This book offers a detailed political history of Rhodes from the foundation of the Rhodian republic in the fifth century B.C. to the conclusions of Rhodes' alliance with Rome in the second, a period in which Rhodes was a major Mediterranean power. Richard M. Berthold provides a complete account of Rhodian foreign affairs, exploring the principles and reasons behind Rhodes' foreign policy decisions. He traces Rhodes' history through the stormy years of the fourth century to the independence and prosperity of the third, arguing that Rhodes achieved economic and political success by pursuing a course of studied neutrality. Berthold maintains that Rhodes did not willfully abandon its neutral stance during the second century, but rather was forced by events to support Rome, a posture that ultimately led to Rhodes' loss of independence.

Rhodes was founded more that 2,400 years ago, yet our fascination for this prosperous trading center continues across the millennia. One of the most beautiful cities ever built, Rhodes had a profound influence on the Roman, and subsequent western, civilization. Hellenistic Rhodes introduces the latest research carried out by European scholars. Individual chapters approach various aspects of the politics, culture and society of Rhodes and its sphere of influence from historical, archaeological and philosophical perspectives. These multidisciplinary essays center on the Rhodian demes, relations between Rhodes and the Rhodian Peraia, the relations between Rhodes and Caria, Rhodes and Lycia in Hellenistic times, the marginalization of Crete in Greek thought, the role of piracy in the outbreak of the First Cretan War, and the Eastern Mediterranean wine trade. Also considered is the evidence from Rhodian amphorae of the trade between Rhodes and Alexandria, pottery and jewelry from Rhodian graves and aspects of Rhodian tombs. A final essay discusses the importance of the transformation of stoicism by Panaetius and Posidonius. This final volume of the series Studies in Hellenistic Civilization continues the vibrant record of the contemporary interest in, and success with, uncovering the details of a remarkable time and place.

*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts describing Rhodes *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading Modern perceptions of Classical Greece are almost invariably based on Athens and Sparta, but there are perhaps few areas as consistently undervalued as the island of Rhodes. Although solidly part of the Greek world for as long as there has been one, Rhodes, located just off the coast of Asia Minor, was also from its earliest times a port opening to the civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean, and Rhodes was involved in every significant moment in ancient Greek history. The island often played a key role in world events which far surpassed its small size, and at one point even stood side-by-side with much larger kingdoms as one of the main powers in the Greek world. Rhodes would reach the zenith of its power in the Hellenistic period following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE. Even as the rest of the city-states waned compared to the much larger kingdoms of Alexander's successors in Egypt and Asia, Rhodes would come to the forefront as a main power in the Greek world, standing toe-to-toe with these Hellenistic kingdoms. Rhodes was for a time the foremost naval power in the Eastern Mediterranean, and one of the most powerful and richest cities in the world. It was during this time that the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built on the island to celebrate Rhodes' equally monumental triumph over the armies of Demetrius the Besieger. Rhodes also gained a foothold on other islands, and an extensive presence in Asia Minor. With the rise of Rome, Rhodes, along with the rest of the Greek world, lost power, and it was gradually integrated into the Roman sphere of influence as an ally before finally being annexed into the empire. After the partition and collapse of the ancient Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages Rhodes would share in both the fortunes and vicissitudes of Rome's successor state, the Byzantine Empire. Along with the Byzantines, Rhodes would face off first against the Arabs from the East, and then European Crusaders from the West. As the Byzantine Empire continued to lose power and chaos spread in its former holdings, Rhodes would eventually be occupied by the Knights Hospitaller, an order of Crusading knights who initially arrived on the island while retreating from the Holy Land. These knights would hold on to Rhodes for over 200 years, making it the headquarters of their unique military, economic, and piratical empire. It became a bastion of Christendom and a reminder of the former power of the Crusaders in an Eastern Mediterranean region increasingly dominated by Islam. When the Rhodian castle of the knights, still standing today, finally fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1522, Rhodes entered a long period of Turkish rule that lasted almost 400 years. It was only in 1948, after successive and brief Italian, German and British occupations, that the island was finally united with the modern Greek state, but to this day, thanks to its impressive archaeological sites, Rhodes still bears the indelible marks of its storied past. Rhodes: The History and Legacy of the Greek Island from Ancient Times to Today examines one of the most important Greek powers throughout its long and illustrious history. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Rhodes like never before.

Although Apollonius of Rhodes' extraordinary epic poem on the Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece has begun to get the attention it deserves, it still is not well known to many readers and scholars. This book explores the poem's relation to the conditions of its writing in third century BCE Alexandria, where a multicultural environment transformed the Greeks' understanding of themselves and the world. Apollonius uses the resources of the imagination - the myth of the Argonauts' voyage and their encounters with other peoples - to probe the expanded possibilities and the anxieties opened up when definitions of Hellenism and boundaries between Greeks and others were exposed to question. Central to this concern with definitions is the poem's representation of space. Thalmann uses spatial theories from cultural geography and anthropology to argue that the Argo's itinerary defines space from a Greek perspective that is at the same time qualified. Its limits are exposed, and the signs with which the Argonauts mark space by their passage preserve the stories of their complex interactions with non-Greeks. The book closely considers many episodes in the narrative with regard to the Argonauts' redefinition of space and the implications of their actions for the Greeks' situation in Egypt, and it ends by considering Alexandria itself as a space that accommodated both Greek and Egyptian cultures.

A new perspective on political organisation in Hellenistic Rhodes and the ancient Greek citystateThe first comprehensive study of Rhodes in more than 20 years and one of the few books dedicated to a single Hellenistic city-stateIntroduces the reader to Hellenistic Rhodes, an important, but also remarkably understudied, city-state of the ancient Greek and Roman world Challenges traditional assumptions about political organization in the ancient Greek city-state Documents the existence of an alternative conception of the ancient Greek city-state, which will inspire new approaches to the study of the ancient Greek city-state, politics and society.Christian Thomsen offers a study of political institutions on the island state of Rhodes - an important power in the eastern Mediterranean and the first city of the Hellenistic world. Using Aristotle's notion of the polis as an 'association of associations' as its point of departure, Thomsen provides an analysis of political institutions, taking a broader view of what constitutes an institution than traditional studies of the ancient Greek city-state. Among the institutions surveyed are the family, civic subdivisions such as tribes and demes as well as private associations. He argues that these organisations served as important junctions in the networks of political elites and shaped the political landscape of Hellenistic Rhodes.

Greece—The Hellenistic Age contains 12 full-color transparencies (print books) or PowerPoint slides (eBooks), 4 reproducible pages, and a richly detailed teacher's guide. Among the topics covered in this volume are Alexandrian conquests, advances in mathematics and science, the sculpture, architecture, philosophy and oratory of the Hellenic period, and the Hellenistic spirit.

This study posits that the distinction of Hellenistic Rhodes, exemplified by economic prosperity, internal stability, military might and high political esteem among foreign powers, can be directly linked to the naval aristocracy. The book contends that a constantly publicised pride in naval experience was paramount to the self-perception of the upper class. It was the basis of their role in the military, political and commercial infrastructure. By analysing the role of the wealthy, who personally owned the ships used both for warfare and commerce, their financial responsibility for personnel, and the ramifications of this power, Gabrielson explains the organisation of the society as a whole. By providing economic security, the aristocracy promoted domestic peace that, in turn, allowed for expansion overseas, thereby re-securing their own power and labour forces. The navy safeguarded mercantile routes.