Lindos

Lindos
A half million tourists visit Lindos annually, and the views of the sea alone from here make a visit worthwhile. The most powerful of the three ancient city-states of Rhodes, its population was 16,000, its physical size four times the present one. A colonial power, with Naples among its colonies, its 6th century BC tyrant, Cleoboulos, was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, an early ruler who believed in the intellectual equality of women.

St. Paul brought Christianity here; the Knights fortified the town, pilfering Hellenistic structures to do so. The merchants of Lindos controlled most of Rhodian trade during Ottoman times; boat-building was a major trade into the 19th century. Lindos’ acropolis (open summer Mon 12:30-7pm;Tues-Sun 8am-7pm, and the rest of the year Tues-Sun 8:30am-3 pm, 6euros) has a very steep ascent, with handcrafted goods on sale en route; one passes the prow of a 5th century BC trireme carved into the rock; ruins of the church of St. John and vaulted rooms are on top, followed by the stoa of Lindian Athena and the ’stairway of Heaven which in turn lead up to the Propylaea foundations and Doric Temple of Athena, restored since the 1980’s. The Grand Harbor and town beach are down below, along with the Pallas Beach where the ancient navy moored 500 ships.