2017-06-22 Thu

Rhodes occupied a vital strategic position in the southeast Aegean. All three Rhodian cities, Lindos on the east coast, Ialysos near the northern end of the island, and Kamiros on the west coast, struck archaic coins.

In the early 400 BC, the mint of Rhodes developed into the most important in Karia. When the cities were liberated from the Athenian rule in 411 BC, they created a new capital that bore the same name as the island itself. After that time, coins were struck only in the name of the Rhodians.

If we observed the Rhodes coin we generally see Helios and Rose and sometimes the Greek legend ‘rhodon’. In Greek mythology, Rhodos was the goddess of the island of Rhodes and wife of Helios, a personification of the sun-god. And many roses were found on the island of Rhodes. So, all these three things we find on the coins of Rhodes.

As always Greeks issued coins depicting their patron city-god. Apart from depicting Helios on the coins, the Rhodes also built a statue of their patron god. A massive Colossus of the Helios was erected in the city by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC. It was a statue of victory against Cyprus, Antigonus I Monophthalmus. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world; it stood up as tall as 108 feet high in the sky making it the tallest statue of the ancient world!

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