Myth & History

The Myth… Many myths are related with the creation of Rhodes island. According to Pindaros, when Zeus dominated over the Giants, he de- cided to share the land with the rest of the gods of mountain Olympos. Apollon though, god of the sun, was absent from the share and left with no land. Zeus wanted to be fair with him though, that’s why he suggested to do the share all over again. Apollon suggested instead, the land that would rise out of the sea when next morning came, would belong to him. Next morning rose indeed a beautiful, covered all over with greenery island, Rhodes. God of the sun, fascinated by its beauty spread his rays all over the island. Since then Rhodes is the island of the ‘’Sun’’, the sunniest and brightest island all over the world.

The History… ‘‘Kares’’ are referred as the first inhabitants of the island. In 1.500 B.C. Achaioi crossed the greek main land, sailed to Crete, reached Rhodes and inhabited the land where today Filerimos lies. They called the land ‘’Achaia’’ and contributed to the economic growth of the island. 400 years later, after the end of the Mycenaean war and the coming down of the Dorians from the North, the Dorians built three cities-states in Rhodes island, Lindos, Ialysos and Kameiros. In 408 B.C. city of Rhodes was founded and started growing in expense of the rest three cities of the island. During the time of Macedonian domination, Rhodians were allies with Macedonians. In 305 B.C. Rhodians battled against Demetrios the ‘’conquerer’’, who tried to conquer the city with no success despite his hard efforts. As a tribute to their great victory Rhodians built ‘‘Kolossos of Rhodes’’ one of the seven wonders of the ancient times.