Rhodes in the Hellenistic Age

This book offers a detailed political history of Rhodes from the foundation of the Rhodian republic in the fifth century B.C. to the conclusions of Rhodes' alliance with Rome in the second, a period in which Rhodes was a major Mediterranean power. Richard M. Berthold provides a complete account of Rhodian foreign affairs, exploring the principles and reasons behind Rhodes' foreign policy decisions. He traces Rhodes' history through the stormy years of the fourth century to the independence and prosperity of the third, arguing that Rhodes achieved economic and political success by pursuing a course of studied neutrality. Berthold maintains that Rhodes did not willfully abandon its neutral stance during the second century, but rather was forced by events to support Rome, a posture that ultimately led to Rhodes' loss of independence.

Berthold's book focuses primarily on the political and military aspects of Hellenistic Rhodes and is both scholarly and readable.... Rhodian history is given more or less in narrative form and the book is consequently easy to follow, even when the events being considered are rather obscure.... By approaching the Hellenistic world from the special perspective of Rhodes, Berthold gives us a fascinating view of how foreign relations and policies may really have worked.... His account of the siege of Rhodes by Demetrius Poliorcetes in 305/4 B.C. is not only informative, but also exciting reading.... This book is a well-written and authoritative account., In the age of monarchies and leagues after the death of Alexander the Great, the proud island republic of Rhodes preserved its independence and rose to the rank of a naval and commercial power. Berthold has combed the sources to give a clear account of Rhodian political history from the late fifth through first centuries B.C.... There are useful chapters on the foundation of the Rhodian state, the Rhodian constitution, and the administration of mainland possessions in Asia Minor (Peraea). Ventures into economic history clarify the political narrative as indicated in Berthold's discussion of the strength of the famed Rhodian navy and the impact of Delos on later Rhodian commerce.... The Rhodians emerge from this account as consummate diplomats who dexterously charted a consistent course through the treacherous seas of Hellenistic diplomacy., The most shining example of obstinate and triumphant eleutheria (freedom) in the Hellenistic period—in clear-cut contrast to all the servility, flattery, and authoritarianism—is provided by Rhodes: how curious, then, that Richard M. Berthold's Rhodes in the Hellenistic Age should be almost the only serious study devoted to this fascinating commercial republic in the past eighty years.... Berthold tells the story crisply and documents it well.

Richard M. Berthold retired as an Associate Professor of Classical History from the University of New Mexico.