According to myth, Lindos was founded by the Dorians led by the king Tlepolemus of Rhodes, who arrived in about the 10th century BC. It was one of six Dorian cities in the area known as the Dorian Hexapolis. The eastern location of Rhodes made it a natural meeting place between the Greeks and the Phoenicians, and by the 8th century Lindos was a major trading centre. In the 6th century it was ruled by Cleobulus, one of the Seven Sages of Greece. The importance of Lindos declined after the foundation of the city of Rhodes in the late 5th century BC.
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 a 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.
