Lindos Village
16 Σεπτεμβρίου 2014
Lindos Beach
7 Ιουλίου 2021
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The Acropolis of Lindos

For most travelers, the Acropolis of Lindos is Lindos' most spectacular archaeological site. The beautiful character of the contemporary village adds to the spectacular natural environment, with the Acropolis of Lindos standing dominantly on a high cliff at 116 m height like a sovereign platform overlooking the sea, framed by massive castle walls. While the Acropolis of Lindos contains the most significant ancient structures, fascinating ruins may be seen across the city and just outside of it.The remains of the goddess Athena Lindia, temples from the 4th century BC, as well as the Propylaea, the huge Hellenistic Stoa, and the Byzantine church of Saint John, are located on the top of the Lindos Acropolis. During the reign of the Knights of St. John, the castle is encircled by stronger fortress walls, and Lindos flourishes as a maritime force until the nineteenth century.

A myth surrounds the place

The worship of Athena Lindia was pre-Hellenic, according to myth, although the occasional excavation findings do not support this. The sanctuary's history starts with the Geometric era (9th c. BC). Kleoboulos, the tyrant of Lindos during the Archaoc era, resurrected the worship and erected a temple, most likely on the site of an earlier one. The Archaic temple followed the same Doric tetrastyle amphiprostyle pattern as the next one.

A rugged flight of stairs led up to the sanctuary. After it was destroyed by fire in 342 BC, the current temple was constructed, complete with the Propylaea and the massive stairway. The Hellenistic stoa is a later addition. The worship of Zeus Polieus was established in the third century BC, but Athena remained the sanctuary's primary goddess. During the Roman era, the priest Aglochartos planted olive trees on the site, and an inscription claims that the Sanctuary of Psithyros was constructed near the Temple of Athena (2nd c. AD).  

 

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    The Acropolis of Lindos
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