The Knights of Rhodes

The order of Knights Hospitallers or Knights of Saint John was founded in 1023 and had as its mission to provide care for the poor, the sick and injured in Jerusalem. In addition the knights were charged with the defense of the Holy Land.

Originally the Hospitallers built a hospice that expanded to an infirmary.  It was located near the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. 

The Knights were expelled from Jerusalem in 1291. They first sought refuge in Cyprus but Master Guillaume de Villaret selected Rhodes as their final destination.  His successor, Fulkes de Villaret conquered the island of Rhodes in 1309 and gained control of a number of neighboring islands and the Anatolian port of Halicarnassus and the island of Kastelorizo.  At that time they also changed their name to the Knights of Rhodes.

The Grand Masters Palace was built in the 14th century as the residence of the Grand Master and also as an administrative center for the Knights of Rhodes.

After moving to Rhodes the Knights were forced to change their mission from philanthropy to becoming increasingly a fighting group, as they had to defend the island against the Barbary pirates raids. They also withstood two invasions in the 15th century, one by the Sultan of Egypt in 1444 and another by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II in 1480.  

In 1522, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent arrived to Rhodes with a force of 400 ships and 100,000 soldiers. Against this force the Knights, who were 7,000 men-at-arms in a siege that lasted six months, were defeated but allowed to withdraw to Sicily. Despite their defeat, both Christians and Muslims seem to have regarded the conduct of their leader Villiers de L'Isle-Adam as extremely valiant.

The happiest man that ever lived

Diagoras of Rhodes (Διαγόρας ο Ῥόδιος) was a famous and virtuous Greek athlete.  In the 5th century BC, Diagoras won twice in the Olympic games, four times in the Isthmian, twice in the Nemean, and once in the Pythian games.  His victories and his righteous elegance that embodied the Olympic spirit were the reasons the poet Pindar immortalized him as a “fair-fighter and a gigantic man who walks a straight course on a road that hates arrogance”.  Outstanding athleticism and dignity were of equal importance to ancient Greeks.   According to a legend he was the son of Hermes something that could explain his super-human athletic achievements.  His three sons and his grandsons from his two daughters were Olympic champions too.  According to a story one of his daughters had to dress as a man to observe her son’s victory, as women were not allowed in the Olympic games. 

Two of his sons celebrated their victory by carrying their father around the stadium in Olympia on their shoulders, cheered loudly by the adoring crowd, which showered them with flowers congratulating Diagoras about his sons.  Diagoras glory and even more having his glory matched and surpassed by his children was considered the peak of happiness that a human could experience.  Legend has it that Diagoras died while he was carried on his sons’ shoulders.  He has since been considered the happiest mortal that ever lived.