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Rhodes is the largest island of the Dodecanese archipelago and is the capital of the Greek island group. It is located between Karpathos and Kos and is, together with Santorini and Mykonos, one of the most famous islands in all of Greece.
Its interesting sights and many Byzantine-era churches make Rhodes one of the most popular islands in all of Greece.
Rhodes is located in the South East of the Aegean, very close to the coasts of Turkey from which it is just eleven miles away. It is a very fertile island with rich crops and natural forests, especially in the south. It is famous for its agricultural products such as fruit, olives, oil and wine.
Several names have been attributed to the island, many of which are very explicit. It has been called “the island (or daughter) of the sea”, “the island of the Knights”, “the lady of the Aegean” etc.
Archaeological finds testify that the island has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era.
Ancient and mythological sources, as well as scientific research, affirm that the first residents of the island were the Phoenicians and the Mycenaeans.
According to Greek mythology, the name of the island comes from the name of the daughter of Poseidon and Aphrodite. She married Elio, god of the Sun, who gave the island the name of Rhodes, an island where both were good patrons and where the center of her cult was erected. The name Rhodes is also thought to be the name of the pink hibiscus which is native to the island and is similar to a rose, which is also etymologically related to its name (“rodon” in Greek is the rose).
How to get there
Rhodes airport is located 15km from the city. There are numerous direct flights to and from Italy during the summer.
From Athens, however, there are several flights a day and the flight lasts 45 minutes.
As for the ferries, there are daily departures from Piraeus which generally depart between 1pm and 6pm. The journey takes 17 hours. The ferry stops at Patmos, Kalymnos, Leros and Kos or various combinations of these islands. There are connections, even if not daily, with Santorini, Mykonos, Crete and some other islands. The most popular boat is the blue star, which takes 13 to 15 hours.
History
Inhabited since the Neolithic period, the island of Rhodes was occupied by Mycenaeans and Achaeans. But it was the Dorians in the 11th century who built the three important cities of Lindos, Ialiso and Camiro, creating the Doric Hexaplo, which also included Cos, Cnido and Halicarnassus (on the coast of Asia Minor). The three cities subsequently joined the Athenian League, although they always declared themselves neutral, not fighting the Peloponnesian War. It was in 408 BC. that the three cities decided to unite into a single political entity, and that the city of Rhodes began to be built.
The island of Rhodes was always at the center of commerce and maritime traffic, even after the death of Alexander the Great, who conquered it. The city was also an important cultural center with schools of philosophy, art and science. Here the children of noble Roman families came to study rhetoric and philosophy.
Christianized by Saint Paul, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire it belonged to the Byzantine Empire for ten centuries. It was repeatedly occupied by the Arabs.
Rodi Beaches
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