Skiathos is the most cosmopolitan of all the Sporadic Islands. It is composed of mountainous inland areas, beautiful pine forests and glorious sandy beaches. It is said that Skiathos has the best beaches in the Sporades, if not in the whole of Greece! Forays inland uncover stunning scenery and many fine untouched examples of the island's history.

The island of Skiathos carries its name from ancient times. In prehistoric times, it was inhabited by the Pelasgi (a pre-Hellenic people from Thrace) and the Kares, according to Thucydides. Later on, the isle was inhabited by the Chalkides who founded the town of Skiathos in the same place where it still stands today.

Throughout classical times, Skiathos participated in the first alliance of Athens (478 BC), acquired autonomy and became a democracy. By the end of the war of the Peloponnese (404 BC), Skiathos was under the oligarchic regime of Sparta. It regained its autonomy in 378 BC when participating in the second alliance of Athens. That was a time when Skiathos produced copper coins with the head of word SKIATHI on the other. Throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods, it underwent Macedonian dominance (338 BC), to then regained its democratic regime with the fall of Philip (197 BC), and finally be colonised by the Romans (146 BC). From 42 BC all the way to post-christian times, Skiathos finds itself once again under the protectorate of Athens.

There is very little information on Skiathos during Byzantium. We only know of the creation of the diocese that belonged to the metropolis of Thessalia. In the 7th century AD, the isle underwent regular raids from the Saracen. In 1204, when the Frankish Empire collapsed, it fell in the hands of the Gizi brothers from Venice (1207 AD). The Gizi brothers gave the island self-government and many other privileges; they built a fortress in the harbour, the Bourtzi, but they also opposed the Orthodox church. They stayed in power, followed by their successors, until 1276, date by which the Byzantine Empire took over. Follows a period of many Turkish and pirate attacks, which obliged the islanders to build a new town in the Northern region of Skiathos, the Castro (or Castle -1350AD). With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the people of Skiathos asked the Venetians to conquer the island, giving them the same privileges they had enjoyed under the Gizi brothers, plus the freedom to exert their religion, so as to avoid Turkish occupation.

The Turkish occupation of Skiathos begins in 1538. The governor was Voevoda, who had been helped by elected elders, or heads of villages. Furthermore, the inhabitants of Skiathos were to pay a yearly tax (charatsi) and serve in the Turkish fleet. This military service was later turned into a monetary charge known as the melachika. Skiathos remained under Turkish Empire until 1830, except for the few years it was controlled by the Venetian admiral F. Morozini from 1660, the third period of Venetian control.

The beginning of the 18th century sees the construction of ships and the blooming of shipping. With its small fleet, Skiathos participated actively in the liberation from the Turks (the naval battle of Tsesme with admiral A. Orloff, raids of the Turkish coast by L. Katsoni, battles of the chieftains of Olympus). Thus acquiring such readiness and experience, the people of Skiathos were able to contribute significantly to the Greek revolution of 1821.

An act of great importance both for the island and the whole of Greece was the creation and raising of the first official Greek flag in September 1807, at the holy convent of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, in Skiathos.

In 1829, the islanders returned to the old city and dealt in sailing, vinicluture and olive growing.

Finally, Skiathos is the birthplace of two great personalities of the Greek Letters: Alexandros Papadiamantis (1851-1911) and Alexandros Moraotidis (1850-1929).

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