Ios, is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides, situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about 18 kilometres (11 miles) long and 10 kilometres (6 miles) wide, with an area of 109.024 square kilometres. According to Plutarch it is thought that the name has derived from the Ancient Greek word for violets “Ία”(Ia) because they were commonly found on the island and it is the most accepted etymology. Others say that the name is derived from Phoenician word iion, meaning “pile of stones” but Pliny the Elder writes that the name comes from the Ionians which lived in the island. In the Ottoman period the island was called Anza or Aina, and its present name was officially established in the 19th century after over 2000 years of usage. During the ancient times the island was also called “Φοινίκη” (Phiniki), named after and by the Phoenicians and in the 3rd century, when the island joined League of the Islanders was probably temporarily named Arsinoe after the wife of Ptolemy II Today the inhabitants of the Cycladic Islands call the island Nio, a name deriving from the Byzantine Era. The name Little Malta, which is found in texts of travelers during the Ottoman domination, is related to the permanent presence of pirates on the island. In languages with latin script, the island name is Nio or Io.
