The Rhodians hitherto had been generally in alliance with the Romans; but
differences arose between them during the war between the latter and
Perseus, king of Macedon.
The island of Rhodes was remarkably well situated for maritime commerce;
and its inhabitants did not fail to reap all the advantages in this respect
which nature had so kindly bestowed on them. It appears from Homer, that in
his time there were three cities in the island; but during the
Peloponnesian war, the greater part of the inhabitants, having formed the
resolution to settle in one place, built the city of Rhodes, after the
designs of the same Athenian architect, who built the Piraeus. This city was
situated on the east coast of the island, at the foot of a hill, in the
form of an amphitheatre: it possessed a very convenient and safe harbour,
at the entrance of which there were two rocks; and on these, which were
fifty feet asunder, the famous Colossus was placed. The arsenals of Rhodes
were filled with every thing requisite for the defence of the city, or the
equipment of a large fleet: its walls, which were extremely high, were
defended by towers: its houses were built of stone: in short, the whole
city presented a striking picture of wealth, magnificence, and beauty, for
which it was not less indebted to art and commerce than to nature.
Before the era of the Olympiads, the Rhodians applied themselves to
maritime affairs: for many years they seem to have been masters of the
Mediterranean Sea; and their code of maritime laws became the standard with
all the maritime nations of antiquity, by which all controversies regarding
maritime affairs were regulated.
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