Early inhabitants include Carians followed by Ionians from Athens. There were many people living on the neighbouring island of Delos, which meant that Mykonos became an important place for supplies and transit; however, the island was poor with limited agricultural resources. Its inhabitants were polytheists and worshipped many gods. 

Mykonos came under the control of the Romans and then the Byzantine Empire, then was ravaged by the Catalans at the end of the 13th century and finally given over to direct Venetian rule in 1390. 

Then in 1537, Mykonos was attacked and an Ottoman fleet established itself on the island. In June 1794 the Battle of Mykonos was fought between British and French ships in the island’s main harbour.

The Greek Revolution against the Ottoman Empire broke out in 1821 and Mykonos played an important role, led by the national heroine, Manto Mavrogenous. A statue of her sits in the middle of Mando Mavrogenous square in the main town.

As a result of sailing and merchant activity, the island’s economy quickly picked up but declined again during the late 19th century, after the Corinth Canal opened in 1904.

High quality clay and baryte, a mineral used as a lubricant in oil drilling, were mined on the eastern side of Mykonos until the late 1900s.