Colossus completed c. 280 BC
Ancient Rhodes and the Colossus
Rhodes became a major commercial and naval power in the Hellenistic Mediterranean. After resisting a siege, the Rhodians built a gigantic bronze…
Read story →Explore Greece5000
Dodecanese
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c. 147–127 BC
Hipparchus of Rhodes: Stars, Chords and Precession
Working largely on Rhodes in the second century BC, Hipparchus catalogued roughly 850 stars and discovered the slow shift known as precession.…
Read story →1912–1943
Italian Rule in the Dodecanese, 1912–1943
Italian troops landed on Rhodes in May 1912 during the war with the Ottoman Empire, and Italy kept the Dodecanese for three…
Read story →19th century–1980s
Kalymnos: The Island of Sponge Divers
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Kalymnos lived largely from sponge fishing, sending crews each spring to far waters. The trade brought…
Read story →1913–1948
Kastellorizo: The Easternmost Greek Island
Kastellorizo, known in antiquity as Megisti, lies just off the Turkish coast opposite Kas and marks Greece's eastern edge. Its busy port…
Read story →4th century BC (walls); eruptions 1871–1888
Nisyros: Volcano and Fortress of Black Stone
Nisyros is the summit of an active volcano whose caldera still steams with hydrothermal vents. Above Mandraki, its ancient inhabitants built massive…
Read story →Traditions recorded 19th–21st century
Olympos on Karpathos: A Village of Living Traditions
Olympos clings to a mountain ridge in northern Karpathos, where long isolation helped preserve customs lost elsewhere. Older women still wear traditional…
Read story →Monastery founded 1088
Patmos: St John’s Monastery and the Apocalypse Cave
On Patmos, Christian tradition places the writing of the Book of Revelation in a hillside cave. In 1088 a Byzantine monk founded…
Read story →Medieval–early nineteenth centuries
Piracy in the Aegean
Piracy affected Aegean communities throughout the medieval and early modern periods. Pirates attacked ships, captured people, raided settlements and sometimes operated with…
Read story →c. 1800–1910 (heyday)
Symi and the Sponge Divers of the Dodecanese
For generations the small island of Symi lived from the sea floor, sending divers after sponges sold across Europe. The trade paid…
Read story →Temple rebuilt c. 300 BC
The Acropolis of Lindos on Rhodes
High above the bay of Lindos stood the sanctuary of Athena Lindia, one of the most renowned shrines of the Aegean. Its…
Read story →12–16 November 1943
The Battle of Leros, November 1943
After Italy's armistice in September 1943, British troops moved onto the Italian naval base of Leros. In November a German sea and…
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