Chrysa Savvidou

Lindos, one of the most ancient and important cities of Rhodes, is built on a geographical site of outstanding importance. The settlement extends over a narrow strip of land bounded at the east by the acropolis and at the west by Mount Krana. On its north and south sides lie two bays, fairly well sheltered against the winds. The naturally strong site and the easy access to the bays made Lindos an important commercial city at a very early date.

According to mythology, Tlepolemos, the son of Herakles, founded the three ancient cities on the island – Lindos, Ialysos and Kameiros – and settled Dorians on Rhodes. He himself took part in the Trojan War, contributing 9 ships, an indication of the naval strength of the island. Finds dating from the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age and Mycenaean times have been found in the surrounding area. After this, in the Archaic period, Lindos developed into a major commercial and naval power under the rule of the moderate tyrant Kleoboulos (6th c. BC), one of the ‘seven sages’ of the ancient world. Lindos was a great religious centre, not only of Rhodes but also of the whole of Greece, on account of its famous sanctuary of Athena Lindia. The first form of the sanctuary on the acropolis (the Archaic temple) and the city are attributed to Kleoboulos. At this same period, the city-state of Lindos contributed to the colonisation of the Mediterranean, founding colonies in Sicily (Gela and Akragas) and Africa (Cyrene).¹

In 408/407 BC Lindos took part along with the other two cities, Ialysos and Kameiros, in the foundation of the city of Rhodes, which was thereafter the most important city and the capital of the island. Despite this, Lindos never lost its importance as a major urban centre, on account of the sanctuary of Athena. The surviving structures on the acropolis (temple, propylaia, staircases and stoa) date from the Hellenistic period and reflect the tendency of this period to theatrical design and an escalating spatial perspective. The area continued to be inhabited in the Roman period, also, when the entire island experienced a new period of prosperity. In the early years of Byzantine rule the few inhabitants of the town seem to have taken refuge on the acropolis and the settlement was abandoned. During the 13th and 14th century, however, a new prosperity can be seen in the area, which is confirmed by the fact that the population settled once more on the site of the modern settlement and by the evidence for the growth of trade.

The castle served as a place of refuge for the occupants of the unfortified settlement of Lindos and neighbouring Kalathos. In 1307, the castle of Lindos was captured by the Knights of St John, and the Grand Master Foulques de Villaret sought refuge there shortly after this, when he was persecuted by the Council of the Knights and the Master De Pagnac. In the Hospitaller period, the inhabitants were granted privileges and tax exemptions that made it possible for them to experience economic growth. One of the few obligations incumbent on the Lindians was to man one of the eight galleys of the order.

The castle extended over the entire surface of the hill, occupying an area of about 1.2 hectares, and the perimeter of its walls was 508 m in length. The fortifications are almost triangular in shape, with the narrowest side on the south, though it widens to the north.

Before 1317, the Knights repaired the defence works on the acropolis, modifying and greatly improving the Byzantine defences. The fortification walls, which followed the natural terrain, were strengthened with towers of various types (some cylindrical, some pentagonal), though there were only a few of them. Two of the towers are still preserved: one at the south-west corner and one to the west of the Dioiketerion. Coats-of-arms of knights can be seen in two places. The first, above the entrance to the castle, belongs to the knight Antoine Aimer, prior of Aquitaine. The second, on the facade, is that of Pierre d’Aubusson. The Dioiketerion was the lodgings of the castellan, the governor of the castle. It occupies the north-west side of the fortifications and stands above the gate. It is a rectangular building, the north wall of which is part of the exterior fortifications. Another structure dating from the Hospitaller period is the large medieval staircase that leads to the Dioiketerion.

In 1522, the acropolis passed into the hands of the Ottoman Turks, who modified the defence works on it. They constructed corner bastions in order to meet the increased demands on defence arising out of the new technology of warfare inaugurated by the use of gunpowder. The old defence system was not capable of withstanding the power of artillery. The Ottoman modifications were removed from the site by the Italians when they began their first restoration work.

Next to the complex of the Dioiketerion, in the west part of the castle, above the cisterns cut into the rock, stands the church of Ayios Ioannis, which belongs to the cross-in-square architectural type. This cannot be dated precisely. Scholars suggest that the most probable date for the construction of the church is the period from the end of the 11th to the 13th century. The tripartite sanctuary apse is preserved, with one window in each niche. The church appears to have received the modifications required to serve the needs of the Knights.