Karpathos is considered the land of the Titans, because of Atlas, Promitheus and Epimitheus. The first inhabitant of the island were considered to have been Iapetus, son of Uranus and Gaia, who was the King of the Titans. According to mythology, Athena was also born here, while, after a battle between the Gods, and the Titans, Ephialtes was killed and Otus, his brother, buried him in Karpathos. The island was deeply influenced by the Cretans, who migrated here and introduced the minoan civilization to Karpathos.

The few existing records prove that the people have existed on the island of Karpathos since the Neolithic Era. Excavations brought to light several findings from the Bronze Era (around 2,000 BC) which the Cretans -while expanding their naval rule to the Aegean sea- occupied the island, and later, Karpathos was inhabited by the Argeans. Homer mentioned the island with the name Karpathos. In ancient years, four cities paid taxes to the Alliance of Athens and Delos, while in the late 5th century, these cities came under the command of Rhodes. Like all Dodecanese islands Karpathos had successive conquerors. In the Middle Ages, the island was named Sarpantos, while, after the Franks demolished the Byzantine Empire, Karpathos and Rhodes came under the command of Leon Gavalas, followed by Andreas and Ludovic Moresko and the venetian Kornari family, finally ending under Turkish rule in the 16th century. In 1821, the people of Karpathos participated in the Greek Revolution, becoming part of the Greek state in 1823. In 1830 the protocol of London gave the island to the Turks, while in 1912, Karpathos came under Italian command, like all the Dodecanese islands. Karpathos final union with Greece took place on 7 March, 1948.