View source for Kos

{{Short description|Island in Greece}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox Greek Dimos
|name = Kos
|name_local = Κως
|type = municipality
|image_map = 2011 Dimos Ko.png
|image_skyline = Greece kos city.jpg
|caption_skyline = Aerial view of Kos town
|coordinates = {{coord|36|51|N|27|14|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_min = 0
|elevation_max = 843
|periph = [[South Aegean]]
|periphunit = [[Kos (regional unit)|Kos]]
|pop_municipality = 37089
|area_municipality = 295.3
|pop_municunit = 21430
|area_municunit = 67.2
|demonym = Koan, Coan
|mayor =
|party = 
|since =2019 
|population_as_of = 2021
|postal_code = 853 xx
|area_code = 2242
|licence = ΚΧ, EA
|website = [http://www.kos.gr www.kos.gr]
}}
'''Kos''' or '''Cos''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ɒ|s|,_|k|ɔː|s}}; {{langx|el|Κως}} {{IPA|el|kos|}}) is a [[Greece|Greek]] island, which is 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.<ref name=census21/> The island measures {{convert|42.1|x|11.5|km|0|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kos Island |url=https://kos.gr/kos-island#:~:text=The%20island%20is%20located%20338,in%20terms%20of%20population%20(approx. |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=Kos Island Greece |language=en}}</ref> Administratively, Kos constitutes a municipality within the [[Kos (regional unit)|Kos regional unit]], which is part of the [[South Aegean]] [[Administrative regions of Greece|region]]. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is the town of Kos.<ref name=Kallikratis>{{Cite web|url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL8-SrPzKAEPjjtIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6hq6ZkZV96FIukI0UzcPsWCK0LpLhpa7rhiWB4R5ntTnoWw7U8E1Amg.|title=ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text|language=el|publisher=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette]]}}</ref>

==Name==
The name '''''Kos''''' ({{langx|grc|Κῶς}})<ref>Liddell ''et al.'', ''[[A Greek–English Lexicon]]'', ''s.v.''</ref> is first attested in the ''[[Iliad]]'', and has been in continuous use since. Other ancient names include Meropis,<ref>{{Cite Thucydides|8.41}}</ref> Cea,<ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]] cites [[Staphylus of Naucratis]] for this name in the ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=5:chapter=36 '''5''':36] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924202111/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=5:chapter=36 |date=24 September 2015 }}, but Peck apparently misinterprets Staphylus as a name of Kos</ref> and Nymphaea.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Cos |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=cos-harpers |access-date=8 August 2023 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

In many [[Romance languages]], Kos was formerly known as ''Stancho'', ''Stanchio'', or ''Stinco'', and in [[Turkish language|Turkish]] it is known as {{Lang|tr|İstanköy}} ({{langx|ota|استانكوی}}), all from the [[Rebracketing#In Greek|reinterpretation]] of the Greek expression {{Lang|grc|εις την Κω}} 'to Kos';<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sonnini |first=Charles Sigisbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OFEMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA212 |title=Travels in Greece and Turkey: Undertaken by Order of Louis XVI, and with the Authority of the Ottoman Court |date=1801 |publisher=T. N. Longman & O. Rees |pages=212 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=İSTANKÖY |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/istankoy |access-date=9 February 2023 |website=TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi |language=tr}}</ref> ''cf.'' the similar [[Names of Istanbul#Stamboul|Istanbul]] and [[Argyroupoli, Rethymno#Name|Stimpoli, Crete]]. Under the rule of the [[Knights Hospitaller]] of [[Rhodes]], it was known as ''Lango'' or ''Langò'', presumably because of its length.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=465RAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA364 |title=A handbook for travellers in Greece; describing The Ionian Islands; Continental Greece, Athens, and The Peloponnesus; The Islands of The Aegean Sea; Albania; Thessaly; and Macedonia: With a map of Greece, plans, and views |date=1872 |publisher=John Murray |pages=364 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sire |first=H. J. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KhLJcYiV3YAC&pg=PA34 |title=The Knights of Malta |date=1 January 1996 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-06885-6 |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref> In ''[[John Mandeville|The Travels of Sir John Mandeville]]'', the author misunderstands this and treats Lango and Kos as distinct islands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mandeville |first=Sir John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KqonpxzxlFoC&pg=PA15 |title=The Book of Marvels and Travels |date=13 September 2012 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-960060-1 |pages=15 |language=en}}</ref> In [[Italian language|Italian]], the island is known as {{Lang|it|Coo}}.

A person from Kos is called a "Koan" (or "Coan") in English. The word is also an adjective, as in "Koan goods".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Administrator |title=Kos Island Today |url=https://www.kosisland.gr/en/kos-today.html |access-date=8 August 2023 |website=www.kosisland.gr |language=en-gb}}</ref>

==Geography==
Kos is in the [[Aegean Sea]], at the entrance to the [[Gulf of Gökova]], across from [[Bodrum]], Turkey. Its coastline is {{convert|112|km|0|abbr=off}} long, extending from west to east.

The island has several [[Promontory|promontories]], some with names known in antiquity: [[Cape Skandari]], anciently ''Scandarium'' or ''Skandarion'' in the northeast;<ref>{{Cite DARE|41155}}</ref> Cape ''Lacter'' or ''Lakter'' in the south;<ref>{{Cite DARE|41157}}</ref> and Cape ''Drecanum'' or ''Drekanon'' in the west.<ref>{{Cite DARE|41364}}</ref>

In addition to the main town and port, also called Kos, the main villages of Kos island are [[Kardamaina|Kardamena]], [[Kefalos]], [[Tingaki]], [[Antimachia]], [[Mastihari]], [[Marmari, Kos|Marmari]] and Pyli. Smaller ones are [[Zia, Kos|Zia]], [[Zipari]], [[Platani, Kos|Platani]], [[Lagoudi]] and [[Asfendiou]].

==Climate==
Kos has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate.

{{Weather box
| location = Kos Sewage Plant weather station (37m)
| metric first = yes
|width=80%
| single line = yes
| Jan high C = 14.3
| Feb high C = 15.5
| Mar high C = 17.6
| Apr high C = 20
| May high C = 25
| Jun high C = 28.5
| Jul high C = 30.4
| Aug high C = 31
| Sep high C = 28.5
| Oct high C = 25.7
| Nov high C = 21.1
| Dec high C = 17.4
| Jan low C = 9
| Feb low C = 10.1
| Mar low C = 11.2
| Apr low C = 12.9
| May low C = 16.8
| Jun low C = 20.9
| Jul low C = 23.5
| Aug low C = 24
| Sep low C = 22.2
| Oct low C = 19.6
| Nov low C = 15.6
| Dec low C = 12.3
| Jan precipitation mm = 214.7
| Feb precipitation mm = 82.3
| Mar precipitation mm = 68.2
| Apr precipitation mm = 40.6
| May precipitation mm = 7.2
| Jun precipitation mm = 13.8
| Jul precipitation mm = 0
| Aug precipitation mm = 0
| Sep precipitation mm = 5.2
| Oct precipitation mm = 36.3
| Nov precipitation mm = 106
| Dec precipitation mm = 175.6
| source = http://penteli.meteo.gr/stations/kos/ (2019 - 2020 averages)
}}

==Municipality==
[[File:RhodesAndKos2022OSM.png|thumb|Detailed map of Kos, Rhodes and environs]]
The present municipality of Kos was created in 2011 with the merger of three municipalities, which became municipal units:<ref name=Kallikratis/>
*[[Dikaios, Kos|Dikaios]]
*[[Irakleides]]
*Kos

The municipality has an area of 290,313&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, and has a municipal unit of 67.200&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name=stat01>{{cite web|url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece |title=Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation) |language=el |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921212047/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2015 }}</ref>

==Economy==
[[Tourism]] is the main industry in Kos,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kos weather|url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/travel-and-events/holiday-weather/europe/greece/kos|access-date=12 February 2021|website=Met Office|language=en}}</ref> 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 [[Hotel rating|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%).<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.grhotels.gr/category/epicheirimatiki-enimerosi/statistika/|title = Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, Statistics}}</ref>

[[Agriculture|Farming]] is the second principal occupation, with the main crops being [[grape]]s, [[almond]]s, [[Ficus|figs]], [[watermelon]]s, [[olive]]s, and [[tomato]]es, along with [[wheat]] and [[Maize|corn]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agricultural History of Kos |url=https://koslocallygrown.gr/en/the-history-of-our-products/ |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=Kos Locally Grown |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fruits & vegetables |url=https://kos.gr/gastronomy-and-local-products/fruits-and-vegetables |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=Kos Island Greece |language=en}}</ref> [[Romaine lettuce|Cos lettuce]] (romaine lettuce) is named after the island, from where it is said to have originated.<ref>{{Cite OED|Cos|id=42170|access-date=27 September 2020}} "Etymology: The name (Greek Κῶς) of an island in the Ægean." "In full ''cos lettuce''. A variety of lettuce introduced from the island of Cos."</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rupp |first1=Rebecca |title=From Ancient Egypt to Outer Space, the Delicious History of Lettuce |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/food/the-plate/2015/08/13/from-ancient-egypt-to-outer-space-the-delicious-history-of-lettuce/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002001759/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/food/the-plate/2015/08/13/from-ancient-egypt-to-outer-space-the-delicious-history-of-lettuce/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 October 2019 |website=[[National Geographic]] |date=13 August 2015}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:The Abduction of Europa mosaic 2008.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|An [[Ancient Roman]] [[mosaic]] depicting the [[Europa (consort of Zeus)#Abudction|Abduction of Europa]] in the House of Europa in the Western Archaeological Zone of Kos town.]]
[[File:Kos Gymnasion 7.jpg|thumb|right|Ruins of the Ancient Gymnasion]]
[[File:Odeon of Kos 3.jpg|thumb|right|View of the ancient [[Odeon (building)|Odeon]] (heavily restored)]]
[[File:Greece kos city neratzia.jpg|thumb|right|Nerantzia Castle (Hospitalier period)]]

===Mythological origins===
In [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'', a contingent of Koans fought for the Greeks in the [[Trojan War]].<ref>''[[Iliad]]'' ii.676, from "Kos, the city of [[Eurypylus (king of Cos)|Eurypylus]], and the Calydnae isles", under the leaders Phidippos and Antiphos, "sons of the Thessalian king". It is unclear whether Homer is describing cultural affiliations of his own time or remembered traditions of Mycenaean times.</ref>

In classical mythology the founder-king of Kos was [[Merops (mythology)|Merops]], hence "Meropian Kos" is included in the archaic Delian [[amphictyony]] listed in the 7th-century [[Homeric Hymns|Homeric hymn to Delian Apollo]]; the island was visited by [[Heracles]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iraklis |title=The Battalion of the Ioannite Knights (Knights of Saint John) |url=http://www.kosinfo.gr/kos-history/mythology-kos/80-hercules-in-kos |access-date=8 August 2023 |website=Kosinfo.gr Tourism Guide |language=en-gb}}</ref> Kos was said to be the birthplace of the goddess [[Leto]]; the mother of [[Apollo]].<ref>{{cite book | title = Mimiambs | date = 2009 | isbn = 978-0-85668-883-6 | publisher = [[Oxbow Books]] | author = [[Herodas]] | translator = Graham Zanker | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=4lbwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 65]}}</ref> Supposedly Leto's father [[Coeus]] was the first inhabitant of the island.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals, BOOK XII, chapter 61 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0078:book=12:chapter=61 |access-date=8 August 2023 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

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''.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

===Archaic Era===
Its early history – as part of the religious-political [[amphictyonic league]] that included [[Lindos]], [[Kamiros]], [[Ialysos]], [[Knidos]] and [[Halicarnassus]], the [[Doric Hexapolis]] ({{Lang|grc-latn|hexapolis}} means 'six cities' in Greek),<ref>''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites'' (eds. Richard Stillwell, ''et al''.), ''s.v.'' "Kos".</ref> – 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.<ref>{{cite book | page = [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56576/page/n533/mode/2up?view=theater 419] | author-link = Lewis Richard Farnell | first1 = Lewis Richard | last1 = Farnell | title = [[The Cults of the Greek States]] volume V | publisher = [[Clarendon Press]] | location = [[Oxford]] | date = 1909}}</ref>

===Classical Era===
{{further|Ancient Greece|Cos (city)}}

During the [[Greco-Persian Wars]], before it twice expelled the [[Achaemenid Empire|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 [[History of Athens|Athenian]] station in the south-eastern Aegean (411–407 BC). In 366 BC, a democracy was instituted and the capital was transferred from [[Astypalaea (Cos)|Astypalaea]] (at the west end of the island near the modern village of [[Kefalos]]) to the newly built town of [[Cos (city)|Cos]], laid out in a [[Hippodamian]] grid. After helping to weaken Athenian power, in the [[Social War (357-355 BC)|Social War (357–355 BC)]], it fell for a few years to [[Mausolus|king Mausolus]] [[Caria|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.<ref>{{Google books |id=uCrfFZsoygQC |title=A Treatise on the Origin, Progressive Improvement, and Present State of the Silk Manufacture }}</ref> Silk production of garments was conducted in large factories by female slaves.<ref>{{Google books |id=n0s-wiyKKegC |page=83 |title=Introduction to the New Testament }}</ref>

==== Coae vestes ====
Older research believed that the island was known in antiquity for the manufacture of transparent light dresses, the {{Lang|la|coae vestes}}.<ref>{{cite DGRG|title=Cos|volume=1}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Radicke |first=Jan |title=Roman Women's Dress |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110711554-025/html |chapter=9 vestes Melitenses, vestes Coae, cyclas, gausapum – fashion and the Empire |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-11-071155-4 |location=Berlin |pages=386–391 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110711554-025}}</ref>

===Hellenistic Era===
[[File:Kos Asklepeion.jpg|thumb|left|View of the [[Asclepeion]]]]
During the course of the [[Wars of the Diadochi|Fourth War of the Diadochi]] [[Ptolemy I Soter]] captured Kos from [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus]], incorporating it into his [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|kingdom]].{{sfn|Sartre|2006|pp=55–56}} In the [[Hellenistic period]], Kos attained the zenith of its prosperity. Kos was valued by the Ptolemies, who used it as a naval outpost to oversee the Aegean. As a seat of learning, it arose as a provincial branch of the museum of [[Alexandria]], and became a favourite resort for the education of the princes of the Ptolemaic dynasty. During the Hellenistic age, there was a [[medical school]]; however, the theory that this school was founded by Hippocrates (see below) during the [[Classical age]] is an unwarranted extrapolation.<ref>[[Vincenzo Di Benedetto]]: Cos e Cnido, in: Hippocratica – Actes du Colloque hippocratique de Paris, 4–9 septembre 1978, ed. [[Mirko Grmek|M. D. Grmek]], Paris, 1980, pp. 97–111, see also Antoine Thivel: Cnide et Cos ? : essai sur les doctrines médicales dans la [[Corpus Hippocraticum|collection hippocratique]], Paris 1981 (passim), {{ISBN|22-51-62021-4}}; cf. the review by [[Otta Wenskus]] [https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/27688435?uid=3737864&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21104394691947 (on JSTOR)].</ref> It was the home of the major Hellenistic poet-scholar [[Philitas]].

Despite the incorporation of Kos into the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the island kept its political autonomy (shown in a 3rd-century BC decree found at Kos).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Te Riele|first=G.-J.-M.-J.|date=1966|title=F. SOKOLOWSKI, Lois sacrées des cités grecques (École française d'Athènes. Travaux et mémoires des anciens membres étrangers de l'école et de divers savants, 11). Paris, E. de Boccard, 1962. 244 p. Pr. F 54.-|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156852566x00303|journal=Mnemosyne|volume=19|issue=2|pages=208–210|doi=10.1163/156852566x00303|issn=0026-7074|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hansen|first=P. A.|date=April 1994|title=Brigitte Le Gune-Pollet: La vie religieuse dans le monde grec du e au IIIe Sieècle avant notre ère: Choix de documents èpigraphiques traduits et commentés. (amphi, 7.) Pp. 256. Toulouse: Presses Universitaires du Mirail, 1991. Paper, frs. 90.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0009840x00291555|journal=The Classical Review|volume=44|issue=1|pages=222|doi=10.1017/s0009840x00291555|s2cid=161506640 |issn=0009-840X|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The island was ruled autonomously through to its citizens assembly and magistrates (the monarch, the [[prostates]], the exegetes, etc.). The fact that the city could legislate and apply its own laws shows political independence from the Ptolemaic Kingdom. The city-state remained in control of its political institutions and civil rights.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Kos also became a center of production of unrefined silk, oars and [[amphora]]e.{{sfn|Sartre|2006|pp=251–254}} Kos economic development during the period can further be exemplified by the 3rd- and 2nd-century BC construction of a theatre, a new market with multiple [[stoa]]s, a temple to Apollo at Alisarna, construction and expansion of the Asclepeion, fortification works at Alisarna and multiple richly decorated houses.{{sfn|Sartre|2006|pp=274–275}} In 240 BC, [[Ziaelas of Bithynia]], [[Seleucus II Callinicus]] and [[Ptolemy III Euergetes]] provided guarantees for the transformation of Kos Asclepeion into an [[Asylum (antiquity)|asylum]]. This decision made Kos a more attractive destination for merchants and pilgrims.{{sfn|Sartre|2006|pp=267–269}}

Kos had a strong reputation for justice from the late fourth century BC and was called on more frequently than any other city in the Hellenistic period to provide judges for the arbitration of disputes between and within other cities. Between 310 and 300 BC, Kos arbitrated a dispute between [[Klazomenai]] and [[Teos]], provided a temporary law code for the [[synoecism]] of Teos and [[Lebedus]], and accepted requests to send judges to resolve internal disputes at [[Troy|Ilium]], [[Samos]], and [[Telos]].{{sfn|Scafuro|2021|pp=252–253}} In the following two centuries, they accepted further requests to send judges to [[Naxos]], [[Thasos]], [[Erythrae]], [[Mytilene]], and four cities whose names are not preserved.{{Sfn|Scafuro|2021|p=251}} The Koan settlement of the dispute at Telos is recorded in an inscription (''[[Inscriptiones Graecae|IG]]'' XII.4.1 132); one of the most detailed surviving records of foreign judges activities in the Hellenistic period.{{sfn|Scafuro|2021}}<ref>Greek text at: {{cite web |title=IG XII,4 1:132 – PHI Greek Inscriptions |url=https://epigraphy.packhum.org/text/349703 |access-date=26 January 2023 |website=PHI Greek Inscriptions}}; English translation at: {{cite web |last1=Gray |first1=B. D. |title=Inscription 87: Telos and Kos |url=http://www.attalus.org/docs/other/inscr_87.html |access-date=26 January 2023 |website=Attalus.org}}</ref> This judgement, drawing on Koan religious and financial regulations, allowed a group convicted of political crimes to pay off their fines and be reconciled with the wider community by paying for sacrifices and repairs to temples.{{sfn|Scafuro|2021|pp=260–268}}

[[Diodorus Siculus]] (xv. 76) and [[Strabo]] (xiv. 657) describe it as a well-fortified port. Its position gave it a high importance in Aegean trade; while the island itself was rich in wines of considerable fame.<ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], xxxv. 46</ref> Under [[Alexander the Great]] and the Ptolemies the town developed into one of the great centers in the Aegean; [[Josephus]]<ref>"Ant." xiv. 7, § 2</ref> quotes Strabo to the effect that [[Mithridates I of the Bosporus]] was sent to Kos to fetch the gold deposited there by [[Cleopatra III|queen Cleopatra]] of Egypt. [[Herod the Great|Herod]] is said to have provided an annual stipend for the benefit of prize-winners in the athletic games,<ref>Josephus, "B. J." i. 21, § 11</ref> and a statue was erected there to his son [[Herod the Tetrarch]] ("C. I. G." 2502 ). [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] briefly visited Kos according to {{bibleverse||Acts|21:1|KJV}}.

===Roman Era===
{{further|Roman Greece}}

Except for occasional incursions by [[Pirate|corsairs]] and some severe earthquakes, the island's peace was rarely disturbed. Following the lead of its larger neighbour, Rhodes, Kos generally displayed a friendly attitude toward the Romans; in 53 AD it was made a [[Free city (antiquity)|free city]]. The island of Kos also featured a provincial library during the Roman period. The island first became a center for learning during the Ptolemaic dynasty, and [[Hippocrates]], [[Apelles]], [[Philitas]] and possibly [[Theocritus]] came from the area. An inscription lists people who made contributions to build the library in the 1st century AD.<ref name="eduscapes">{{cite web|url=http://www.eduscapes.com/history/ancient/100.htm|title=Libraries of Greece|publisher=Annette Lamb|access-date=28 March 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221062631/http://eduscapes.com/history/ancient/100.htm|archive-date=21 February 2015}}</ref> One of the people responsible for the library's construction was the Koan physician [[Gaius Stertinius Xenophon]], who lived in Rome and was the personal physician of the Emperors [[Tiberius]], [[Claudius]], and [[Nero]].<ref name="Asklepion">{{cite web|url=http://www.skibbereeneagle.ie/uncategorized/asklepion-of-kos/|title=The Asklepion of Kos – Home of Modern Medicine|work=Skibbereen Eagle |date=25 September 2011 |publisher=The Skibbereen Eagle|access-date=28 March 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402113444/http://www.skibbereeneagle.ie/uncategorized/asklepion-of-kos/|archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref>

[[Herod the Great|Herod]], king of [[Herodian kingdom|Judaea]], ensured the perpetual funding for the [[gymnasiarch]]'s annual office on Kos. An inscription from the assembly of the island, dating around 14 BC, honours Gaius Iulius Herodes, affirming Herod's adoption of the Roman ''[[tria nomina]]''; possibly relating to this financial support or another endowment.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=Guy MacLean |title=For the Freedom of Zion: the Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66–74 CE |date=2021 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-24813-5 |location=New Haven |page=22}}</ref>

===Byzantine Era===
{{further|Byzantine Greece|Knights Hospitaller}}

The [[bishopric]] of Kos was a [[suffragan]] of the [[metropolitan see of Rhodes]].<ref name="ODB">{{cite encyclopedia | last = Gregory | first = Timothy E. | title = Kos | page = 1150 | editor-last=Kazhdan | editor-first=Alexander | editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan | year=1991 | encyclopedia = [[The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] | location = Oxford and New York | publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6 }}</ref> Its bishop Meliphron attended the [[First Council of Nicaea]] in 325. Eddesius was one of the minority Eastern bishops who withdrew from the [[Council of Sardica]] in about 344 and set up a rival council at Philippopolis. Iulianus went to the synod held in Constantinople in 448 in preparation for the [[Council of Chalcedon]] of 451, in which he participated as a legate of [[Pope Leo I]], and he was a signatory of the joint letter that the bishops of the [[Roman province]] of [[Aegean Islands|Insulae]] sent in 458 to [[Byzantine Emperor]] [[Leo I the Thracian]] with regard to the killing of [[Proterius of Alexandria]]. Dorotheus took part in a synod in 518. Georgius was a participant of the [[Third Council of Constantinople]] in 680–681. Constantinus went to the [[Photius|Photian]] [[Council of Constantinople (879)]].<ref>Raymond Janin, v. ''Cos'' in [http://booksnow.scholarsportal.info/ebooks/oca2/4/dictionnairedhis13bauduoft/dictionnairedhis13bauduoft.pdf ''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''], vol. XIII, Paris 1956, coll. 927–928</ref><ref>Pius Bonifacius Gams, [http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=65154&dirids=1 ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae''] {{webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20150308111152/http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=65154&dirids=1 |date=8 March 2015 }}, Leipzig 1931, p.&nbsp;448</ref> Under [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] rule, apart from the participation of its bishops in councils, the island's history remains obscure. It was governed by a ''[[droungarios]]'' in the 8th–9th centuries, and seems to have acquired some importance in the 11th and 12th centuries: [[Nikephoros Melissenos]] began his uprising here, and in the middle of the 12th century, it was governed by a scion of the ruling [[Komnenos]] dynasty, Nikephoros Komnenos.<ref name="ODB"/>

Today the ecclesiastical [[metropolis of Kos]] remains under the direct authority of the [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]], rather than the [[Church of Greece]], and is also listed by the [[Catholic Church]] as a [[titular see]].<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 875</ref>

===Genoese Era===
[[File:Choa nunc Lango - Buondelmonti Cristoforo - 1420.jpg|thumb|15th-century map by [[Cristoforo Buondelmonti]]]]
Following the 11th century, Kos passed under [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] control, although it was a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] territory and kept for a while by the [[Empire of Nicaea]]. Genoese ruled as protectorate and lasted over four centuries.<ref name="ODB"/> In the 1320s, Kos nominally formed a part of the realm of Genoese Vignolo de Vignoli. The [[Knights Hospitaller]] were hosted over the island paying a rent to Genoese republic.<ref name="ODB" /> From the 14th century onwards the island experienced raids of [[Anatolian beyliks|Turkish corsairs]]. During this period two towers were built in the southeast and southwest sections of the castle during the raids of [[Yıldırım Bayezid]] between 1391 and 1396. Kos faced its first serious Ottoman attack in 1455. The navy under the command of [[Hamza Bey]] attacked the island, besieged and destroyed the [[Antimachia|Andimacheia]] Castle.<ref name=":0" /> The last Hospitaller governor of the island was [[Piero de Ponte]].

===Ottoman Era===
{{further|Ottoman Greece}}

During the [[Siege of Rhodes (1522)|conquest of Rhodes]] in 1522, it was surrendered to the Ottomans due to the terms of the agreement. When Captain Behram Bey arrived in front of Kos and Bodrum, the castle guards handed over the castle to him and left, and this news reached the camp on 17 Safer 929 (5 January 1523). As soon as the island was taken, a [[qadi]], a castellan and guards were sent to the largest and fortified castle, Nerantzia, which was repaired. The Greek Orthodox people of the island were left in their places and their residence was provided in the suburbs outside the castle.<ref name=":0" />

During the course of the [[Orlov revolt]], a [[Russian Imperial Navy|Russian fleet]] anchored off the Kos castle. On the night of 5 August 1773, the Russians dispatched a landing party intending to capture the castle. They suffered heavy casualties in the ensuing battle. The Russian ships departed Kos two days later, having failed to achieve their objective.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hatzivasileiou|first=Vasilis|title= Ἱστορία τῆς νήσου Κῶ : Ἀρχαία, μεσαιωνική, νεότερη|trans-title=History of Kos Island: Ancient, Medieval, Modern|publisher=Dimos Ko|language=el|location=Athens|year=1990|page=314}}</ref>

According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82–1893, the [[kaza]] of {{Lang|otr|İstanköy (استانكوی)}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=استانكوی – istanköy ingilizce ne demek, استانكوی anlami, what does it mean istanköy استانكوی – Turkish Ottoman |url=https://lehcei.cagdassozluk.com/osmanlica-turkce-sozluk-madde-1134.html |access-date=9 February 2023 |website=lehcei.cagdassozluk.com}}</ref> had a total population of 12,965, consisting of 10,459 [[Ottoman Greeks|Greeks]], 2,439 Muslims and 67 [[History of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire|Jews]].<ref>[[Kemal Karpat]] (1985), [https://kupdf.net/downloadFile/59e4a7b908bbc56144e653d7 Ottoman Population, 1830-1914, Demographic and Social Characteristics], [[The University of Wisconsin Press]], pp. 130–131</ref> The island was occupied by the Kingdom of Italy on 20 May 1912.<ref name=":0" />

===Italian Rule and WWII===
{{further|Italian Islands of the Aegean}}

Kos was transferred to the [[Kingdom of Italy]] in 1912 after the [[Italo-Turkish War]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bertarelli|first1=Luigi Vittorio|title=Guida d'Italia Vol. XVII|date=1929|publisher=C.T.I.|location=Milano|page=Sub voce "Storia"}}</ref> The Italians developed the infrastructures of the island, after the ruinous earthquake of 23 April 1933, which destroyed a great part of the old city and damaged many new buildings. Architect Rodolfo Petracco drew up the new city plan, transforming the old quarters into an archaeological park, and dividing the new city into a residential, an administrative, and a commercial area.<ref>[http://www.thiasos.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/01-Livadiotti-RoccoKos.pdf G. Rocco, M. Livadiotti, ''Il piano regolatore di Kos del 1934: un progetto di città archeologica'', "Thiasos", 1, 2012, pp. 10-12] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728081820/http://www.thiasos.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/01-Livadiotti-RoccoKos.pdf|date=28 July 2014}}</ref>

In [[World War II]], the island, as an Italian possession, was controlled by the [[Axis powers|Axis]], until the [[Italian surrender|Italians surrendered]] in 1943.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Gartzonikas |first=Panagiotis |date=December 2003 |title=Amphibious and Special Operations in the Aegean Sea 1943–1945: Operational Effectiveness and Strategic Implications |pages=15–32 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10945/6200 |degree=Master's |location=Monterey, California |publisher=[[Naval Postgraduate School]]}}</ref> British and German forces then clashed for control of the island in the [[Battle of Kos (1943)|Battle of Kos]] as part of the [[Dodecanese Campaign]], in which the Germans were victorious. Following the battle, 100 Italian officers who had refused to join the Germans were executed in what became known as the [[Massacre of Kos]]. German troops occupied the island until 1945, when it became a protectorate of the United Kingdom, which ceded it to the [[Kingdom of Greece]] in 1947 following the [[Paris Peace Treaty]].

===Contemporary===
There is a Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC), i.e. a [[Hotspot camp|refugee camp]], with a stated capacity of 2,140.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 July 2020 |title=ΚΕΔ ΚΩ {{!}} Υπουργείο Μετανάστευσης και Ασύλου |trans-title=KED KO {{!}} Ministry of Immigration and Asylum |url=https://migration.gov.gr/en/ris/perifereiakes-monades/kyt-domes/k-y-t-ko/ |access-date=8 August 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> It is one of a number on Greek islands.

==Geology==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2022}}
The island is part of a chain of mountains from which it became separated after earthquakes and subsidence that occurred in ancient times. The remnants of these mountains include the islands of [[Kalymnos]] and [[Pserimos|Kappari]] which are separated by an underwater chasm approximately {{convert|70|m|ft fathom}} deep, as well as the volcano of [[Nisyros]] and the surrounding islands.

There is a wide variety of rocks in Kos which is related to its geographical formation. Prominent among these are the [[Quaternary]] layers in which the fossil remains of mammals such as horses, [[Hippopotamus|hippopotami]] and elephants have been found. The fossilised [[Molar (tooth)|molar]] of an [[elephant]] of gigantic proportions was presented to the [[Paleontology]] Museum of the [[National and Kapodistrian University of Athens|University of Athens]].

==Religion==
[[File:Kos mos01.JPG|thumb|[[Gazi Hasan Pasha Mosque, Loggia|Gazi Hasan Pasha Mosque]] in Kos]]
[[File:Kos catdr.JPG|thumb|Orthodox Cathedral of Kos]]
The people of Kos are predominantly [[Greek Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]]; one of the four Orthodox cathedrals in the Dodecanese is located in Kos. In addition, there is a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] church on the island and a [[mosque]] for the [[Turks of the Dodecanese|Turkish Muslim community]]. The [[synagogue]] is no longer used for religious ceremonies, as the [[Jews|Jewish]] community of Kos was targeted and destroyed by occupying [[Nazi Germany|German]] forces in [[World War II]]. It has, however, been restored and is maintained with all religious symbols intact, and is now used by the Municipality of Kos for various events, mainly cultural.

In the late 1920s, about 3,700 Turks lived in Kos city; slightly less than 50% of the population, who were mainly in the west part of the city. Today, the population of the Turkish community in Kos has been estimated at 2,000 people. A village with a significant Turkish population is Platani (Kermentes), near the town of Kos.

==Main sights ==
===Ancient sites===
The ancient physician [[Hippocrates]] is thought to have been born in Kos, and in the center of the town is the [[Tree of Hippocrates|Plane Tree of Hippocrates]]; a dream temple where the physician is traditionally supposed to have taught. The limbs of the now elderly tree are supported by scaffolding. The small city is also home to the International Hippocratic Foundation of Kos, and the [[Hippocratic Museum]] dedicated to him. Near the institute are the ruins of [[Asclepieion|Asklepieion]], where [[Herodicus]] taught Hippocrates medicine.

[[File:Kos market Agora 2.jpg|thumb|View of the municipal market, built in 1934–1935 by architect Rodolfo Petracco.]]

The ancient market place of Kos was considered one of the biggest in the ancient world. It was the commercial and commanding centre at the heart of the ancient city. It was organised around a rectangular yard {{convert|50|m}} wide and {{convert|300|m}} long. It began in the Northern area and ended south on the central road (Decumanus) which went through the city. The northern side connected to the city wall towards the entrance to the harbour. Here there was a monumental entrance. On the eastern side there were shops. In the first half of the 2nd century BC, the building was extended toward the interior yard. The building was destroyed in an earthquake in 469 AD.

In the southern end of the market, there was a round building with a Roman dome and a workshop which produced pigments including [[Egyptian blue|Egyptian Blue]]. Coins, treasures, and copper statues from Roman times were later uncovered by archaeologists. In the western side excavations led to the findings of rooms with mosaic floors which showed beastfights, a theme popular in Kos.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Iraklis |title=Stuffed Goat ("Labriatiko") |url=http://www.kosinfo.gr/kos-history/archaeological-sites-monuments/202-ancient-sites-of-the-harbour-and-market-place |access-date=8 August 2023 |website=Kosinfo.gr Tourism Guide |language=en-gb}}</ref>

===Castles===
[[File:Antimachia.JPG|thumb|The Byzantine Antimachia Castle]]
The island has a 14th-century fortress at the entrance to its harbour, erected in 1315 by the [[Knights Hospitaller]], and another from the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]] in [[Antimachia]].

===Synagogue===
[[File:The synagogue Kahal Shalom.jpg|thumb|The synagogue Kahal Shalom designed by architects Armando Bernabiti and Rodolfo Petracco in 1935.]]

The synagogue Kahal Shalom of Kos, on 4, Alexandrou Diakou street in the historic city center, was built in 1935.<ref>E.V. Messinas, ''The Synagogues of Greece: A Study of Synagogues in Macedonia and Thrace: With Architectural Drawings of all Synagogues of Greece'', KDP, 2022, {{ISBN|979-8-8069-0288-8}}, p. 171–174</ref> It was designed by architects [[Armando Bernabiti]] and [[Rodolfo Petracco]], and was built by the construction company 'De Martis-Sardelli'.<ref>The Historic and Folklore Archive of the Municipality of Kos. (2022)</ref> The synagogue complex includes the synagogue and the adjacent rabbi's residence, today housing the offices of the organisation 'Hippocrates'. The Jewish community of Kos dates from antiquity. An older synagogue was destroyed in the earthquake of 13 April 1933. Following the deportation of nearly 100 members of the Jewish community on Sunday 23 July 1944, the synagogue was abandoned and later purchased by the Municipality in the 1980s. The synagogue has been used as a cultural center by the Municipality of Kos, for lectures and exhibitions. In 2022 the Municipality of Kos and the Central Board of Jewish Communities, commissioned architect [[Elias V. Messinas]] to restore the interior of the synagogue, and make possible a dual use of the building for religious services, and cultural activities.

== People==
* [[Epicharmus of Kos]] (6th–5th century BC), comic playwright
* [[Hippocrates]] (5th century BC), "father of medicine".
* [[Apelles]] (4th century BC), painter.
* [[Philitas of Cos]] (4th century BC), poet and scholar.
* [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]] (4th century BC) Pharaoh of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]]
* [[Berossus]], who according to Vitruvius's work ''de Architectura'', eventually relocated to the island of Kos, off the coast of Asia Minor, where he established a school of astrology<ref>Vitruvius, ix.6.2.</ref> under the patronage of the king of Egypt.
* [[Michael Kefalianos]], professional bodybuilder.<ref name="bio">{{Cite web |title=IFBB Pro Michael Kefalianos - Bio |url=https://www.michaelkefalianos.com/bio.asp |access-date=8 August 2023 |website=www.michaelkefalianos.com}}</ref>
* [[Marika Papagika]], early 20th-century singer.<ref name="Sullivan2013">{{cite book|author=Steve Sullivan|title=Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings |url={{Google books |plainurl=yes |id=QWBPAQAAQBAJ |page=742 }} |date=4 October 2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-8296-6|page=742}}</ref>
* [[Ioannis Sarmas]], judge and caretaker Prime Minister of Greece in 2023.
* [[Kostas Skandalidis]], former Interior Minister of Greece and close associate of Prime Minister [[Andreas Papandreou]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Administrator |title=Σκανδαλίδης Κώστας – Βιογραφικό |url=http://www.skandalidis.gr/joomla-overview |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716050034/http://www.skandalidis.gr/joomla-overview |archive-date=16 July 2017 |access-date=2 May 2018 |website=www.skandalidis.gr }}</ref>
* [[Al Campanis]], Major League Baseball player and executive.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/Dodecanese-Isl-_born.shtml|title=www.baseball-reference.com|website=baseball-reference.com|access-date=2 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093529/http://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/Dodecanese-Isl-_born.shtml|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>
* [[Stergos Marinos]], former professional [[Association football|footballer]].<ref name="bio2">{{cite web|url=http://www.stergosmarinos.gr/default.asp?id=2&lg_id=1|title=Stergos Marinos biography|publisher=Stergos Marinos' official website|language=el|access-date=13 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322111904/http://www.stergosmarinos.gr/default.asp?id=2&lg_id=1|archive-date=22 March 2014}}</ref>
* [[Şükrü Kaya]], [[Turkish people|Turkish]] politician, who served as [[Ministry of the Interior (Turkey)|Minister of the Interior]] and [[List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Turkey)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] of [[Turkey]]. He was one of the perpetrators of the [[Armenian genocide]].<ref>Who is who database – [http://www.kimkimdir.gen.tr/kimkimdir.php?id=624 ''Biography of Şükrü Kaya''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605022400/http://www.kimkimdir.gen.tr/kimkimdir.php?id=624|date=5 June 2015}} (in Turkish)</ref>

== Transport ==

* [[Kos International Airport]]

==In popular culture==
*Kos is the setting of the [[Wargame|wargaming]] book ''Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting'', written by [[Michael O. Varhola]] with co-authors.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Varhola |first1=Michael O. |last2=Clunie |first2=Jim |last3=Cass |first3=Brendan |last4=Staples |first4=Clint |last5=Thrasher |first5=William T. |last6=Van Deeleen |first6=Chris |last7=Farnden |first7=Heath |author-link1=Michael O. Varhola |title=Swords of Kos Fantasy Campaign Setting |date=2016 |publisher=[[Skirmisher Publishing]] |isbn=978-1935050742 |url=https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/193686?affiliate_id=79547 |access-date=31 January 2020}}</ref>
*Kos was the main shooting location and setting for [[Signs of Life (1968 film)|''Signs of Life'' (1968 film)]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weiler |first=A. H. |date=26 September 1968 |title=From Germany, 'Signs of Life' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/26/archives/from-germany-signs-of-life.html |access-date=20 May 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Old ruins Kos 1.jpg|Ancient Agora
File:Kos museum ex01.JPG|Archaeological Museum of Kos
File:HSAsclepiusKos.jpg|Mosaic depicting Asclepius and Hippocrates (3rd century), Archaeological Museum of Kos
File:Greece - Kos island - panoramio.jpg|Town hall
File:Kos Agia Paraskevi 03.JPG|St Paraskevi church, Kos town
File:Kos castle.jpg|Street of Kos town
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Coan wine]]
* [[List of volcanoes in Greece]]
* [[List of islands of Greece#Dodecanes islands]]
* [[List of Crusader castles]]
* The [[disappearance of Ben Needham]] in 1991.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Sartre|first=Maurice|title=Ελληνιστική Μικρασία: Aπο το Αιγαίο ως τον Καύκασο|trans-title=Hellenistic Asia Minor: From the Aegean to the Caucasus|publisher=Ekdoseis Pataki|language=el|location=Athens|isbn=9789601617565|date=2006}}
* {{cite book |last1=Scafuro |first1=Adele C. |editor1-last=Mackil |editor1-first=Emily Maureen |editor2-last=Papazarkadas |editor2-first=Nikolaos |title=Greek Epigraphy and Religion: Papers in Memory of Sara B. Aleshire from the Second North American Congress of Greek and Latin Epigraphy |date=2021 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden; Boston |isbn=978-90-04-44254-2 |pages=248–282 |chapter=Koan Good Judgemanship: Working for the Gods in IG XII.4.1 132}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Kos}}
*{{wikivoyage inline|Kos}}

{{Dodecanese Islands}}
{{Kallikratis-South Aegean}}
{{Kos div}}
{{Aegean Sea}}
{{Third Journey of Paul of Tarsus}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kos| ]]
[[Category:Dodecanese]]
[[Category:Islands of Greece]]
[[Category:Islands of the South Aegean]]
[[Category:Landforms of Kos (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Landforms of the South Aegean]]
[[Category:Municipalities of the South Aegean]]
[[Category:Subduction volcanoes]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of Greece]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of the Aegean]]
[[Category:Places in the Iliad]]
[[Category:New Testament places]]
[[Category:Populated places in Kos (regional unit)]]