Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Minoans and Mycenaeans were among the first to have outposts on the islands, but it
wasn't until the Dorians arrived in 1100 BC - settling in Kamiros, Ialysos and Lindos -
that Rhodes began to exert power.
Switching alliances like a pendulum, it was first allied to Athens in the Battle of Mara-
thon (490 BC), in which the Persians were defeated, but shifted to the Persian side by the
time of the Battle of Salamis (480 BC). After the unexpected Athenian victory at Sala-
mis, Rhodes hastily became an ally of Athens again, joining the Delian League in 477
BC. Following the disastrous Sicilian Expedition (416-412 BC), Rhodes revolted against
Athens and formed an alliance with Sparta, which it aided in the Peloponnesian Wars.
In 408 BC the cities of Kamiros, Ialysos and Lindos consolidated their powers, co-
founding the city of Rhodes. Rhodes became Athens' ally again, and together they de-
feated Sparta at the Battle of Knidos (394 BC). Rhodes then joined forces with Persia in
a battle against Alexander the Great but, when Alexander proved invincible, quickly al-
lied itself with him.
In 305 BC Antigonus, one of Ptolemy's rivals, sent his son, the formidable Demetrius
Poliorketes (the Besieger of Cities), to conquer Rhodes. The city managed to repel De-
metrius after a long siege. To celebrate this victory, the 32m-high bronze statue of Helios
Apollo (Colossus of Rhodes), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built.
After the defeat of Demetrius, Rhodes knew no bounds. It built the biggest navy in the
Aegean and its port became a principal Mediterranean trading centre. The arts also flour-
ished. When Greece became the battleground upon which Roman generals fought for
leadership of the empire, Rhodes allied itself with Julius Caesar. After Caesar's assassin-
ation in 44 BC, Cassius besieged Rhodes, destroying its ships and stripping the city of its
artworks, which were then taken to Rome. This marked the beginning of Rhodes' de-
cline, and in AD 70 Rhodes became part of the Roman Empire.
When the Roman Empire split, Rhodes joined the Byzantine province of the Do-
decanese. It was granted independence when the Crusaders seized Constantinople. Later,
the Genoese gained control. The Knights of St John arrived in Rhodes in 1309 and ruled
for 213 years until they were ousted by the Ottomans, who were in turn kicked out by the
Italians nearly four centuries later. In 1947, after 35 years of Italian occupation, Rhodes
became part of Greece along with the other Dodecanese islands.
THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the bronze statue of Helios was
apparently so vast that high- mastedtriremes(warships) could pass into the har-
