The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes fills the medieval Hospital of the Knights of Saint John, a stone building in the Old Town where the order once cared for the sick and for pilgrims. You come for two stories at once: the Gothic architecture of the knights and the finds from ancient Ialysos, Kameiros and Lindos, including the small marble Aphrodite that has become the museum's emblem.
The Archaeological Museum at a glance
- Where: on Museum Square (Plateia Mouseiou) in the medieval Old Town of Rhodes, at the lower end of the Street of the Knights.
- Built: begun in 1440 under Grand Master Jean de Lastic and completed in 1489 under Grand Master Pierre d'Aubusson.
- What it is today: the island's main archaeological museum, covering Rhodes and the Dodecanese from the Mycenaean to the Roman period.
- Time needed: 1 to 2 hours.
- Good to know: the courtyard and the upper galleries are part of the visit, so leave time for the building as well as the exhibits.
From the knights' hospital to a museum
The Knights Hospitaller ruled Rhodes from 1309 to 1522, and caring for the sick was at the core of their order. Their great hospital was started in 1440, on the ruins of a Roman building, and finished fifty years later. After the Ottoman conquest of 1522 it was put to other uses, like much of the medieval town.
The turning point came during the Italian administration of the Dodecanese, when in 1914 it was decided to turn the building into an archaeological museum. That decision saved the structure and gave it a new role. Over the decades the museum gathered finds from Italian-era and more recent excavations on Rhodes and the neighbouring islands, along with sculpture, grave stelae, inscriptions and mosaic floors, some of which are displayed in the restored garden.
What to look for
- The Aphrodite of Rhodes: a marble statuette, about 60 centimetres tall, of the goddess crouching after her bath, from the 2nd or 1st century BC.
- The head of Helios: a marble head of the sun god, patron of Rhodes, from the second half of the 2nd century BC. A photo of it appeared on the 2011 album cover of Floral Shoppe, which made it an icon of the vaporwave scene.
- The grave stele of Krito and Timarista: a mother and daughter saying goodbye, carved around 420 to 410 BC and found in the cemetery of ancient Kameiros.
- The kouroi from Kameiros: two archaic statues of young men from around 550 to 530 BC.
- The great infirmary hall: the long upper ward where the knights cared for their patients, with the funerary slabs of knights now displayed in it.
- The courtyard: the arcaded inner courtyard of the hospital, lined with ancient stones and sculpture, one of the most photogenic corners of the Old Town.
Painted pottery from the island
Some of the museum's most striking objects are vases. Look for the Fikellura-style pyxis from the mid-6th century BC, decorated in the East Greek style named after a site on Rhodes, and the Laconian hydria showing two heroes in combat. The cases of jewellery, figurines and metalwork come from the cemeteries of Ialysos and Kameiros, and they show how connected Rhodes was to trade across the Aegean.
Tips for your visit
- Go early in the day, before tour groups arrive and before the upper galleries get warm in summer.
- Start upstairs with the infirmary hall, then work your way down through the sculpture and out to the garden.
- Wear comfortable shoes: the Old Town is paved with uneven pebbles and the museum has stairs.
- Combine the museum with a walk up the Street of the Knights to the Palace of the Grand Master.
Nearby
- Street of the Knights: the cobbled medieval street lined with the inns of the order's different nations; it starts right next to the museum.
- Palace of the Grand Master: the fortress-like palace at the top of the Street of the Knights, rebuilt under Italian rule.
- Our Lady of the Castle: the former Byzantine cathedral facing the museum, now home to the Byzantine Museum.
- Hippocrates Square: the busy square in the old trade quarter, with its fountain and the Castellania building.
See Rhodes with World City Trail
Our Rhodes scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 2 hours, with about 30 minutes of walking, and includes places such as the Palace of the Grand Master, the Street of the Knights and the medieval Old Town. You can play in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Greek.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour of Rhodes and an outdoor escape game in the city.
Play the Rhodes scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Rhodes →
Play the outdoor escape game in Rhodes →
Facts checked in October 2026.