The history of Kos goes back more than three thousand five hundred years. Fossils found on Kos show that at one time the island was part of a vast mainland, «The Aegean Continent».Mythological stories about the wars between the giants and the Titans tell about the great upheavals of this early period.Through the ages the island had several different names: Kynnis, after the Giant Kynnas, Meropis after Meropas the pre historic King of Kos. Karis, which means «Shrimp» from the shape of the island, the island of macars which means «Isle of blissful men», due to the happiness and prosperity of the islanders. According to some historians the present name Kos is taken either from Koon, the name of the daughter of the King Triopa, or, according to other scholars from the shape of the crab depicted on one side of the ancient coins of Kos. In pre historic times the Phoenicians, Kretans, Leleges, Kareans etc. inhabited Kos island periodically. In the 15th century B.C. the Achaeans after establishing themselves on the mainland spread out to the Agean islands including Kos.Many archeological artifacts testify to this. According to Homer, Kos took part in the Trojan war (1194 B.C.) with a fleet of thirty ships, but after the fall of Troy the Asklepeades (Hippokrates is one of their descendants) fled and were shipwrecked on the shores of Kos where they introduced the worshipping of «Asklepeios the Saviour». In the 11th century B.C. the southern parts of Asia Minor and many agean islands, including Kos were colonized by the Dorians. This led to vast sociological cultural and economical development. In the 6th, century B.C. Kos flourished and became a power to be reckoned with; so much that in 700 B.C. Kos along with the cities of Knidos and Halikarnassos founded the Dorian Hexapolis (the union of six cities).This was a religious, economical and political alliance. They had a common place of worship that was dedicated to the Triopian Apollo, and was situated opposite Kos town. It is known today as Cavo-Crios.At the end of the 6th. century B.C. the Persian King Darios occupied many Greek cities in the Asia Minor, and the island of Kos.After the defeat of the Persian garrisons at Salamis, the Koans expelled the Persians and along with the Athenian Federation, governed along with the Athenian Federation, governed from the island of Delos. In the middle of the 5th. century B.C. Hippokrates, the famous physician was born.During the Peloponnesian war (431-404 B.C.) the Koans remained allies with the Atheniens and supported the democratic governments. The wars between the Atheniens and the Spartans nearly ruined them both.In the year 411 B.C. on the site where the capitol stands today. It was chosen because of the Asklepieion.With the help of the Atheniens and later by their own effort they turned the town into one of the most beautiful cities in ancient Greece. In 332 B.C. Kos was occupied for a short time by the Persian General Memmon, who was born on the island of Rhodes. He was deposed by the Generals of Alexander the Great the same year.During the Mithridatis wars (85 B.C.) Kos assisted Rome. Later when Kos was liberated from Mithridatis the island became part of the Eastern province of the Roman Empire.Although Kos has autonomy, a privilege bestowed on the people, because of the Asklepieion, the island did not avoid the tragic looting of the libraries and art treasures. On top of this they were subject to the compulsory glorification of the Roman Emperors. St. Paul visited the island and preached the new religion, Christianity. The people of Kos were converted. With the region of Constantine the Great and the establishment of Constantinople, Kos became part of the Byzantine Empire, and was repeatedly attacked by Persians - Saracens - Arabs and Crusaders. In 1306 Vignoli the Venetian Admiral of Byzantium, who was also the Governor of the Dodecanese, sold Kos and the other islands to the Knights of St. John who had been forced out of Jerusalem. They ruled for two hundred years. In 1464 the Turks, even though they had one hundred and fifty - six ships and eighteen thousand soldiers, failed to conquer Kos. In 1523 the Sultan Suleiman through an act of treason managed to take Rhodes. Because of a treaty with Suleiman the Knights were free to leave the islands safely - abandoning the people of Kos to the mercy of the Turks. The Turkish occupation lasted three hundred and ninety years, and the occupation lasted three hundred and ninety years, and the Greek culture was preserved only through the secret teachings of language and history in grottos, monasteries and hidden schools.Persecution and killings by the Turks became almost an everyday occurrence. In 1912 Italy being at war with Turkey occupied Kos and the other dodecanese islands. the Italians were welcomed as liberators but as it turned out the Greeks ended up under Fascist rule and had to go through enormous cultural upheavals. In 1943 the Germans took over occupied Kos after Italy’s surrender, andon March 7th 1948 Kos and the rest of the Dodecanese islands were finally reunited with Greece.

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