he myth attributes the origin of Rhodes to the love Helios, the Sun God, had for the nymph Rhodes, who was the daughter of Poseidon, the god of the Sea. One of their sons, Kerkafos, had three children: Kameiros, Ialyssos and Lindos, who built the three largest towns on the island. The Rhodians led by Tlepolemos, the son of Hercules, took part in the Trojan War with nine ships, but their leader was killed in battle before the walls of Troy. From 1000 to 600 B.C. the three largest towns on the island, Kameiros, Ialyssos and, above all, Lindos founded many colonies on the shores of Asia Minor, Sicily, France and Spain.

The three above-mentioned towns retained their administrative independence at first but later joined with the other Doric towns of Kos, Knidos and Halicarnassus to form the so-called 'Doric Heaxpolis'. In the 5th and 4th century Rhodes fell under the influence of the Persians and after their defeat by Greeks, Rhodes became a part of the Delian League under Athenian leadership.

hile the Peloponnesian War was still in progress the Rhodians decided to found a new town and so the three largest towns on the island joined together to create a new one. Thus at the initiative of Dorieas, son of the Olympic victor Diagoras, the new capital was established on the northeastern tip of the island and given the name of Rhodes. Its founding, in 408 B.C. proved to be a landmark in the history of island. The town was sometimes under the influence of Athens or Sparta until the role of Macedonian in Greek affairs came to the fore.

he world-famous Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, connected to the siege of the town by Dimitrios the Besieger in 305 B.C, to erect a triumphal statue to their sun- god, Helios. The work was assigned to Chares of Lindos who worked on it for twelve years. According to one account the Colossus stood across the entrance to the harbor allowing ships to pass between its open legs. Unfortunately it stood for no more than 66 years, as during a severe earthquake in 266 BC it cracked at the knees and fell.

The Rhodians put into application the "Rhodian Naval Code". The emperor Antonios wrote with great admiration: "We may rule the world but the Rhodian Code rules the seas".

	uring the Roman Period the Rhodians maintained at first a friendly stance toward the Romans, but the Romans were far more interested in limiting Rhodes' power.
The final blow came from Cassius, who captured Rhodes on 42 B.C. and destroyed it with incredible savagery, transferring to Rome 3,000 of its artistic masterpieces. After the division of the Roman Empire Rhodes became capital of the Byzantine Province of Islands but it was subject to frequent conquest by various invaders such as Persians, Saracans, etc.

he years when Rhodes was occupied by the Order of the Knights of St. John could be considered as one of the Rhodes' most flourishing periods. The Knights stayed at Rhodes for 213 whole years, since 1309 till 1522 when the last Grand Master was forced to hand over the town to the Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. They left imposing evidence of their time on Rhodes and gave it particular color which the town still retains in its impregnable walls, its gates, the churches and the hospitals, the inns and the majestic palaces. The Turkish occupation of Rhodes, which was held until 1912, was certainly the darkest period of its history. From 1912 untill the defeat if Axis, Italians captured Rhodes. Until 1948 Rhodes like the remainder of the Dodecanese, came under British Administration. At the 7th of March, 1948 the Greek flag raised over the Governor's Palace.

Photos and text taken from "Rhodes - The brilliant island of the sun" (Toubis Editions)