Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes was a large bronze and iron statue of the Greek god of the sun, Helios, and the island of Rhodes’s patron god. Constructed between 292 and 280 B.C., the statue took 12 years to build and was a symbol of unity for the island’s three city-states.

The Colossus of Rhodes was designed by Chares of Lindos and sat at the entrance to Rhodes’s harbor at over 107 feet high on a 50-foot-high pedestal of white marble. The statue celebrated the successful defense of Rhodes by the three city-states of Lindos, Kamiros, and Ialysos with the aid of their ally Ptolemy against the siege of Antigonus in 305-304 B.C.

The statue was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 B.C. Afraid they had displeased their patron god, the inhabitants of Rhodes decided not to rebuild the statue and the broken remains were left in the same place for centuries afterwards.

See the others wonders of the ancient world:

1. Great Pyramid of Giza
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3. Statue of Zeus at Olympia
4. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
5. Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
6. Lighthouse of Alexandria

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