Kos or Cos (; Greek: Κως [kos]) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 37,089 (2021 census), making it the second most populous of the Dodecanese after Rhodes. The island measures 42.1 by 11.5 kilometres (26 by 7 miles). Administratively, Kos constitutes a municipality within the Kos regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is the town of Kos.
Name The name Kos (Ancient Greek: Κῶς) is first attested in the Iliad, and has been in continuous use since. Other ancient names include Meropis, Cea, and Nymphaea. In many Romance languages, Kos was formerly known as Stancho, Stanchio, or Stinco, and in Turkish it is known as İstanköy (Ottoman Turkish: استانكوی), all from the reinterpretation of the Greek expression εις την Κω 'to Kos'; cf. the similar Istanbul and Stimpoli, Crete. Under the rule of the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, it was known as Lango or Langò, presumably because of its length. In The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the author misunderstands this and treats Lango and Kos as distinct islands. In Italian, the island is known as Coo. A person from Kos is called a "Koan" (or "Coan") in English. The word is also an adjective, as in "Koan goods".
Geography Kos is part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea, and is located south of Kalymnos and Pserimos and north of Nisyros. Its coastline is 112 kilometres (70 miles) long, extending from west to east. The island has several promontories, some with names dating from antiquity: Cape Skandari or Skandarion in the northeast; Cape Lacter or Lakter in the south; and Cape Drecanum or Drekanon in the west. In addition to the main town and port, also called Kos, the main villages of Kos island are Kardamena, Kefalos, Tingaki, Antimachia, Mastihari, Marmari and Pyli. Smaller ones are Zia, Zipari, Platani, Lagoudi and Asfendiou.
Climate Kos has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate.
Municipality
The present municipality of Kos was created in 2011 with the merger of three municipalities, which became municipal units:
Dikaios Irakleides Kos The municipality has an area of 290,313 km2, and has a municipal unit of 67.200 km2.
Economy Tourism is the main industry in Kos, the island's beaches being the primary attraction. The main port and population centre on the island, Kos town, is also a tourist and cultural centre, with whitewashed buildings including many hotels, restaurants and a number of nightclubs forming the town's "bar street". The seaside village of Kardamena is a popular resort for young holidaymakers (primarily from the United Kingdom and Scandinavia) and has a large number of bars and nightclubs. The last decade has seen a significant growth in the number of luxury hotels. While one-star and two-star hotels have decreased, four-star and five-star luxury hotels have sprung up throughout the island. From 2014 to 2023, five-star hotels have practically doubled, both in units (+95.83%) and in total beds (+103.32%). Significant but smaller, is the increase of four-star hotels, both in units (+34.15%) and in total beds (+8.5%). Farming is the second principal occupation, with the main crops being grapes, almonds, figs, watermelons, olives, and tomatoes, along with wheat and corn. Cos lettuce (romaine lettuce) is named after the island, from where it is said to have originated.
History
Mythological origins In Homer's Iliad, a contingent of Koans fought for the Greeks in the Trojan War. In classical mythology the founder-king of Kos was Merops, hence "Meropian Kos" is included in the archaic Delian amphictyony listed in the 7th-century Homeric hymn to Delian Apollo; the island was visited by Heracles. Kos was said to be the birthplace of the goddess Leto; the mother of Apollo. Supposedly Leto's father Coeus was the first inhabitant of the island. The island was supposedly colonised by the Carians, but Dorians invaded it in the 11th century BC, establishing a Dorian colony with a large contingent of settlers from Epidaurus, whose Asclepius cult made their new home famous for its sanatoria.
Archaic Era Its early history – as part of the religious-political amphictyonic league that included Lindos, Kamiros, Ialysos, Knidos and Halicarnassus, the Doric Hexapolis (hexapolis means 'six cities' in Greek), – is obscure. At the end of the 6th century, Kos fell under Achaemenid domination but rebelled after the Greek victory at the Battle of Mycale in 479. Archaeological finds have shown the existence of a small shrine to Hemera and Helios; gods of the day and the sun respectively.
Classical Era
During the Greco-Persian Wars, before it twice expelled the Persians, Kos was ruled by Persian-appointed tyrants, but as a rule it seems to have been under oligarchic government. In the 5th century, it joined the Delian League, and, after the revolt of Rhodes, it served as the chief Athenian station in the south-eastern Aegean (411–407 BC). In 366 BC, a democracy was instituted and the capital was transferred from Astypalaea (at the west end of the island near the modern village of Kefalos) to the newly built town of Cos, laid out in a Hippodamian grid. After helping to weaken Athenian power, in the Social War (357–355 BC), it fell for a few years to king Mausolus of Caria. Proximity to the east gave the island first access to imported silk thread. Aristotle mentions silk weaving conducted by the women of the island. Silk production of garments was conducted in large factories by female slaves.
Coae vestes Older research believed that the island was known in antiquity for the manufacture of transparent light dresses, the coae vestes. This view goes back to Aristotle, and it has been challenged by modern research. The term Coae vestes seems to refer to a type of silk garment and not the site of production (the island of Kos). The origin of the term is ultimately unclear.
Hellenistic Era
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