The Temple of Athena Lindia was a sanctuary in Lindos in Rhodes, dedicated to the goddess Athena. It was a significant Pan-Hellenic shrine of Athena and arguably the regional center of her cult.

History

The sanctuary was situated at the acropolis in the city of Lindos in Rhodes, which was at that time the capital of the island. Prior to the foundation of the temple, the site appears to have been the place of the cult of a local goddess. It was built above a natural cave in the cliff, which may have been an previous cult place.

The first temple is dated to the 6th-century BC. It was likely built by Cleobulus. The cult statue of Athena Lindia has been reconstructed from the votive statuettes as having been a seated figure of Athena with a polos crown.

The temple was burned in 342 BC, and replaced by a new temple in the late 4th-century BC. It was built in the Doric style. It was 7.75 x 21.65 m. The new cult statue was a standing figure of Athena carrying a shield, but wearing a polos rather than a helmet; as it was fastened by the wall of the cella, it may have been over-life-size.

The fame of the temple is confirmed by the fact that Alexander the Great and many of his successors offered sacrifices there, and dedicated weapons after victories. Many of its votive gifts were famous and mentioned in the Temple Chronicle, such as works of Boethus and painter Parrhasios of Ephesus.

If the temple was still in use by the 4th-century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire, when laws against non-Christian religions and their sanctuaries where enacted by the Christian emperors.