Lindos (; ) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

, a fishing village and a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

on the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, in the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; , ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. This island group generally define ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 178.9 km². It lies on the east coast of the island. It is about 40 km south of the city of Rhodes and its fine beaches make it a popular tourist and holiday destination. Lindos is situated in a large bay and faces the fishing village and small resort of Charaki.

History

According to myth, Lindos was founded by the

Dorians The Dorians (; , , singular , ) were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Greeks, Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans (tribe), Achaeans, and Ionians). They are almost alw ...

led by the king Tlepolemus of Rhodes, who arrived in about the 10th century BC. It was one of six Dorian cities in the area known as the Dorian Hexapolis. The eastern location of Rhodes made it a natural meeting place between the Greeks and the

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

ns, and by the 8th century Lindos was a major trading centre. In the 6th century it was ruled by Cleobulus, one of the

Seven Sages of Greece The Seven Sages or Seven Wise Men was the title given to seven philosophers, statesmen, and law-givers of the 7th–6th centuries BCE who were renowned for their wisdom Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, ...

. The importance of Lindos declined after the foundation of the city of Rhodes in the late 5th century BC. In classical times the acropolis of Lindos was dominated by the massive temple of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

Lindia, which attained its final form in around 300 BC. In

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

and Roman times the temple precinct grew as more buildings were added. In early medieval times these buildings fell into disuse, and in the 14th century they were partly overlaid by a large fortress built on the acropolis by the Knights of St John to defend the island against the Ottomans.

Acropolis

Above the modern town rises the

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

of Lindos, a natural citadel which was fortified successively by the

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, the Romans, the Byzantines, the

Knights of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

and the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

. This makes the site difficult to excavate and interpret archaeologically. The acropolis has views of the surrounding harbours and coastline. On the acropolis of Lindos today parts of the following buildings may still be seen: Lindos the anciet ship

* The Doric Temple of Athena Lindia, dating from about 300 BC, built on the site of an earlier temple. Inside the temple is the table of offerings and the base of the cult statue of Athena. * The

Propylaea In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaion, propylaeon or, in its Latinized form, ''propylaeum''—often used in the plural forms propylaia or propylaea (; Greek: προπύλαια)—is a monumental gateway. It serves as a partition, separat ...

of the Sanctuary, also dating from the 4th century BC. A monumental staircase leads to a D-shaped

stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually ...

and a wall with five door openings. * The Hellenistic stoa with lateral projecting wings, dating from about 200 BC. The stoa was 87 metres long and consisted of 42 columns. * The well-known

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

of a Rhodian

trireme A trireme ( ; ; cf. ) was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, ancient Greeks and ancient R ...

(warship) cut into the rock at the foot of the steps leading to the acropolis. On the bow stood a statue of General Hagesander, the work of the sculptor Pythokritos. The relief dates from about 180 BC. * The Hellenistic staircase (2nd century BC) leading to the main archaeological area of the acropolis. * Remains of a Roman temple, possibly dedicated to the Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

and dating from about 300 AD. * The Acropolis is surrounded by a Hellenistic wall contemporary with the Propylaea and the stairway leading to the entrance to the site. A Roman inscription says that the wall and square towers were repaired at the expense of P Aelius Hagetor, the priest of Athena in the 2nd century AD. * The Castle of the Knights of St John, built some time before 1317 on the foundations of older Byzantine fortifications. The walls and towers follow the natural conformation of the cliff. A pentagonal tower on the south side commanded the harbour, the settlement and the road from the south of the island. There was a large round tower on the east facing the sea and two more, one round and the other on a corner, on the northeast side of the enceinte. Today one of the towers at the southwest corner and one to the west survive. * The

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

Church of St John, dating from the 13th or 14th century and built on the ruins of a previous church, which may have been built as early as the 6th century. Some scenes of the well-known film, '' The Guns of Navarone'', were filmed here.

Gallery (Acropolis)

File:Lindos Rhodes.jpg, View to the Acropolis File:Staircase of the Propylaea (Lindos).jpg, Staircase of the Propylaea File:Hellenistic stoa (Lindos) 01.jpg, Columns of the Hellenistic stoa File:Acropolis of Lindos 01.jpg, View of the summit of the Acropolis File:Rhodos Lindos Acropolis R02.jpg, Church of St. John on the Acropolis File:Altstadt von Lindos.jpg, Panoramic view File:20210826-Lindos-Acropolis-DJI 0200.jpg, Aerial view File:20210826-Lindos-Acropolis-DJI 0208.jpg, Aerial view File:Lindos, view from Ákra Soumáni.jpg, Lindos and St. Paul's Bay

Excavations

Excavations were carried out at Lindos in the years 1900 to 1914 by the Carlsberg Institute of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, directed by Karl Frederik Kinch and Christian Blinkenberg. The acropolis site was excavated down to bedrock and the foundations of all the buildings were uncovered. During the Italian occupation of the island (1912–1945) major restoration work was carried out on the Lindos acropolis, but it was poorly done and was harmful to the historic record. The north-east side of the Temple of Athena was restored. The monumental staircase to the propylaea was rebuilt and many of the columns of the Hellenistic stoa were re-erected. Large surfaces were covered with concrete. Bases and inscribed blocks were taken from their locations and placed along the restored walls. Judged by modern standards, this work took insufficient note of the evidence available from the excavations and in its methods did damage to the remains themselves. In recent years Greek and international archaeologists under the supervision of the Greek Ministry of Culture have been working to restore and protect the ancient buildings on the site.

Climate

Lindos has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: Csa) strongly influenced by the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Lindos has mild winters and particularly hot and dry summers while rain falls mostly in the winter. Lindos has an annual average temperature of and is Greece's warmest area annually. The climate in this village is very hot for its latitude. For example, Lindos is 7°C hotter than Busan, South Korea in annual averages and 10°C warmer in winter, despite Busan is quite closer to the equator. While being in the same latitude at Virginia, US, the village has temperatures of Northern Florida. On average Lindos records 6.1 days each year with minimum temperatures over 30.0 °C. In August 2021, the

National Observatory of Athens The National Observatory of Athens (NOA; ) is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest List of research institutes in Greece, research foundation in Greece. The Observatory was the first scientific research insti ...

station in Lindos registered the all-time highest mean monthly temperature in Europe. Also, during the summer of 2024, Lindos recorded the highest average summer temperature in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with . Moreover, according to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service SE Rhodes, where Lindos is near, registers the highest mean annual sunshine in Greece with over 3.100 hours.

Gallery (town)

File:Rhodos Lindos Panagia Church R01.jpg, The Byzantine ''Panagia'' church with the belltower is located in the centre of the village File:Lindos173.JPG, The belltower File:Vliha.jpg, The beach of Vliha Bay File:Rhodos Lindos Street R02.jpg, View of a street File:Altstadt Lindos06.jpg, Old house File:Door in Lindos 01.jpg, Door at the town File:St_Peter_Church_Lindos.jpg, The 13th century Greek Orthodox Church of St Peter File:St_Paul_Church_Lindos.jpg, St Paul's church is now popular as a wedding chapel File:Lindos 02.JPG, Beach of Lindos File:Lindos Rhodes Greece 13.jpg, St Paul's Bay, where it is reported the apostle landed during a storm

Notable people

* Chares of Lindos, sculptor, constructed the

Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus of Rhodes (; ) was a statue of the Greek sun god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name, by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it was constructed to ...

* Cleobulus of Lindos * Patriarch Joannicius II of Constantinople * Ioannis Zigdis (1913–1997), politician and economist

References

External links

Lindos Village Information Website: https://lindos-rhodes.gr/ {{Authority control Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Acropoleis in Greece Archaeological sites on Rhodes Religion in ancient Rhodes Roman sites in Greece Populated places in Rhodes