Acropolis of Rhodes

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The Acropolis of Rhodes (Greek: Ακρόπολη της Ρόδου) is the acropolis, or upper town, of ancient Rhodes dating from the 5th century BC and located 3 kilometers SW from the centre of the modern city. Situated on Monte Smith overlooking the west coast of the island, the archaeological site includes some of the most important monuments in the ancient city, such as the Temple of Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus and the Temple of Apollo, below which are a stadium, an odeon and a gymnasium. Unlike other acropoleis, no walled citadel was built here.

History: In 408 BC, towards the end of the Peloponnesian War, the three cities on the island, Lindos, Kameiros and Ialysos, combined in a synoecism, building a new city as the federal capital in the Ialysia region of the island. The geographer Strabo reports that Hippodamos of Miletus designed the city, but he would have been very old by that time. At any rate, the design can be described as Hippodamian. The city was planned in grid pattern and the upper town was no exception, though in contrast to the dense lower town there were terraced spaces of greenery according to the orator Aelius Aristides. During a flash flood in 316 BC, the upper town...