[10][11] In The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the author misunderstands this and treats Lango and Kos as distinct islands.

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.

[19] Farming is the second principal occupation, with the main crops being grapes, almonds, figs, watermelons, olives, and tomatoes, along with wheat and corn.

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.

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.

[31] Older research believed that the island was known in antiquity for the manufacture of transparent light dresses, the coae vestes.

The term Coae vestes seems to refer to a type of silk garment and not the site of production (the island of Kos).

[33] During the course of the Fourth War of the Diadochi Ptolemy I Soter captured Kos from Antigonus I Monophthalmus, incorporating it into his kingdom.

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.

[38] 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 stoas, a temple to Apollo at Alisarna, construction and expansion of the Asclepeion, fortification works at Alisarna and multiple richly decorated houses.

[39] In 240 BC, Ziaelas of Bithynia, Seleucus II Callinicus and Ptolemy III Euergetes provided guarantees for the transformation of Kos Asclepeion into an asylum.

[41] 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.

Its position gave it a high importance in Aegean trade; while the island itself was rich in wines of considerable fame.

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.

The island first became a center for learning during the Ptolemaic dynasty, and Hippocrates, Apelles, Philitas and possibly Theocritus came from the area.

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 Insulae sent in 458 to Byzantine Emperor Leo I the Thracian with regard to the killing of Proterius of Alexandria.

The Greek Orthodox people of the island were left in their places and their residence was provided in the suburbs outside the castle.

[56] According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82–1893, the kaza of İstanköy (استانكوی)[57] had a total population of 12,965, consisting of 10,459 Greeks, 2,439 Muslims and 67 Jews.

[59] 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.

German troops occupied the island until 1945, when it became a protectorate of the United Kingdom, which ceded it to Greece in 1947 following the Paris peace treaty.

The synagogue is no longer used for religious ceremonies, as the Jewish community of Kos was targeted and destroyed by occupying 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 southern end of the market, there was a round building with a Roman dome and a workshop which produced pigments including Egyptian Blue.

In the western side excavations led to the findings of rooms with mosaic floors which showed beastfights, a theme popular in Kos.

The synagogue Kahal Shalom of Kos, on 4, Alexandrou Diakou street in the historic city center, was built in 1935.

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.

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.