Rhodes on Gardens of the Roman Empire

Lindos Grove

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

first to third centuries CE

Excavation Dates

unspecified

Garden Description

There is no archaeological evidence for a sacred grove on the acropolis of the Rhodian town of Lindos. Roman inscriptions, however, record the existence of olive trees in a religious context. The names of several priests who made a gift of olive trees are preserved in a text dating to ca. 50 CE. These were priests of Athena, Apollo and Sarapis, each of them donating 10 or 20 trees, but also of Dionysos; the number of trees the latter donated is not given. Other inscriptions of the third century CE name Aglochartos as a generous donor of olive trees to Athena that were meant for her precinct on the acropolis at Lindos (IG XII.1.781-783).

Bibliography

Bousquet, J. 1976. “Les oliviers de Lindos”. In Recueil Plassart, edited by A. Plassart, 9-46. Paris : Le Belles Lettres. (worldcat)
Birge, D. E. 1982. Sacred Groves in the Ancient Greek World. PhD thesis, University of California, Berkeley. (worldcat)

Keywords

Rhodes Groves On The Acropolis

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

second to third centuries CE

Excavation Dates

Unexcavated

Garden Description

Aelius Aristides (25.6) referred in the second century CE to the parks and groves in the acropolis district of the city. According to Philostratos, writing in the late second and early third century CE, this area in the western part of the city had many sanctuaries, groves and gymnasia (Life of Apollonius 5.22). Archaeological exploration of the acropolis sector has confirmed the existence of temples to Zeus and to Apollo, a gymnasium with a stadium and several sacred caves of the nymphs (nymphaia) near the temple of Zeus. These artificial caves were carved out of the rock and had water basins and niches for statues. No trace of any gardens or groves survives, but these would not have been out of place in the context of sanctuaries and gymnasia.

Bibliography

Carroll-Spillecke, M. 1989. Κήπος. Der antike griechische Garten. Vol. 3, Wohnen in der klassischen Polis, 86, 94, fig. 12. Munich: Deutscher Kunstverlag. (worldcat)
Hoepfner, W., and E.-L. Schwandner, S. Dakares, and J. Boessneck. 1994. Haus und Stadt im klassischen Griechenland. 2nd. ed. Vol. 1, Wohnen in der klassischen Polis, 65-66, fig. 41. Munich: Deutscher Kunstverlag. (worldcat)

Keywords

Rhodes Palatial House

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

late Hellenistic

Excavation Dates

Unspecified

Garden Description

At the foot of the acropolis in Rhodes stood a late Hellenistic building that occupied an entire insula. Unfortunately the building is poorly preserved. Because of the size of the building and its provision with luxurious reception rooms and a large bath suite, the excavators proposed that this was not simply a private house, but that it had some other special function.

The building had three courtyards in the eastern sector, and a large open area with a semi-circular pool (15.30 x 17.30 m) in the western part. Various renovations were carried out before the late second century CE. These included the addition of decorative pools in two of the courtyards and an alteration to the semi-circular pool in the western part of the building. No trace of any pavement was found in this area. The natural rocky ground of the site was left unaltered at the northern end of this pool, giving the whole area a rusticated appearance. Various fragments of sculpture, including a herm, a dog and a marble vessel (louterion), were found on site. The excavators have reconstructed this part of the building as a landscaped garden adorned with plantings, the pool and sculpture.

Bibliography

Dreliossi-Herakleidou, A. 1996. “Späthellenistische palastartige Gebäude in der Nähe der Akropolis von Rhodos.” In Basileia. Die Paläste der hellenistischen Könige: Internationales Symposium in Berlin vom 16.12.1992 bis 20.12.1992, edited by W. Hoepfner and G. Brands, 182-192. Berlin: Schriften des Seminars für Klassische Archäologie der Freien Universität Berlin. (worldcat)

Keywords

Places

Palatial House at Rhodes (Pleiades:994502886)