It has been inhabited since the Mycenaean period, its inhabitants relying on the sea to make a living as the island is treeless and rocky with little shrubbery. Homer first referred to the island as Psyra (Ψυρά).[8][9] Anciently, it contained a small town also called Psyra.[10][11] The islanders' sole source of livelihood has always been fishing, mainly for the locally abundant slipper lobsters, and shipping, with some tourist development in recent years.