This Extension Of Their Dominions Was
Followed By A Successful War With The Istrians, Which Made Them Masters Of
All
The western parts of the Mediterranean Sea; and by an equally
successful war with Nabis, the tyrant of Sparta, who
Was compelled to
deliver up his fleet to them, as well as all the sea-ports of consequence
on the coast of Sparta.
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. There is great doubt among the learned,
whether what still exist as the fragments of these laws are genuine: we
know, however, that the Romans had a law which they called Lex Rhodia;
according to some, this contained the regulations of the Rhodians
concerning naval affairs; according to others, however, only one clause of
the law, _de jactu_, about throwing goods overboard in a storm, was
borrowed from the Rhodians.
Besides the commerce in which they themselves were engaged, the constant
arrival of ships from Egypt to Greece, and from Greece to Egypt, the island
being situated exactly in the passage between these countries, contributed
much to their wealth. As this encreased, they formed settlements and
colonies in many places; at Parthenope and Salapia, in Italy; Agrigentum
and Geta, in Sicily; Rhodes, on the coast of Spain, near the foot of the
Pyrenees, &c. They were particularly celebrated for and attentive to the
construction of their vessels; aiming principally at lightness and speed,
the discipline observed on board of them, and the skill and ability of
their captains and pilots.
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