Rhodes, a Brief History

The Greek island of Rhodes is a hugely popular tourist destination, attracting millions of visitors every year. It does however have more to offer than just sunshine and beautiful beaches. The island, with its strategic position on ancient trade routes, has a rich and varied history. In the 8th century BC the first three city-states of Lalasos, Lindos and Kamiros were built. Eventually, in 408 BC, these three states jointly founded a new city of Rhodes, which went on to be a powerful and prosperous centre of commerce and culture. One of the three large Doric cities, Kamiros gives us a chance to see for ourselves how the ancient Rhodes inhabitants lived. Kamiros was an agricultural society, making oil, figs and wine. It was the first Rhodian city to cut its own coins and prospered hugely, but fell into decline upon the formation of the new city of Rhodes. Archaeologists began excavations of this ancient city in 1929, which continued in one form or another until after the Second World War. In Hellenistic times, after an earthquake in 227 BC, a great deal of new building work was carried out in typical terrace construction. This labyrinth of streets with houses, places of worship and a high terrace, site of the Temple of Anthena reveal an ancient lifestyle, and are wonderful to explore. Today, the old city of Rhodes stands proudly surrounded by medieval walls, mostly built by the Knights of the Order of Saint John, more commonly called Knights Hospitaller. This Christian order of knights chose Rhodes to be their home in 1310, part of the Byzantine Empire. Over the course of 200 years they created the spectacular walled defenses we see today, and provided shelter and care for Christian pilgrims traveling on crusades in the region. The length of the walls is about 4 kilometers and each section was defended by one of the langs or tongues which corresponded to the language spoken where the particular group of knights came from. The entire area outside the walls was once a huge moat. Now it is a beautiful park of trees and flowers. Housed in a medieval building and constructed initially in 1440, the Hospital of the Knights is now home to the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes. The museum displays artifacts excavated from Rhodes and nearby islands. Vases, figurines, mosaic floors, and funerary slabs dating from geometric and Roman times to the Hellenistic period can be seen in the spectacular arched building's interior. Leading from the old hospital all the way up to the Grandmaster's Palace is arguably the most impressive area of this medieval town, the Street of the Knights. Along the 600 meters street, seven imposing inns were constructed in the early 16th century, representing the seven countries, or tongues, that the knights of the Order of Saint John were originated from. Each facade is decorated with emblems and details that reflect the respective country. Most of the Grandmasters here were French so their influence on the architecture was considerable. The stonemasons and craftsmen who built these impressive inns were mostly Greek but workers from France and Spain were also brought here. Climbing the entire length of the Street of the Knights takes you to the Palace of the Grandmaster. This extraordinary site has the huge outer walls of a castle and an incredible interior. As well as the obvious Christian influence, Rhodes has very strong Turkish, Jewish and Italian influences. The Turkish sector of the old town reveals a Muslim heritage and many hours can be spent exploring the back streets and alleyways of this fascinating city. Although there has been a Jewish presence of some sort on the island of Rhodes for nearly 2,000 years, the inhabitants of La Judería did not arrive until the 16th century, after they were expelled from Spain. The Jews of Rhodes prospered until the persecutions of Italian fascism began in the 1930s, and at its peak the population of the Jewish quarter was more than 4,000. The Jewish sector has not benefited from tourism and investment since most of the remaining Jewish community were forced to leave during the Second World War. In 1912, after the Balkan Wars, Rhodes and other Dodecanese islands came under Italian rule. The Italian influence is very clear in much of the architecture around the harbour. Mussolini wanted to transform the islands into showcases of the Italian colonial empire, and undertook a series of massive public works. When visiting Rhodes, like so many other Mediterranean regions, it pays to dig a little deeper into the rich cultural history. Rhodes has many stories to tell the visitor from over thousands of years.