Ios History
The first inhabitants of the island were immigrants from Asia Minor in 3200-2700 BC. These dates are supported by the recent findings on the hill of Skarkos (see historical sites).
Between 2000BC and 1550BC the Minoans established themselves on the island and their settlements were destroyed in 1520BC by the eruption of the volcano in the neighbouring island of Santorini.
The Mycenaeans, Dorians and Ionians began to settle in the Cycladic isles in 1100BC. Ios  island was occupied by the Ionians who established the first main village of Ios  island on the central mountain overlooking the port.
Between 500BC and 320BC Ios  island was governed by the Persians, Athenians and Thebans, north Greek Macedonians, the kingdom of King Philip and Alexander the Great as well as the Ptolemeans, and in 220sBC the whole of Greece came under Roman rule. The Byzantines ruled Ios  island for many centuries.
The Venetians managed to gain power over the Cyclades following the Byzantines. With the governance of a Venetian Markos Krispos in 1397AD came the building of the castle protecting the main village from pirate raids.
Ios  island was finally conquered by Turks in 1537. Two hundred years later, the Russians had supremacy over the Ottoman Empire, and thus the entire Cyclades came under Russian influence. This allowed the islanders to have further autonomy over their trade. This privilege came under the Russio-Turk agreement of Kioutsouk-Kainartzi.
When the Russians joined the Greeks against the Turks in 1821 the revolution for independence began. In 1830, with the distinction of a local of Ios  island, Spiridonos Valetas, Ios  island joined the Greek nation state. A statue to honour Valetas is visible on the main road, on your right hand side as you reach the village from the port.
In the 8th century BC, Homer composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. His burial place can be found on the hill of Plakotos