Archaeological research on Chios has found habitation evidence dating back at least to the Neolithic era.

At the end of the 7th century BC, it was one of the first cities to strike or mint coins, establishing the sphinx as its symbol. It maintained this tradition for almost 900 years.

According to the Acts of the Apostles, Luke, Paul and their companions passed Chios during Paul’s third missionary journey, on passage from Lesbos to Samos.

It was also the site of the Chios massacre, in which tens of thousands of Greeks on the island were massacred by Ottoman troops during the Greek War of Independence in 1822.

The town was substantially damaged by an earthquake in 1881, with the loss of between 5500 – 10000 lives, as a result, most buildings were demolished and the town only partially retains its original character.

Despite the terrible devastation from the earthquake, in the late 19th century Chios emerged as home to the modern Greek shipping industry. In 1889 there were recorded 440 sailing ships of various types with 3,050 sailors.

The Greek Navy liberated Chios in November 1912 in a hard-fought, but brief operation.

By 2015, Chios had become a transit point for refugees and asylum seekers entering the EU from Turkey.