Lindos Acropolis and Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum is in Athens, beside the Parthenon, while the Acropolis of Lindos, on the island of Rhodes, is an open-air site with no museum of its own on the rock. The finds from Lindos are displayed instead in the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, housed in the Hospital of the Knights in the Old Town. The hilltop sanctuary of Lindos adds a good deal to a visit beyond the views.

The cliff has been a place of worship since at least the Archaic period, and the sanctuary of Athena Lindia was one of the richest on the island. The Lindians prided themselves on their history: among their citizens was the tyrant Cleobulus, counted as one of the Seven Sages of ancient Greece. In 99 BC, the priests had an inscription carved listing the temple's offerings and the gifts from famous donors, known as the Lindian Chronicle. It records dedications by legendary and historical figures, and it is a major source of information about the sanctuary.

The visible monuments belong to several periods. A Hellenistic stoa, a long colonnade with a double row of columns, stretches along the upper terrace. A grand staircase leads to the Propylaea, the gateway of the sanctuary, which was built in the Hellenistic period and framed the approach to the Doric Temple of Athena Lindia, built in the fourth century BC. Medieval walls enclose the whole summit, strengthened by the Knights of Saint John, who held the island from 1309 to 1522 and reused ancient stone in their fortifications. Inside the enclosure stands a small church, a reminder of continued use in the Byzantine and later periods.

While the summit is a modest climb, visitors reach it on a steep path of stone steps from the village, a climb of perhaps fifteen to twenty minutes. Visitors on a hot day sometimes take a donkey part of the way. The ground is slippery, exposed and very hot in summer, so water, a hat and good footwear matter. Morning gives the best light and the least heat, and boards on site explain the main structures.

From the top, the view takes in the white village below, the deep curve of the harbour known as Saint Paul's Bay and the open sea. The Acropolis of Lindos is among the best sites on the island, and pairs naturally with a walk through the lanes of the village below.