Archives

History The inlet of Ormos and its fertile hinterland were settled in the 3rd millennium bc: the sophistication of the settlement and the quality of the finds at Skarkos have recently brought Ios [...]

General For its size, Ios was once one of the least populated of the Cycladic islands. The scale and wildness of its mountainous interior beyond the two fertile valleys behind the main city, [...]

Ormos bay & Skarkos Hill Ios had no mineral, and only meagre agricultural, wealth: its two assets in earlier times were its plentiful timber and its sheltered and deeply indented port of [...]

Chora Shortly before reaching Chora after the climb from Yialos, the base of the ancient city’s fortification walls of the 6th century bc is visible in long runs of schist blocks beside the main [...]

Mylopotas Less than a kilometre south by foot from the southeastern corner of Chora is the celebrated bay of Mylopotas—a long sweep of pure sand, framed between two headlands. This and Manganari [...]

Epano Kambos & ‘Homer’s Tomb’ The road north from Chora affords good views over the bay of Ormos, with the terraced hill of Skarkos and the excavations on its north slope [...]

Aghia Theodoti, Psathi & the monastery of Aghios Ioannis The wild and exposed east coast of the island has the feel of a remote and largely uninhabited frontier area: the re mains of [...]

The South of the Island The southern extremity of the island is a landscape quite different from the centre and north, and no less dramatic. Its interior has only recently become accessible by [...]