According to mythology, Mykonos was created by the stoned bodies of the giants that Hercules killed and its name was given by the hero Mykonos.The first inhabitants of the island came from Crete and Phoenicia but later, in the 9th century, Ions inhabited the island who had come from Athens.

Initially, the island had two capitals, today's capital and Panormos at the northern side. After the Persian wars, the island fell in economic decay and later, with the rest of the Cycladic islands it was conquered by the Spartans, later by Macedonians, Egyptians and finally by the Romans.

In the Byzantine era, Mykonos officially belonged to the administrative region of the Aegean, in the Middle Ages it was conquered by the Francs, later by Barbarossa and finally by the Turks. Later, the island developed into an important maritime power and a shelter for pirates. Its inhabitants actively participated in the Greek Revolution and the liberation from the Turks.