Definition of Colossus of Rhodes

Around the year 300 a. C at the entrance to the port of the island of Rhodes a statue of bronze about thirty-five meters high. The statue is known as the Colossus of Rhodes and represents the god Helios standing, with his legs spread and an outstretched arm in which there is a torch that once served as a reference for navigation maritime.

To sculpt the statue the sculptor Ceres de Lindos took twelve years of work. Its majesty and grandeur made it one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The Rhodians raised this great statue after defeating enemy forces that besieged the island for more than a year. Although the attackers were more numerous, the inhabitants of Rhodes triumphed over the invaders. To celebrate their epic victory the Rhodians decided to build a majestic statue in honor of Helios, the Sun god of Greek mythology. The historical references to the Colossus of Rhodes are due to the descriptions of three historians of antiquity: Strabo, Polybius and Pliny the Elder.

The Colossus of Rhodes stood until 226 BC. C, when an intense earthquake shook the island and toppled it

The Rhodians did not raise the statue again because they believed that the god Apollo had caused the earthquake. In this way, his remains remained totally abandoned until 635 AD. C, when Saracen merchants collected the bronze remains to sell to other Mediterranean merchants.

Despite its destruction, the Colossus of Rhodes has remained a source of inspiration for other similar monuments, such as the "Statue of the Liberty"located at the mouth of the Hudson River on Elis Island in New York.

Archaeological techniques and advances in engineering allow us to know what was the methodology used to build the largest bronze statue in history

It is calculated that for your building 200 tons of bronze were necessary. Regarding its exact location, experts consider that the best site to locate the Colossus was in the hill close to the bay of Rhodes and not at the pier. In order for the statue to stand, a large rock base was necessary.

It is believed that Ceres of Lindos had a skeleton of wood on which it was possible to hang the bronze panels. The island of Rhodes had important bronze deposits and the artisans of the city were authentic experts in this metal. So that the sculpture remained standing, it is very likely that there was a third point of support, surely a bronze piece with appearance of a garment that covered the god Helios.

Photo Fotolia - Marina