Schinoussa history

The "Schina" (lentisc - eng.) that proliferates on the island have given –in one version- the name Schinousa to the island. On nautical maps of the 18th century the island had the name of S. Quinoze which is speculated to have been the name of a Venetian military governor. Older names of the island were Echinousa and Panidia.

A Neolithic marble idol and other Archaeological finds of the later Hellenistic period tell us that the island was inhabited from the prehistoric ages and later in antiquity and was even one of the locations of the proto-Cycladic Hellenic civilization whose first centre was Keros which is now uninhabited.

In recent excavations settlements and other Hellenistic and early Christian archaeological finds came to light. These finds positively lead to the safe assumption of the existence of an acropolis.

The first reference to the island is found in the works of the historian Plinio. Plentiful ceramic finds. Ruins of early Christian basilica and a medieval castle inform us that the island was not only inhabited during the Byzantine era but also had a marked commercial activity.

Just as many of the Cycladic islands Schinousa suffered from continuous pirate raids but was also a springboard for pirate raids, a fact that forced the locals to emigrate at times. During the Turkish occupation the island was completely deserted and passed –as did Heraklia- to the ownership of the monastery of Chozoviotissa of Amorgos. After the liberation from the Turks around 1840, the monks sent some families from Amorgos to inhabit the island.