According to tradition, Ios was named by the word “Ia”, that is to say the flowers that blossomed on the island. another version wants Ios to owe its name to the phoenicien word Ios which means a pile of stones. today, the locals call it Nios.
Since the prehistoric times, the island had played a great role in the maritime commerce thanks to its natural safe harbor. This is proved by the findings of the procycladic settlement on Skarkos hill.
The first residents seem to be the Kares while later the Minoans, the Achaeans and the Phoeniciens (Ios was also known as Phoenicia). in the 10th century, the Ionians conquered the island and they included in the Ionian Amphictionies. as a matter f fact, it is said that here in Ios, Homer was buried, in his mother’s hometown. During the classical and Hellenistic times, Ios has known great growth, however during the roman and later the byzantine times, when it became a place of exile, it was in the mercy of the pirates and in decline.
During the Greek Revolution of 1821, although it did not have great maritime power, it was one of the first islands that raised the banner of revolution. in modern times, it remained an arid isand of Cyclades, however since the 70’s many tourists began to arrive from Europe so as nowadays to evolve to the party island of Cyclades withthe intense nightlife.
