"...What little town by river or sea-shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of its folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul, to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return..."
John Keats, from Ode on a Grecian Urn
Rhodes is located in the Aegean Sea, about 10 miles from Turkey’s coast. It is most renowned for something that has not been there for some 2300 years, and stood only for 66 years: the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The statue was built as an offering of thanks to Helios, the sun god, by Chares of Lindos. The immense statue is said to have straddled the harbor but was destroyed 66 years after it was built in the earthquake of 292 BC. Fearing it was cursed they never rebuilt it, but the statue lay where it fell for eight centuries It was eventually sold to a merchant who they say needed 900 camels to take it away. How big was it? Supposedly, 30 meters tall (the Statue of Liberty is about 50% taller).
Our time today in Rhodes was spent in the old walled city--the photo shows a piece of the wall and interior structure. During the third century BC, Rhodes was a center of learning to rival Athens or Alexandria. Many famous Romans, including Cassius and Octavian, studied at the School of Oratory there. However, when Rhodes backed Octavian against Cassius after Julius Caesar’s death, Cassius attacked in revenge in 42 BC, bringing widespread slaughter and destruction. It’s believed that he destroyed some 3,000 statues.
In AD155, an earthquake devastated the island. After that, it was invaded by, in turn, the Goths, Arabs, Sacracens, and Turks. From the 12th to 16th centuries, the Knights of St. John established a military base here. During their stay, they built streets, houses, churches, and the famous Palace of the Grand Masters. Suleyman the Magnificent defeated them in 1522, and it stayed under Turkish rule until 1912. Then Italy controlled it until after WWII, when it went back to Greece.
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of its folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul, to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return..."
John Keats, from Ode on a Grecian Urn
Rhodes is located in the Aegean Sea, about 10 miles from Turkey’s coast. It is most renowned for something that has not been there for some 2300 years, and stood only for 66 years: the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The statue was built as an offering of thanks to Helios, the sun god, by Chares of Lindos. The immense statue is said to have straddled the harbor but was destroyed 66 years after it was built in the earthquake of 292 BC. Fearing it was cursed they never rebuilt it, but the statue lay where it fell for eight centuries It was eventually sold to a merchant who they say needed 900 camels to take it away. How big was it? Supposedly, 30 meters tall (the Statue of Liberty is about 50% taller).
Our time today in Rhodes was spent in the old walled city--the photo shows a piece of the wall and interior structure. During the third century BC, Rhodes was a center of learning to rival Athens or Alexandria. Many famous Romans, including Cassius and Octavian, studied at the School of Oratory there. However, when Rhodes backed Octavian against Cassius after Julius Caesar’s death, Cassius attacked in revenge in 42 BC, bringing widespread slaughter and destruction. It’s believed that he destroyed some 3,000 statues.
In AD155, an earthquake devastated the island. After that, it was invaded by, in turn, the Goths, Arabs, Sacracens, and Turks. From the 12th to 16th centuries, the Knights of St. John established a military base here. During their stay, they built streets, houses, churches, and the famous Palace of the Grand Masters. Suleyman the Magnificent defeated them in 1522, and it stayed under Turkish rule until 1912. Then Italy controlled it until after WWII, when it went back to Greece.
1 comment:
Rhodes was one of my favorite places Jas and I went on our honeymoon. You can really feel the amazing history as you walk around in Old Town. Hope your birthday was fabulous!
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