A lot of legends have been told about the name of Chios. According to Homer, the oldest name of the island, Kios or Keos, was pro-Hellenic, names similar to the one used today. The oldest fables mention that the name "Chios" derives from Chioni, who was a nymph and first King of Chios Oinopoiona’s daughter. Besides Chioni, another mythical person who is believed to be responsible for the name of the island is Chios, Ocean’s or Neptune’s son, who was named like this because it was snowing while he was being born. According to the historian - geographer Isidoros, the Syrians used the name Chios for the gum (mastic). On the other hand, the traveller Dapper claims that in the Syrian language Chia means snake (ofis). So, since there were a lot of snakes on the island, Ofiousa was the second name of the island. Another name of Chios was Pitiousa probably because there were a lot of pine trees, particularly in the northern part of the island. Another name was Ariousa, deriving from the tree "arion", which is a type of oak-?. A forest of these trees expanded in a big part of north-western Chios. Other names were Aithali (mentioned by Plinios) and Arethousa, (mentioned by the Italian Ruberto Valentino and Jeronimous.)

According to the prehistory, the first two men that inhabited the island were Oinopoionas and Makaras. Oinopoionas, the first mythic king of Chios, came from Crete and he was the one who brought the vine-growing to Chios and he started the production of the best wine of that period, called Ariousios Wine. Advantages for That wine was especially praised as it was considered to be a nectar, the sweetest one, highly aromatic and digestible, and with healing properties. Oinopoionas’ father was the God Dionisos and Ariadni was his mother, Minoa’s daughter, King of Crete. His father taught him to love wine and he passed that love on to the people of Chios. Orion’s fable, the most famous mythical hero of Chios, is also connected with Oinopoionas. Orion, who was the God Poseidon and Euriali’s son, Minoa’s daughter, was a giant and a notorious hunter. Orion fell in love with Oinopoiona’s daughter, Meropi, and asked her father’s permission to marry her. But Oinopoionas wanted him to kill the wild beasts of Chios before he gave his permission for the wedding. Orionas carried on the mission successfully, but Oinopoionas went back on his word and didn’t allow his daughter to marry Orion. Orion, extremely upset, got drunk and kidnapped Meropi. Because of showing that disrespect to Oinopoionas, Orionas he was blinded and expelled from the island. Of course, there are also other versions of the fable. Chios honoured the fabulous settler and civilizer, Oinopoionas, as a hero and they kept up honouring him till the middle of the second century A.D.