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Colossus of Rhodes |
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The
Colossus of Rhodes: Throughout
most of its history, ancient Greece
was comprised of city-states which
had limited power beyond their
boundary. On the small island
of Rhodes were three of these:
Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos.
In 408 BC, the cities united to
form one territory, with a unified
capital, Rhodes. The city thrived
commercially and had strong economic
ties with their main ally, Ptolemy
I Soter of Egypt. In 305 BC, the
Antigonids of Macedonia who were
also rivals of the Ptolemies,
besieged Rhodes in an attempt
to break the Rhodo-Egyptian alliance.
They could never penetrate the
city. When a peace agreement was
reached in 304 BC, the Antagonids
lifted the siege, leaving a wealth
of military equipment behind.
To celebrate their unity, the
Rhodians sold the equipment and
used the money to erect an enormous
statue of their sun god, Helios.
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The
construction of the Colossus took 12 years
and was finished in 282 BC. For years,
the statue stood at the harbor entrance,
until a strong earthquake hit Rhodes about
226 BC. The city was badly damaged, and
the Colossus was broken at its weakest
point -- the knee. The Rhodians received
an immediate offer from Ptolemy III Eurgetes
of Egypt to cover all restoration costs
for the toppled monument. However, an
oracle was consulted and forbade the re-erection.
Ptolemy's offer was declined.
For
almost a millennium, the statue laid
broken in ruins. In AD 654, the Arabs
invaded Rhodes. They disassembled the
remains of the broken Colossus and sold
them to a Jew from Syria. It is said
that the fragments had to be transported
to Syria on the backs of 900 camels.
Let
us first clear a misconception about
the appearance of the Colossus. It has
long been believed that the Colossus
stood in front of the Mandraki harbor,
one of many in the city of Rhodes, straddling
its entrance. Given the height of the
statue and the width of the harbor mouth,
this picture is rather impossible than
improbable. Moreover, the fallen Colossus
would have blocked the harbor entrance.
Recent studies suggest that it was erected
either on the eastern promontory of
the Mandraki harbor, or even further
inland. Anyway, it did never straddle
the harbor entrance.
The
project was commissioned by the Rhodian
sculptor Chares of Lindos. To build
the statue, his workers cast the outer
bronze skin parts. The base was made
of white marble, and the feet and ankle
of the statue were first fixed. The
structure was gradually erected as the
bronze form was fortified with an iron
and stone framework. To reach the higher
parts, an earth ramp was built around
the statue and was later removed. When
the colossus was finished, it stood
about 33 m (110 ft) high. And when it
fell, "few people can make their
arms meet round the thumb", wrote
Pliny.
Although
we do not know the true shape and appearance
of the Colossus, modern reconstructions
with the statue standing upright are
more accurate than older drawings. Although
it disappeared from existence, the ancient
World Wonder inspired modern artists
such as French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi
best known by his famous work: The Statue
of Liberty.
Location:
At the entrance of the harbor of the
Mediterranean island of Rhodes in Greece.
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