Archaeological Museum

Archaeological Museum Review

The Hospital of the Knights, completed in 1489, houses the town's Archaeological Museum. In the courtyard just beyond the imposing facade are cannonballs from the Ottoman siege of 1522, and, in surrounding halls, are two well-known representations of Aphrodite: the Aphrodite of Rhodes, who, while bathing, pushes aside her hair as if she's listening; and a standing figure, known as Aphrodite Thalassia, or "of the sea," as she was discovered in the water off the northern city beach. Other important works include two 6th-century BC kouros (statues of idealized male youth) found in the nearby ancient city of Kameiros, and the beautiful 5th-century BC funerary stela of Timarista bidding farewell to her mother, Crito.