Temple of Apollo Pythios: The Acropolis of Ancient Rhodes

The Story of the Temple of Apollo Pythios

Most visitors to Rhodes head straight for the medieval Old Town, with its walls and palaces built by the Knights of Saint John. But on a hill just west of the town lies a reminder of a much older Rhodes. The hill is known today as Monte Smith, after the British admiral Sidney Smith, who is said to have used it as a lookout during the Napoleonic Wars. In antiquity it was the acropolis of the city of Rhodes, and its most visible monument is the Temple of Apollo Pythios.

The city of Rhodes was founded in 408 BC, when the three old cities of the island, Lindos, Ialysos and Kamiros, joined together to create a new capital at the northern tip of Rhodes. It was laid out on a regular grid of streets and quickly became one of the richest cities of the Greek world, thanks to its harbors and its trade across the Mediterranean.

Unlike the fortified acropolis of Athens, the acropolis of Rhodes was a broad and open hill, laid out as a monumental park with temples, terraces and sports grounds. It held sanctuaries of Athena and Zeus, and on its eastern slope stood the temple of Apollo Pythios, named after the Apollo of Delphi. Built in the Hellenistic period, it was a Doric temple on a high terrace, looking out across the city toward the sea.

Below the temple lay a stadium for athletic contests, a small theater and a gymnasium where young men trained. The stadium, built in the Hellenistic period, has been restored and gives a vivid sense of how athletes once competed in front of cheering crowds. The small theater nearby, also restored, may have been used for lectures, music and teaching, since Rhodes was famous in antiquity as a center of rhetoric, where many Romans came to study.

Rhodes is best known in history for its Colossus, a giant bronze statue of the sun god Helios, the patron god of the island. It was built in the early 3rd century BC, partly funded by selling the siege equipment left behind by the Macedonian king Demetrius Poliorcetes, who failed to capture the city in 305 to 304 BC. The Colossus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, stood for only a few decades before an earthquake toppled it around 226 BC.

The acropolis gradually fell into ruin after antiquity, and later its stone was quarried for other buildings. During the Italian rule of the Dodecanese in the 20th century, archaeologists excavated the hill and restored parts of its monuments. They re-erected several columns and part of the entablature of the Temple of Apollo Pythios, along with the stadium and theater below, creating the scene visitors see today.

Today the Temple of Apollo Pythios is an easy and rewarding trip from Rhodes town, reached by a short drive, a bus or a walk uphill. Admire the reconstructed columns rising against the sky, then walk down to the stadium and theater below. Many visitors come in the late afternoon, when the view from the hill stretches over the town and the sea, and the setting sun turns the ancient stones gold.