Zeus and the Giants: After the victory of Zeus over the Giants, Zeus decided to divide the land among the gods of Olympus. But, God Helios (Sun) was absent from this procedure, who thus remained without a share. Zeus suggested repeating the division of the land, but Helios refused and said that his own land would become the one that will emerge from the sea when the sun rises the next morning. The island that came to the surface was that of Rhodes, which Helios washed with his rays. Because of this myth, Rhodes is also called the island of the Sun.

The nymph Rhodes and Helios: The other myth says that Rhodes was a nymph and the wife of Helios and they had seven children, the seven Heliades. One of their children was Cercaphus, who had three children, Kamiros, Ialysos and Lindos. So, these last three divided the island into three parts and gave their name to the three main cities of the island.