COLOSSUS OF RHODES

The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek Titan Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name, by Chares of Lindos between 292 and 280 BC. 

The original Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was sculpted by Chares of Lindos, and represented Helios, god/personification of the sun. It was toppled in 226 BCE by an earthquake.



We can say that the colossus of Rhodes is part of the seven wonders because of its exemplary vastness.

Moreover, it should well be realized that this Greek monument is the result of a very hudge technical process which is characterized, amongst other things, by the use of terra cotta moulds necessary to the casting of the colossus.

According to the legend, Charas of Lindos commited a suicide when he discovered an error in his calculs, error that one of his assistants had to correct.

Made of bronze and based on marble block, the statue was 32 meters (105 feet) height from the top of the head to the feet, that is to say 14 meters (46 feet) less than the statue of liberty in New York.

It was constructed to celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of Cyprus, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, whose son unsuccessfully besieged Rhodes in 305 BC.

Before its destruction in the earthquake of 226 BC, the Colossus of Rhodes stood over 30 meters (98.4 ft) high, making it one of the tallest statues of the ancient world.


Ancient accounts, which differ to some degree, describe the structure as being built with iron tie bars to which brass plates were fixed to form the skin.

The interior of the structure, which stood on a 15 meter (50 foot) high white marble pedestal near the Mandraki harbor entrance, was then filled with stone blocks as construction progressed.

Other sources place the Colossus on a breakwater in the harbor.

The statue itself was over 30 meters (98.4 ft) tall.

Much of the iron and bronze was reforged from the various weapons Demetrius's army left behind, and the abandoned second siege tower may have been used for scaffolding around the lower levels during construction.

Upper portions were built with the use of a large earthen ramp.

During the building, workers would pile mounds of dirt on the sides of the colossus.

Upon completion all of the dirt was removed and the colossus was left to stand alone.

After twelve years, in 280 BC, the statue was completed. Preserved in Greek anthologies of poetry is what is believed to be the genuine dedication text for the Colossus.

The statue stood for 56 years until Rhodes was hit by the 226 BC Rhodes earthquake, when significant damage was also done to large portions of the city, including the harbor and commercial buildings, which were destroyed.

The statue snapped at the knees and fell over on to the land.

The heigh enabled the statue to be visible by the ships approaching to the port.

In his raised arm, the sun god held a torch while his other arm was pressed on a lance.

Contrary to the illustrations we usually find, ships were not passing under the colossesus legs to enter in the wearing of Rhodes.

It was technically impossible that the statue had its legs split.

The statue had been partially destroyed in 225 BC after a earthquake.

Then, in 653 AC, all the material (more than 13 tons of bronze and nearly 7 tons of iron, according to Philon) is taken by an arab expedition to be sold to a jewish merchant of Ephesea.