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What was it?
This huge statue of the sun god Helios only survived for 56 years before it fell down - even then, it was amazing. People could not wrap their arms around the thumb of the statue it was so big!
Location
The statue was put up at the entrance of the harbour of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes in Greece.
History
Throughout most of its history, ancient Greece was made up 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 one capital city, Rhodes.
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The city did well, and was eventually attacked and put under seige. The enemy never managed to enter the city, and eventually they lifted the siege, leaving all their military equipment behind. To celebrate, the Rhodians sold the equipment and used the money to put up an enormous statue of their sun god, Helios. 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 the Pharoah of Egypt to pay for putting it up again. However, an oracle was consulted and it said they should not repair it. For almost a thousand years, the statue laid broken in ruins. In 654 AD, the Arabs invaded Rhodes. They pulled apart the remains of the broken Colossus and sold them. It is said that the fragments had to be carried to Syria on the backs of 900 camels! |
People used to think the statue stood either side of the harbour entrance, so boats sailed underneath. But this just isn't possible given the height of the statue and the width of the harbor mouth. Also, the fallen Colossus would have blocked the harbour entrance. Recent studies suggest that it was further inland.
To build the statue, 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 high.