The village was mentioned as
Sarpin in a census document of the
Great Lavra monastery in 1361. Although the name was perceived as Turkish in the 1950s, it actually predates the
Ottoman era. This may be one of the few
Mycenaean names that survive in Lemnos, meaning "wooden house". Formerly, the village was built more to the east, on the Agios Georgios Bay. Due to pirate attacks and other risks of its low location, its residents were forced to resettle, probably in the 18th century. It had 66 men in 1856 who paid 1,058
piastres to avoid conscription. 50 families lived in the village in 1863 and 55 in 1874. In the same year it had 63 houses and was part of the municipality (koli) of
Kondia. The village had a representative in the Lemnos provincial council. The
Sarpi Paleologiki School was opened in 1868, the first school on the island outside the capital. It was funded by Doukas Palaiologos (1790–1870), a descendant of a family of captains from Sarpi who had an insurance firm in England. His firm paid for the school until 1896. It became a community school in 1900. Sarpi finally joined Greece in 1913 after the
Balkan Wars. It became an independent community in 1918. In the interwar years, it saw a small growth. It recorded 381 inhabitants in 1928, most of these work in agriculture, livestock farming, fishing and orchards. After the Second World War, its population declined due to internal and external emigration. Its population was 399 in 1951, fell to 203 in 1981 and has more or less stabilised since then. ==See also==