Lindos was founded by the Dorians led by the king Tlepolemus of Rhodes, who arrived in about the 10th century BC. It was one of six Dorian cities in the area known as the Dorian Hexapolis. The eastern location of Rhodes made it a natural meeting place between the Greeks and the Phoenicians, and by the 8th century Lindos was a major trading centre. In the 6th century it was ruled by Cleobulus, one of the Seven Sages of Greece. The importance of Lindos declined after the foundation of the city of Rhodes in the late 5th century.
According to tradition the temple of Athena on the acropolis (which attained its final form in around 300 BC) was founded by Danaus, who came to the island with his 50 daughters to escape the rage of the goddess Hera.
In Hellenistic and Roman times the temple precinct of Athena grew as more buildings were added. In early medieval times these buildings fell into disuse, and in the 14th century they were partly overlaid by a massive fortress built on the acropolis by the Knights of St John to defend the island against the Ottomans.
Follow the same ancient path that the ancient Rhodians took. When you reach the acropolis you will see a 280 BC relief of a Rhodian Trireme (ancient Greek warship) carved into the rock, an indication of the naval power of ancient Rhodes. On the bow of the Trireme stood a statue of General Agesander, sculpted by Pythokritos.
