One of the most interesting islands of the Dodecanese archipelago (Southern Sporades), which is definitely worth a visit, is the legendary Greek island of Kos. It is believed that the first inhabitants of Kos were the Carians, who were displaced around the 11th century by the Dorians, who brought with them the cult of Asclepius, the god of healing, thanks largely to whom the fame of this island later spread far beyond the borders of modern Greece.
It is known that Kos together with such cities of Rhodes as Lindos, Kamiros and Ialyssos, as well as Asia Minor Cnidus and Halicarnassus for quite a long time was in the religious and political amphictyony - "Dorian hexapolis". At the end of the 6th century, however, Kos fell under the power of the Persians, and after their final expulsion it joined the Delosian Union (also known as the First Athenian Maritime Union) and after the Rhodes Rebellion served as the main Athenian base in the south-eastern part of the Aegean (411-407 BC).
By 366 BC, a new city was erected on the north-eastern coast of Kos, which became the capital of the island and was also called "Kos". Antique Kos was built on the principle of the then widely known urban planning system of Hippodamus of Miletus and surrounded by a massive fortress wall, approximately 4 kilometres long. In the northern part of the city near the harbour was located the ancient Agora, and to the west of it - various cult and public buildings (sanctuaries, odeon, gymnasium, etc.), residential houses mainly occupied the eastern and southern part of the city. During the Hellenistic era, when the island became not only an important naval outpost, but also a major commercial, cultural and educational centre, the city prospered, strengthening its position during the time of Alexander the Great and the Egyptian Ptolemies. However, the Roman period was also a very favourable time for the city. Antique Kos was almost completely destroyed in a major earthquake in 469 AD and gradually a new city was built in its place.
In 1933, a devastating earthquake destroyed most of Kos, revealing the ancient Kos to the world. The Italians, who dominated the island at that time, did their best to rebuild the city and at least partially preserve its main attractions (including the famous castle of the Ioannite Knights and the mosque of Ghazi Hasan Pasha), and funded archaeological excavations of ancient Kos.
Today, the ruins of Ancient Kos are one of the main and most popular local attractions, as well as an important archaeological site, where you can see the ruins of the temples of Aphrodite and Heracles, fragments of the fortress walls of the ancient city (destroyed allegedly as early as 142 AD), the ruins of the Forum and the ancient theatre, the famous Roman house Casa Romana with magnificent floor mosaics, as well as a Christian basilica built in the 5th century, and much more.
