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Rhodes, Colossus

Colossus of Rhodes: large statue of Helios, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Colossus was erected to commemorate the outcome of the blockade of the city of Rhodes by king Demetrius Poliorcetes. In 305-304, he had attempted to conquer this important port, but the siege had been unsuccessful (text), and the Rhodians ordered Chares of Lindos to build a statue of Helios, the sun god. The monument, which was nearly thirty meters high and stood on a pedestal that added another ten meters, guarded the entrance of the harbor. The monument collapsed after an earthquake in 227/226 BCE, but the remains were still shown to tourists in the Roman age.

During the reigns of the Roman emperors Claudius and Nero, an artist named Zenodorus made a copy in Gaul (a statue of Mercury), and he was later invited to build a similar statue in Rome, which became known as the "colossus Neronis". It was finished during the reign of Vespasian. The most famous monument inspired by the Rhodian Colossus is the Statue of Liberty in New York.

This page was created in 2010; last modified on 23 April 2020.

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