The Colossitude of Rhodes

So, Rhodes...Back in 280 BC a giant statue was erected at the entrance to the port of Rhodes.  The statue was about the size of the Statue of Liberty, which made it the tallest statue in the ancient world.  The Colossus was in honor of the sun god, Hellos, and celebrated Rhodes' victory over the ruler of Cyprus.  I guess a parade just didn't quite cut it.  Here's what it looked like:

Here it is today.

An earthquake in 226 BC took down the colossus at the knees.  The remains stayed broken on the ground for more than 800 years - the Rhodians were afraid they'd offended Hellos so they never rebuilt it.  Interesting factoid: Pliny the Elder remarked that few people could wrap their arms around the fallen thumb and that each of the fingers was larger than most statues.

Today there are two columns at the entrance to the port.  Atop each one is a deer (one doe, one stag)...I'm not sure why.

Our guide, Anna, took us to the highest hill on Rhodes to see the acropolis - she taught us Greek on the way there.  Actually she taught us English.  Acropolis is actually two greek words: acro meaning high (think acrobat, acrophobia) and polis meaning city (cosmopolitan, Indianapolis).  Acropolis means high city.  So, there you go!  Every city in ancient had an acropolis - in order to defend itself against pirates, turks, arabs, whoever was in a land grabbing mood.

There were peacocks everywhere - so noisy!

Ruins of a small chapel stand at the top of the hill.

Assorted ruins of the acropolis

A short walk (watch out for the peacock shit) takes you to the edge of the cliff where a small viewing platform gives you a fantastic view of the bay below.

The view of the city below, and the sea.

Back at the bottom of the hill, we headed to the Grand Master's Palace.  Built by the Knights of St. John, it was the leader of the knights' main residence, and all the knights lived in close proximity - along the Street of the Knights. 

The poppies are in bloom everywhere

The lovely courtyard

The palace is where all the important meetings of state (or what was going on on the island) happened.  It has many offices, "conference rooms," dining halls, and lounge areas.  But my favorite parts were the floors.  Almost every room had a grand mosaic, and the hallways were littered with them.  Most of them were mythology-related (depicting the gods), some of them were full of symbols (eternity, snakes for medicine, ivy and hearts for love, peacocks for health and wealth), some, simply designs...everyone of them just beautiful.

After our tour, we were cut loose for lunch and shopping.  

The old city - outside of the Grand Master's Palace and inside the walls of the town - is now a shopping/tourist mecca.  Soooooo many restaurants and bars, stores and shops.  It's crazy.  And I loved it!

It's not often you come upon ancient chapel ruins while shopping for fridge magnets.

Bought this for a friend (j/k)

Bought this for me.

Next Mykonos and the island of Delos.