According to mythology, Lipsi is one of the locations that "claims" the mythical Ogygia, the island of the Nymph Calypso where, according to Homer, Odysseus was shipwrecked and remained there for 7 years. This opinion exists because of the sonic similarity between "Calypso" and "Lipsi". According to the findings, the island seems to have been inhabited since prehistoric times. In 1370 BC the Cares arrive on the island and then in 1200 BC the Dorians. The presence of a population on the island also seems to exist in the period between 1600-1100 BC. (Mycenaean Era) since fragments of vases have been found that prove this and are kept today in the Museum of Lipsi. The island has significant influences from the Ionians of Miletus in the 4th century BC. During the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), ships of both opposing factions took refuge on the island. There seems to have been an ancient acropolis on the island, on the "Castle" hill. During the early Christian times, 5th-6th c. AD Christianity flourishes on the island, according to the ruins of two basilicas and a mosaic floor that exist in Lipsi. In 730 AD the island becomes part of the Byzantine Empire. From 1088 and the resettlement of the deserted Patmos, due to continuous piracy in the area, the Patriarchal Exarchate of Patmos was established, to which Lipsi and the surrounding islands were annexed. The Exarchate of Patmos is under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople until today. In 1309, Lipsi, like the rest of the Dodecanese, was occupied by the Order of Saint John until 1522 and the occupation of the islands by the Ottomans. During the occupation of Crete by the Ottomans in 1669, many Cretans fled to Lipsi. The people of Lipsi also had an active role in the Revolution of 1821 as they offered hospitality in 1824 to the exiled Patriarch of Alexandria Theophilos, to Hydraians, Speciotians and Psarian admirals including Miaoulis and Shaktouris. The island together with the rest of the Dodecanese passed into the hands of the Italians between the period 1912-1943. Finally on March 7, 1948, after the defeat of the Italians and Germans in World War II and a temporary British administration, Lipsi and the rest of the islands of the Dodecanese were integrated into the Greek State.