In 1321, the town was first recognized as one of 25 patriarchal exarchates on the island of Lemnos. The town was founded, according to tradition, by the abbot Skandalios of a nearby monastery. Others claim that a foreigner who lived in the region became the king of the area in a scandalous manner, and thus the villagers dubbed him Skandalis. The settlement was a thousand metres west at the time, at Dri, where there are now only remains and the church of St. Constantine. When the village was destroyed by an earthquake, Skandalis took the lead in relocating the village to its current position, and the new community was given the name Skandalis. Both versions agree in that the village’s name originates from the name of its founder.

Four temples dedicated to the patron saint Saint Nikolaos, constructed around 1880, may be seen in the settlement. Because the settlement had a favorable temperature and lots of water, the Allied cavalry was formed in the central plateau to the south during WWI. The enormous reservoirs used to store water have been maintained.