I’m behind. It’s Thursday here and this probably won’t get posted until tomorrow. Update: Now it’s Friday and I’m further beyond!
Today we’ve been in Rhodes, Greece, the largest of the Dodecanese Islands. I decided to take a ship’s excursion which was a panoramic drive around the island. My feet needed a rest but I still got in 3.5 miles. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it into the old walled city, so I guess I’ll just have to plan to come back.
Our guide was excellent but she gave so much history I don’t think I can remember it all. The island was inhabited in the Neolithic period but there are only a few remnants of that time. In the 16th century BC the Minoans came from Crete which lies to the south. A century later the Mycenaean Greeks arrived. Homer mentions that Rhodes participated in the Trojan war. It wasn’t until the 8th century BC under Dorian Greeks that some substantial settlements arose. The legend was that the island was created by the union of Helios, the sun god, and the nymph Rhodos so the three major towns were named for their three sons. My tour took me to the hill above one of them, Lindos.
The island was conquered in subsequent centuries by the Persians, Athenians and Alexander the Great. Following Alexander’s death in 323 BC his empire was divided among his three principal generals. Rhodes formed a strong trading alliance with the Ptolemies in Egypt (Ptolemy I was one of Alexander’s generals and the last member of his dynasty was someone everyone has heard of – Cleopatra.) Another of the generals, Antigonus sent his son to lay siege to Rhodes to break the alliance. The son brought catapults, battering rams and a huge siege tower, but after a year he signed a peace agreement and left, leaving behind all his war materials. ( I think I’ve heard about something similar happening in recent history when a country left a lot of armaments behind. History repeats itself.) The enterprising Rhodians took all the armaments and melted down the metals, sold the rest, and used the proceeds to build the Colossus of Rhodes to celebrate the peace.
The Colossus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was constructed around 280 BC of bronze over an iron frame and was around 108 feet tall. It represented the sun god Helios. The exact location on the island is unknown because the Colossus was destroyed in an earthquake in 226 BC. Everything we know about it is from fragments of writings by ancient authors.
Okay, I realize I’m writing too much history so I’m going to abbreviate my discourse. Over the ensuing centuries Greeks came and went as then did Romans, both western and eastern (Byzantine). Then we come to the age of the Crusades. The Knights Hospitaller (AKA the Knights of St. John) who built the castle in Bodrum, also had a stronghold in Rhodes, the walled old city. They left Rhodes after Suleiman the Magnificent overran them in Bodrum and moved their headquarters to Malta.
My tour took me past the walls which are still intact and to the southeastern end of the island. Along the way it was interesting to see the contrast between the two sides of the island; the western gets more rain and is green whereas the southern is quite dry. Along the way we passed the site where the Acropolis of Rhodes stood. There’s nothing there now. Apparently every Greek community had an acropolis. We had a couple of photo stops where we could get a lovely view of the rocky coastline but with beautiful beaches of reddish sand below.
We made a stop at a pottery factory where we watched a potter make a vase on his wheel. It took him no time. Inside we were able to watch craftsmen etch a design into the clay items after which other artisans began coloring them. They were painted with very vivid, bold colors. Many had a motif with a deer on them because the deer is the symbol of Rhodes.
We stopped on a hill overlooking Lindos, one of the oldest towns on the island. It lies on a protected bay and is accessed by a steep and winding road. We didn’t go down. The people of Lindos have been seafaring people forever. They were known to be excellent boat-builders and engaged in a lot of trade with all of the Mediterranean countries and kingdoms. On the opposite side of the bay was a mountain with an old church on top and big caves in the side of it. There is something which I found quite interesting about the caves. The 1960’s movie The Guns of Navarone was filmed on Rhodes and the large cave we saw was where the big German “guns of Navarone” were placed. When I get home I’ll have to watch the movie again so I can say I was there.
From there we drove up a coast road which is the location of lots of big resort hotels and vacation apartments. Rhodes is evidently a very popular vacation spot for many Europeans. I can imagine that in August, the big holiday month for many countries here, the places must be packed. We stopped for a drink and a piece of Rhodian cake at a nice beachside café. Then we headed back to the ship. Clearly I missed a lot of the historical sights inside the old city, but I needed a light day and I can always come back.
Tonight I’m dining with two ladies I met who live in the Colonial Heritage community in James City County. It’s not often I’ve randomly run into someone from home. In the past I’ve met some wonderful friends online before we cruised together and we’ve been friends ever since.
Well, I need to post this. I’ve been long-winded but there’s so much history it’s hard to abbreviate it, especially because I find it all fascinating. More later from Santorini…
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