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Kea Island, Cyclades
 

Colossus Rhodes

In the Circa 280 BC Chares of Lindos erected the Colossus Rhodes, a monumental bronze statue, to the Greek God Helios which is now considered one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.

There are illustrations of what the statue looked like, striding the harbour mouth, guarding the entrance to the Rodos. It is said to be Chares of Lindos finest work but unfortunately it was destroyed 50 or so years later by a huge earthquake.



colossus rhodes A royal leader called PtolemyIII offered to have the statue re-erected, but it is said that the Rhodians were afraid that they had offended the God Helios so the decision was made not to.

It was written by the scribe Strabo that the remaining ruins lay on the ground for 800 years. We can only assume that this really did happen.

There are many illustrations of the Colossus Rhodes, but some say that this could not have existed because the heaviness of the monument would have been too heavy for the legs.

William Shakespeare refers to The Colossus of Rhodes in one of his historical and plays, describing Cassius in Julius Caesar in Act 1 scene 2 as;

Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men walk under his huge legs and peep about to find ourselves dishonorable graves.

He also makes a reference to Colossus in Troilus and Cressida (V.5) and in Henry IV, Part 1 (V.1).

 

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