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Colossus was a gigantic statue made of bronze and it stood beside the harbor of a small Greek island named Rhodes in the Aegean Sea. It is described as being approximately 118 feet high. If a man could have stood on top of the head he would have been able to see far across the sea.
Long ago in ancient times the people of Rhodes were under siege(305 BC) by their enemy, Demetrius Poliorcetes (one of Alexander The Great's successors). All the women and men of the island had to fight and they would have lost had it not been for their friend, Ptolemy. He came to their rescue with a fleet of ships and saved Rhodes.
The people were so grateful they built a huge image of their sun god, Helios (Apollo) in honor of their victory. Chares of Lindos, the Rhodian sculptor designed it, and it took him twelve years to complete.
For many years the great bronze figure stood overlooking the port. Myth has it straddling the entrance at Mandraki harbor but historians say this is unlikely. Poets wrote about the beauty of the statue and soon Colossus of Rhodes was declared one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
One day (226 BC) a great earthquake came to the island and Colossus trembled and shook until it came crashing down. It was so broken up it could not be put back together. The people of Rhodes left the remains where it fell for about 800 years.
Today, people can read about the great sculpture in books but never again will it be looked upon. Legend has it that in 653 AD Moabiah; first Caliph of the Umayyad dynasty, powerful sovereign of the Arabic world carried away the relics and sold it to a Jewish merchant.
Ever so often pieces of bronze are found that were once a part of the great huge statue. The Colossus of Rhodes has inspired many artist down through the centuries including a modern French sculptor named Auguste Barthold, whose work became every bit as famous, for he created the Statue of Liberty.
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