The Temple of Athena Lindia was a sanctuary in Lindos in Rhodes, dedicated to the goddessAthena. It was a significant Pan-Hellenic shrine of Athena and arguably the regional center of her cult.
History
The sanctuary was situated at the acropolis in the city of Lindos in Rhodes, which was at that time the capital of the island. Prior to the foundation of the temple, the site appears to have been the place of the cult of a local goddess. It was built above a natural cave in the cliff, which may have been an previous cult place. The first temple is dated to the 6th-century BC. It was likely built by Cleobulus. The cult statue of Athena Lindia has been reconstructed from the votive statuettes as having been a seated figure of Athena with a polos crown. The temple was burned in 342 BC, and replaced by a new temple in the late 4th-century BC. It was built in the Doric style. It was 7.75 x 21.65 m. The new cult statue was a standing figure of Athena carrying a shield, but wearing a polos rather than a helmet; as it was fastened by the wall of the cella, it may have been over-life-size. The fame of the temple is confirmed by the fact that Alexander the Great and many of his successors offered sacrifices there, and dedicated weapons after victories. Many of its votive gifts were famous and mentioned in the Temple Chronicle, such as works of Boethus and painter Parrhasios of Ephesus. If the temple was still in use by the 4th-century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, when laws against non-Christian religions and their sanctuaries where enacted by the Christian emperors.
Mythology
The island of Rhodes was noted as a significant place for the cult of Athena in ancient times, and the sanctuary and cult of her in Rhodes are mentioned alongside to that in Athens. Rhodes was an important place in the myth of the birth of Athena, and it was said that: According to legend, the temple was founded by Danaus and the Danaïdes. According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, the temple was founded by Danaus, who dedicated a statue to Athena Lindia in his gratitude for her assistance in helping him construct a ship, by which he could help his daughters to escape: "Danaus, in fear of the sons of Aigyptos, under Athena's supervision built a ship, put his daughters on board and escaped. Putting in at Rhodes, he dedicated the statue of Athena Lindia. From there he went to Argos." Strabo described the temple as founded by the Danaides rather than their father: "In Lindos there is a famous temple of Athena Lindia, founded by the daughters of Danaüs." According to Callimachus, the cult statue of Athena by Danaus was originally composed by a xoanon before it was replaced by a sculptured statue, which indicate that the temple was quite old. Pindar described the legends around the temple in the 5th-century BC:
Cult
The cult of Athena on Rhodes differed somewhat from the cult in other parts of Greece, as it required the burning of the entrails from the sacrificial animals on the altar, an act which may have been unique for Rhodes. Philostratus the Elder describe the cult on the sanctuary in 3rd century:
Archeology
The sanctuary was excavated by the Italian archaeologists Maiuri and Jacopi in 1910-1932, and then by the Danish archaeologists K.F. Kinch and Chr. Blinkenberg.
