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Rhodes
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:''This article is about the Greek island of Rhodes. For other uses, see
Rhodes (disambiguation).''
'''Rhodes''', Greek ΡÏŒδος (pron. ''Rhòdhos'') also known as Rodos in
Turkish language Turkish, Rhodos in
German language German, Rodas in
Spanish language Spanish, Rodi in
Italian language Italian, Rodos in
Polish language Polish (see also
List of traditional Greek place names), is the largest of the
Dodecanese islands, and easternmost of the major islands of
Greece in the
Aegean Sea. It lies approximately 11 miles (18 km) west of
Turkey, situated between the Greek mainland and the island of
Cyprus. Its population in
2004 was estimated at 130,000, of which between 55,000 and 60,000 resided permanently in the
Rhodes, Greece city of Rhodes, the main commercial and population center. Rhodes is the capital of the District of the Dodecanese and of the Province of Rhodes, which also includes the nearby islands of
Symi,
Tilos,
Halki, and
Kastellorizo.
Historically, it was known for its
Colossus of Rhodes, one of the
Seven Wonders of the World. The medieval city is a
World Heritage Site.
Geography
Image:Rhode_greece.png thumb|right|200px|''Location map of Rhodes''
The island of Rhodes is shaped like a spearhead, 79.7 km long and 38 km wide with a total area of approximately 1,398 km² and a coastline of approximately 220 km. The
Rhodes, Greece city of Rhodes is located at the far northern end of the island, including the site of the ancient and modern commercial harbor. The main air gateway (
Diagoras Airport Diagoras International Airport, IATA code: RHO) is located 14 km to the southwest of the city in Paradisi. The road network radiates from the city along the east and west coasts.
The
flora (plants) flora and
fauna (animals) fauna is more closely allied to that of Turkey than it is to that of the rest of Greece. The interior is mountainous and sparsely inhabited, covered with forests of
Turkish Pine (''Pinus brutia'') and abundant fauna including the Rhodian
deer. Features include the so-called Petaludes or Petaloudes Valley, or Valley of the
Butterfly Butterflies, where
tiger moth (moth) tiger moths gather in summer; Mount Attavyros, at 3,986 ft (1,215 m) the island's highest point of elevation; and the appropriately named Seven Springs area. While the shores are rocky, arable sandy strips exist where
citrus fruits,
wine grapes, vegetables, and other crops flourish in the
Mediterranean climate.
Outside of the city of Rhodes, the
Faliraki resort,
Lindos,
Archangelos,
Afandou,
Koskinou,
Embona (Attavyros), and
Trianta (Ialysos) are significant. The economy of the whole island is geared toward
tourism, the island's primary source of income.
History
The island was inhabited in the
Neolithic period, although little remains of this culture. In the
16th century BC the
Minoans came to Rhodes, and later Greek mythography recalled a Rhodian race they called the
Telchines, and associated Rhodes with
Danaus; it was sometimes nicknamed ''Telchinis''. In the
15th century BC 15th century the
Achaeans invaded. It was, however, in the
11th century BC 11th century that the island started to flourish, with the coming of the
Dorians. It was the Dorians who later built the three important cities of
Lindos,
Ialyssos and
Kameiros, which together with
Kos,
Cnidus and
Halicarnassus (on the mainland) made up the so-called
Dorian Hexapolis.
In
Pindar's ode, the island was said to be born of the union of
Helios the sun god and the nymph
Rhode, and the cities were named for their three sons. The ''rhoda'' is a pink
hibiscus native to the island.
Invasions by the Persians eventually overran the island, but after their defeat by the forces from
Athens in
478 BC, the cities joined the
Delian League Athenian League. When the
Peloponnesian War broke out in
431 BC, Rhodes remained largely neutral although it was still a member of the League. The war lasted until
404 BC, but by this time Rhodes had withdrawn entirely from the conflict and had decided to go her own way.
In
408 BC the cities united to form one territory, and built a new capital on the northern end of the island, the
Rhodes, Greece city of Rhodes: its regular plan was superintended by the Athenian architect
Hippodamus. However the Peloponnesian War had so weakened the entire Greek culture that it lay open to invasion. In
357 BC the island was conquered by
Mausolus of Halicarnassus, then fell to the Persians
340 BC. But their rule was also short and Rhodes became a part of the growing empire of
Alexander the Great in
332 BC after he defeated the Persians, to the great relief of the citizens of Rhodes.
With the death of Alexander his generals fought for control. Three of them,
Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy,
Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus, and
Antigonus I Monophthalmus Antigonus, succeeded in dividing the kingdom among themselves. Rhodes formed strong commercial and cultural ties with the Ptolemies in
Alexandria, and together they formed the Rhodo-Egyptian alliance which controlled trade throughout the Aegean in the 3rd century BC. The city developed into a maritime, commercial and cultural center and its coins were in circulation almost everywhere in the Mediterranean. Its famous schools of philosophy and science, literature and rhetoric, shared masters with Alexandria: the Athenian rhetorician
Aeschines who formed a school at Rhodes;
Apollonius of Rhodes, the astronomers
Hipparchus (astronomer) Hipparchus and Geminus, the rhetorician
Dionysios Trax. Its school of sculptors developed a rich, dramatic style that can be characterized as "
Hellenistic Baroque".
In
305 BC, Antigonus had his son,
Demetrius I of Macedon Demetrius besiege Rhodes in an attempt to break their alliance with Egypt. Demetrius created huge
siege engines including a 180 foot battering ram and a
siege tower named
Helepolis that weighed 360,000 pounds. Despite all this, after a year he gave up and signed a peace agreement in
304 BC, leaving behind a huge store of military equipment. The Rhodians sold the equipment and used the money to erect a statue of their sun god,
Helios, the statue now known as the
Colossus of Rhodes.
Image:Feb20407e.JPG thumb|right|200px|Palace of the (Prince) Grand Master and Rhodes Harbour - Rhodes Photo:G Larson
In
164 BC, Rhodes signed a treaty with Rome, and became a major schooling center for Roman noble families, and was especially noted for its teachers of
rhetoric, such as
Hermagoras and the author of the
Rhetorica ad Herennium. At first the state was an important ally of Rome and enjoyed numerous privileges, but these were later lost in various machinations of Roman politics. Cassius eventually invaded the island and sacked the city.
In the
1st century AD, the Emperor
Tiberius spent a brief exile on Rhodes, and
Paul of Tarsus Saint Paul brought
Christianity to the island. In
395, the long
Byzantine Empire period began for Rhodes, when the
Roman empire was split and the eastern half gradually became a Greek empire. Although part of Byzantium for the next thousand years, it was nevertheless repeatedly attacked by various forces. It was first occupied by Muslim forces of
Muawiyah I in
672. Much later Rhodes was retrieved for the
Byzantine Empire Byzantine Emperor
Alexius I Comnenus during the
First Crusade.
Image:Feb20445.JPG thumb|right|200px|Palace of the (Prince) Grand Master - Rhodes Photo:G Larson
In
1309 the Byzantine era came to an end when the island was taken by forces of the
Knights Hospitaller. Under the rule of the newly named '''Knights of Rhodes''', the city was rebuilt into a model of the European mediaeval ideal. Many of the city's famous monuments, including the '''Palace of the Grand Master''', were built in this period.
The strong walls which the Knights had built withstood the attacks of the
Sultan of Egypt in
1444 and of
Mehmed II in
1480. Finally, however, Rhodes fell to the large army of
Suleiman the Magnificent in December
1522. The few remaining Knights were permitted to retire to
Malta, and the island was a possession of the
Ottoman Empire for nearly four centuries.
In
1912, Rhodes was seized from the Turks by the
Italy Italians, and in
1947, together with the other islands of the
Dodecanese was united with Greece. It thus bypassed many of the events associated with the
Exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey "exchange of the minorities" between Greece and
Turkey.
Throughout much of its history Rhodes had a thriving
Jewish Community. From the 1500s on most of this community were
Ladino language Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) speakers. During
World War II Nazi Germany occupied the island and deported the Jews. Most ended up dying in various concentration camps. A remnant of the Jewish community survives in Rhodes. The [http://www.rhodesjewishmuseum.org/ Rhodes Jewish Museum] maintains a history of the community. Descendants of the "Rhodeslies" now have communities in various parts of the U.S., Europe and Africa.
Category:Rhetoric
External links
{{commonspar|Category:Rhodes}}
{{sisterlinks|Rhodes}}
* {{wikitravel}}
-
The island of Rhodes
-
Rhodes information website
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City of Rhodes Official Website
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Rhodes island Travel Guide
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Satellite picture by Google Maps
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photo-essay on the archaeology of Rhodes
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Rhodes pictures
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Rhodes and Dodecanese Photo Guide
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Diagoras International Airport
Category:Archaeological sites in Greece
Category:Rhodes
Category:Islands of Greece
Category:Achaean colonies
Category:Dorian colonies
Category:Minoan civilization
ast:Rodes
da:Rhodos
de:Rhodos
et:Rhodos
es:Rodas
fr:Rhodes
gl:Rodas
id:Rhodes
it:Rodi
he:רודוס
la:Rhodus
hu:Rodosz
nl:Rodos (eiland)
ja:ãƒãƒ¼ãƒ‰ã‚¹å³¶
no:Rhodos
pl:Rodos (wyspa)
pt:Rodes
ro:Rodos
sr:РодоÑ?
fi:Rodos
sv:Rhodos
tr:Rodos
zh:ç½—å¾—å²›
'''
Rhodes''', Greek Ροδος (''Rhodos''), is the largest of the
Dodecanese islands, and easternmost of the major islands of
Greece in the
Aegean Sea. {{catmore}}
Category:The Dodecanese
Category:Islands of Greece
Category:Achaean colonies
Category:Dorian colonies
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