Other archaeological finds were located in the area of Saint Marina, the site of the first Hellenic settlement to be found on the island, dating to the 3rd millennium BC.

The raid by the Goths in the Eastern Roman empire caused a wave of refugees to flee to Spetses, resulting in the re-settlement of the island.

These refugees created the old village of Spetses, in the area of Kastelli; it is fortified by a wall that reinforces the natural protection provided by the terrain.

Merchant seafaring was the only source of livelihood for men of many of the rocky, non-arable Greek islands, and the brisk Mediterranean and Black Sea trade of the 18th and 19th centuries allowed them to prosper.

They did especially and spectacularly so during the trade embargoes that were imposed during the Napoleonic Wars; Greek merchantmen and crews were willing and able to work with, or against, both belligerent sides at tremendous profit.

Its fleet, consisting of merchant ships, played a key role in the struggle, both by participating in raids against the Turkish coast and the siege of fortresses in the Peloponnese.

Along with their counterparts in nearby Hydra, Spetsiote captains were so wealthy they had been hoarding their gold in wells, a wealth that they tapped to fund the war of liberation.

His branch of the family had fallen on hard times, and he emigrated to the United States as a young man in 1868, when Spetses was declining as a maritime center.

He built a mansion and met with rich Athenians who visited Spetses from August to October, in order to hunt the turtledoves and quail migrating between Africa and Europe.

He saw the need for a comfortable hotel and built the Poseidonion in the style of its French Mediterranean models, the Carlton in Cannes (1911) and the Negresco in Nice (1912).

The hunters could bring along their wives and children to enjoy the comfort of the hotel, the spa, donkey rides, dancing to the orchestra in the evening, and mixed bathing on the beaches across the channel.

The Poseidonion rapidly became the favorite vacation spot for high society, royalty, and the rich Athenians who came to enjoy a small slice of the grand life.

[8] In the 1960s and 1970s, the island attracted a number of wealthy Greek vacationers from Athens and elsewhere, who owned second villas or lived on their large yachts in the port.

[citation needed] Efforts are being made by officials to extend the season, by adding major events to attract visitors: In September 2013, Dr Marina Lyda Coutarelli, President of the Organizing Committee and CEO of Communication Lab, was named "Honorary Citizen" of Spetses island.

[citation needed] In the early 21st century, there was a distinct shift away from package tourism on Spetses and the island once again became fashionable among wealthier Greeks.

Whilst it is still possible to find traditional lower cost rooms to rent and tavernas to eat in on the island there are now many higher priced restaurants and 'boutique' hotels around the town.

1822 the Ottoman fleet, coming from Monemvasia, endeavoured to supply the town of Nafplion, which was at the time besieged by Greek forces since the spring of 1821.

Sailing between Trikeri and Spetsopoula, the Turkish force confronted the combined fleets of the three nautical islands, Spetses, Hydra and Psara.

In the book, one of the main characters tells the island's history through the memories of his grandparents, and the novel's historical descriptions are fairly accurate, amongst other things recounting the story of Laskarina Bouboulina.

Maggie Gyllenhaal's 2021 drama The Lost Daughter and Rian Johnson's 2022 mystery-comedy Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery were shot on Spetses.