According to mythology, Neptune, madly in love with Amphitrite, was looking for a quiet place to take her. The problem was solved in the following way· he tore off a piece of Corfu by striking it with his trident, thus creating Paxi.

The island of Paxi was known to the Phoenicians, and according to tradition it was named after the phoenician word "pax" which means slate. The island's biggest and most significant settlement was Ozias. After the defeat of Corfu during the naval battle against the Illyrian pirates in 229 BC, the island was surrendered to Demetrios from the Beacon of Dalmatia, who later gave the island away to the Romans. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Paxi became part of the Byzantine Empire. There was a long period of raids from pirates, Normands and Crusaders, until the 13th century, when the island of Paxi was occupied by the Andegaves dynasty. The Andegaves dynasty led the island into a period of poverty and strict command, as the Christians were persecuted and the orthodox churches were covered to catholicism. The Andegaves dynasty ruled until 1380, when the island was surrendered to Baron Adam Saint Ippolytus. The Venetian Rule began in 1513; while it lasted, the people of Paxi had almost no privileges and lived in poverty. On 17 October 1797, the Treaty of Kamboformio included Paxi in the French State of Napoleon, and on 21 March 1809, in Constantinople, the independent "Ionian State" was founded under the sultan's supervision. The Treaty of Tilsit offered the command of the Ionian to the French, and once again Field Marshal Berthieux became Commissioner of Paxi. In the Treaty of Paris in 1815, signed by the representatives of Austria, Prussia, Russia and England, the "United States of the Ionian Islands" were founded and placed under the supervision of the appointed Lord Commissioner. In the Greek Revolution, the people of Paxi offered significant moral and financial help. On 21 May 1864, the island of Paxi was united with the rest of liberated Greece.