- The Colossus of Rhodes was a Giant Statue of the God Helios that stood beside the harbour entrance of the city of Rhodes, in a similar manner to how the Statue of Liberty stands today at the entrance to New York Harbour in the USA.
- It was 98 ft (30m) tall and considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The statue no longer exists.
Description
- Construction was started in 292 BCE and it was completed in 280 BCE to celebrate Rhodes’ victory over the King of Cyprus.
- It was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BCE. The statue bent at the knees and fell over. The remains appear to have stayed on the ground for the next 800 years.
- Many Roman historians visited and described the fallen statue, including Pliny the Elder and Strabo. It may have been part of the Roman Grand Tour.
Structure
- Antigonus I Monophthalmus had besieged Rhodes unsuccessfully. After the Siege, he left all his Siege engines and equipment behind.
- The Rhodians sold much of it and with the money decided to build the statue, using the Bronze and Iron that had been left behind.
- The statue was built on a stone plinth, with bronze plates on the outside, infilled with stone.
Rhodes Old Harbour