According to tradition, it is built on the location where three monks, Nikitas, Ioannes and Iosif, miraculously found an icon of the Virgin Mary, hanging from a branch of myrtle.

[2] At that time, Constantine was exiled in nearby Lesbos, and the monks visited him and told of a vision according to which he would eventually become emperor.

[2] The subsequent Genoese domination reduced its wealth, but the monastery prospered again during the Ottoman era, when it was subject directly to the Patriarch of Constantinople, and enjoyed considerable autonomy.

The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Chrysanthos Notaras, and the French priest Fourmont, who visited the monastery in 1725 and 1729 respectively, commented on the large numbers of monks, the quantity of relics preserved, and the beauty of the church and its decoration.

2,000 people had sought refuge in the monastery, but the Ottomans stormed it, slaughtered many, and set fire to the templon and other wooden furnishings of the church, including the roof, leaving the rest of the refugees to burn there.

Although all three sections date to the 11th century, the main church suffered significant damage in 1822 and 1881, with the result that its current, rebuilt, form is different from the original.

[2] Along with the katholikon, the only remaining 11th century buildings are the partially ruined tower, the chapel of St Luke, the cistern and parts of the trapeza.