It is the most famous village on Rhodes island featuring a unique architecture. It is visited every year by hundreds of thousands of tourists. The narrow streets with the arches are a true labyrinth, where it seems impossible not to get lost! Fortunately one can easily find his/ her direction based on the location of the castle of Lindos, which is visible everywhere in the village.
Lindos is as old as the human presence on Rhodes. It has been constantly inhabited since the Neolithic era. Homer reports that its first settler was Cercaphus, one of the seven sons of Helios and the nymph Rhode. Pindar and Strabo mention Lindus, son of Cercaphus, as the first settler.
Lindos reached its prime in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. It was a member of the Dorian Hexapolis and it took the lead in the founding of the colony of Gela in Southern Italy. In the 6th century it was ruled by Cleobulus, one of the seven sages of antiquity. During his rule the temple of Athena on the acropolis was built.
Lindos went into decline after Rhodes was founded (408 BC). However, it was the only one of the three (leading) archaic city-states of the island that survived. During the Middle Ages the art of ceramics was developed in Lindos. Cleobulus the Rhodian is the instigator of the saying “all things in good measure”. He was the son of Evagoras. He studied in Egypt and was the tyrant of Lindos for 40 years.
Lindos is located 46km away from Rhodes. You can also reach the village by one of the small boats that organize day trips from Mandraki.
