Cycladia Travel Guides

History | Mythology

The original Myth

Rhodes is the Sun’s nymph. When Gods split the earth, Rhodes wasn’t even on the map. It was underwater. Sun, however, saw this beautiful island rising from the water and immediately asked Zeus to assign it to him. This is when this lovely island fully appeared and got the name of Rhodes.
Rhodes and Sun had 7 sons, the Eliades: Ohimos, Kerkafos, Makar, Aktion, Tenagis, Tripas and Kandalos, as well as one daughter Ilektrioni. Kerkafos had 3 sons: Kamiros, Ialyssos and Lindos, who divided the island into three parts. Each got one and gave it his name.

Telhines – The first residents of Rhodes

The first residents of Rhodes according to mythology were supposedly the Telhines, who were a weird looking tribe, resembling to daemons. Their name comes from the word “thelgo”, which means something like a “charmer”. They created clouds, rain, hail, they could change shape and they were amazing artists. This was the first tribe believed to have ever created the statues of the Gods on Rhodes, like “Apollo Telhinion” in Lindos, the statues of Era and the Nymphs in Ialyssos, as well as the statue of Era Telhinia in Kamiros.

Other Myth

When Poseidon became a man, he fell in love with his sister Alia, married her and had 6 sons and a daughter with her. The daughter’s name was Rodos (Rhodes). This is exactly where the island got its name from.

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