriata-CHV1 station). Local site effects in combination with source effects, have strongly affected near-fault ground motion. Landslides, rock sliding effects, behavior of stone masonry retaining walls, road embankments, road network failures, ports and liquefaction are also investigated and presented. Seismic response of different type of structures at the stricken area is presented and comparison of the near-fault recorded ground motion with seismic code provisions in Greece is attempted. Although, near-fault seismic excitation imposed to Cephalonia buildings was much higher than the design values foreseen by the old and recent codes, corresponding damage was much lower than one could expect. The over-strength of structures together with a long established good construction practice on the island of Cephalonia could explain their favourable response to high seismic actions, overwhelming those of seismic code provisions. However, buildings constructed according to the 1959 Greek Seismic Code or earlier, should be investigated in more detail and if high vulnerability is detected, it is necessary to strengthen them according to modern seismic code provisions.