Warrior head vases Ashmolean, Camirus, Rhodes, 590-575 BC

Camirus or Kamiros ( grc, Κάμιρος; ) or Cameirus or Kameiros (Κάμειρος) was a city of ancient Rhodes, in the Dodecanese,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Its site is on the northwest coast of the island, west of the modern village of

Kalavarda Kalavarda is a small town in the island of Rhodes, Greece with a population of about 502. It's about 28 kilometers from the island's capital, Rhodes, and about 52 Kilometers from the city Lindos Lindos (; grc-gre, Λίνδος) is an archaeolo ...

History

The ancient city was built on three levels. At the top of the hill was the acropolis, with the temple complex of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

Kameiras and the stoa. A covered

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

having a capacity of 600 cubic meters of water—enough for up to 400 families—was constructed about the sixth century BC. Later, the stoa was built over the reservoir. The stoa consisted of two rows of Doric columns with rooms for shops or lodgings in the rear. The main settlement was on the middle terrace, consisting of a grid of parallel streets and residential blocks. On the lower terrace are found a Doric temple, probably to

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

; the

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

House, with the Agora in front of it; and Peribolos of the Altars, which contained dedications to various deities. During the prehistoric period the area was inhabited by

Mycenaean Greeks Mycenaean Greece (or the Mycenaean civilization) was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece, spanning the period from approximately 1750 to 1050 BC.. It represents the first advanced and distinctively Greek civilization in mainland ...

. The city itself was founded by the

Dorians The Dorians (; el, Δωριεῖς, ''Dōrieîs'', singular , ''Dōrieús'') were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans, and Ionian ...

. The temple foundations were begun at least as early as the eighth century BC. The earthquake of 226 BC destroyed the city and the temple. The earthquake of 142 AD destroyed the city for the second time. The Acropolis was excavated by Alfred Biliotti and Auguste Salzmann between 1852 and 1864. Many of the finds from their digs are now kept in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in London.British Museum Collection
/ref> In 1928 the Italian Archaeological School began a systematic excavation of the area together with restoration work which continued until the end of the Second World War.

Gallery

File:Rhodes Kameiros tango7174.jpg, Panoramic view File:Kameiros - Fountain square 03.jpg, Fountain Square File:Kameiros - Staircase.jpg, Staircase File:Hierothyteion 01.jpg, The Hierothyteion File:Kameiros - Main street 02.jpg, Main street File:Camiros Kameiros ruins detail.jpg, Houses of the Hellenistic period File:Ancient Kamiros, Baths.jpg, Baths of the city

Notable people

* Peisander (7th century BC), epic poet

References

External links

Présentation de Camiros
by Claire Tuan (French text and photographs)
Ancient Kamiros
on Discover Rhodes Doric Hexapolis Destroyed cities Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Populated places in the ancient Aegean islands Archaeological sites on Rhodes Former populated places in Greece Members of the Delian League Greek city-states {{AncientAegean-geo-stub