Rhodes

The largest of the Dodecanese islands

Rhodes is a Greek island in the South Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands and Greece's fourth-largest after Crete, Evia, and Lesbos (Lesbos). For decades, it has been one of Greece's most popular tourist destinations both nationally and worldwide due to its ancient history, natural environment, beautiful beaches, as well as modern tourism amenities.

At the crossroads of civilizations

Rhodes is a small island that is oblong in form and resembles a spear blade. It's 460 kilometers southeast of Athens, 380 kilometers west of Cyprus, and 18 kilometers south of Turkey. Its length is 77 kilometers, width 37 kilometers, and total area of 1,401 square kilometers. It has 253 miles of coastline. The Attavyros (1210 meters), Artamytis (825 meters), and Prophet Ilias (800 meters) are the island's highest peaks.

The present population is around 117,000 people.Both air and sea travel are options for getting to the island.

Diagoras Airport, also known as the International Airport of Rhodes, is located in Paradisi, 15 kilometers from Rhodes town.

Engraved by the World itself!

Except from the Greek language, most of the people on Rhodes speak English. Many of them are fluent in other languages, including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian and others.The euro is the official currency.

Standard Time: UTC / GMT +2 hours Summer Time: UTC / GMT +3 hours

117000

Present population of Rhodes is around

31°C

Highest Avg Temperature of Tourist Season

1210m

Highest Peak of the island

Quick Facts

Dama Dama Deer

The deer Dama-Dama only lives in Rhodes Greece for many centuries. According to one legend, the Crusaders brought them there during Medieval times; however, according to another source they have lived on this island since ancient times.

Collosus of Rhodes

Colossus of Rhodes was one of the Seven Wonders built in antiquity. It has been famous since then and continues to be a popular tourist destination today with its impressive structure that once stood at a height around 110 feet or 33 meters.

PrehistoryEarly and classical antiquity
The island was inhabited in the Neolithic period although little remains of this culture.
16th century BCMinoan Era
In the 16th century BC, the Minoans came to Rhodes. Later Greek mythology recalled a Rhodian race called the Telchines and associated the island of Rhodes with Danaus.
15th century BCEMycenaean Era
Homer mentions that Rhodes participated in the Trojan War under the leadership of Tlepolemus
8th century BCEArchaic Era
In the 8th century BCE, the island's settlements started to form, with the coming of the Dorians, who built the three important cities of Lindos, Ialyssos and Kameiros
478 BCClassical Era
The Persians invaded and overran the island, but they were in turn defeated by forces from Athens in 478 BC. The Rhodian cities joined the Athenian League.
332 BCHellenistic age
The Rhodo-Egyptian alliance controlled trade throughout the Aegean in the 3rd century BC.
1 Century ADChristianity
In the 1st century AD, the Emperor Tiberius spent a brief term of exile on Rhodes. Saint Paul brought Christianity to people on the island.[38] Rhodes reached her zenith in the 3rd century.
2021Byzantine period
In 395 with the division of the Roman Empire, the long Byzantine period began for Rhodes.Beginning from ca. 600 AD, its influence in maritime issues was manifested in the collection of maritime laws known as "Rhodian Sea Law" (Nomos Rhodion Nautikos)
1300-1500Crusader and Ottoman rule
n 1306–1310, the Byzantine era of the island's history came to an end when the island was occupied by the Knights Hospitaller.Eventually, however, Rhodes fell to the large army of Suleiman the Magnificent in December 1522.
1800Modern history
In the 19th century the island was populated by ethnic groups from the surrounding nations, including Jews. Under Ottoman rule, they generally did fairly well, but discrimination and bigotry occasionally arose.
1912-1945Italian occupation
In 1912, Italy seized Rhodes from the Ottomans during the Italo-Turkish War. The island's population was spared the "exchange of the minorities" between Greece and Turkey. Rhodes and the rest of the Dodecanese Islands were assigned to Italy in the Treaty of Ouchy.
1947Back to Greece
In the WW2 Peace Treaty, Rhodes, together with the other islands of the Dodecanese, was united with Greece in February 1947. 6000 Italian colonists were forced to abandon the island and returned to Italy.