The Old Man of Rhodes 1

Still he gazes out to sea, With upturned brow, unblinking stare; So quiet and stony-faced is he, He’s seen so much, that I swear. The cliffs may crumble – his face may age, But peaceful he looks and thoughtful too; Despite the conflicts and storms that rage, So many he’s seen through gales that blew. And did he know of the nymph at play - A doting tryst with Sun God Helios? That infant Rhodos born that day, And touched by gentle Zephyrus? Of mighty Colossus, was he aware? Erected in honour of Helios the god 2; A wonder far beyond compare, Apart it fell - then taken abroad 3. Across the ages, with sight unmarred, Saw Minoans4, Mycenaeans 5 in times long past; Persians and Athenians 6 who’d fought so hard, He saw them all - with gaze steadfast. He witnessed sultan’s 7 attacks so cruel, And sieges by Arabs 8 and Crusaders 9 too; When Rhodes then fell to Ottoman rule 10, And knights of St John humbly withdrew. He then embraced Italian rule 11, Till Germans fought another war; A captured land in a world so cruel, Then Greece united, and peace once more 12. And still he gazes out to sea - With upturned brow, unblinking stare; What now for him the future be? The sun is hot, his beach I share. 1 This poem was written after a very pleasant holiday at the Sensori Hotel, Kolymbia on the island of Rhodes or Rhodos, where the ‘gazing face’ appeared at the southern cliffed headland at Cap Vagia. It takes into account a little of the history of the Island of Rhodos. I am grateful to Wikipedia for the following information! 2 The statue to the Sun God, Helios, was erected in 280 BC. 3 Caliph Muawiyah 1st in 654 4 Minoans arrived during the 16th Century BC. 5 The Mycenaeans arrived in the 15th Century BC. 6 Athenians invaded in 478 BC 7 The strong walls which the knights had built withstood the attacks of the Sultan of Egypt in 1444. 8 673 when Arabs captured Rhodes – a short-lived occupation before return to Byzantine rule in 715. 9 In 1310 Byzantine Empire ended with occupation by Knights Hospitaller. 10 Rhodes fell to the Ottoman army of Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522. 11 In 1912 Rhodes seized by Italy from the Turks. 12 In 1947, Rhodes, together with the other islands of the Dodecanese, was united with Greece.