Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the regional unit Karpathos-Kasos.

Because of its remote location, Karpathos has preserved many peculiarities of dress, customs and dialect, the last resembling those of Crete and Cyprus.

[9] Apollonius of Rhodes, in his epic Argonautica, made it a port of call for the Argonauts travelling between Libya and Crete (Κάρπαθος: ἔνθεν δ' οἵγε περαιώσεσθαι ἔμελλον).

[10] The island is also mentioned by Diodorus who claims it was a colony of the Dorians,[11] Pomponius Mela,[12] Pliny the Elder,[13] and Strabo.

[15][16] No longer a residential bishopric, Karpathos (in Latin Carpathus) is today listed by the Catholic Church as an archiepiscopal titular see.

On that day, sailors from the Regia Marina battleship Vittorio Emanuele and the destroyer Alpino landed in Karpathos.

[citation needed] In the late 1940s and 1950s, due to the economic problems after World War II, a number of Karpathians emigrated to the U.S. eastern seaboard cities; Karpathos today has a significant Greek-American constituency who have returned to their island and invested heavily.

[22] The island is located about 47 kilometres (29 miles) southwest of Rhodes, in the part of the Mediterranean which is called the Carpathian Sea (Latin: Carpathium Mare).

[24] Karpathos Island National Airport, with its relatively large runway, is located on the south side (Afiartis area).

Additionally, charter flights from various European cities are frequently scheduled during the high season (April–October).Within the island, cars are the preferred mode of transportation.

The port, the airport, the main villages and other popular locations are connected by an adequate system of municipal roads, most of which are paved.

During the summer months, small private boats depart from Pigadia to various locations daily, including Olympos (via Diafani) and some inaccessible beaches.