Among the seven wonders of the ancient world (term used by ancient writers to indicate the seven most important monuments ever built, including the Library of Alexandria) The Colossus of Rhodes it was the last to be built but also the first to collapse. It was a mammoth bronze statue with the features of HeliumThe god of the sun of Greek mythology and patron saint of the Rhodians. He was tall approximately 32 metreswhich made the colossus the tallest statue ever built during antiquity. It was built by the inhabitants of Rhodes starting from 292 BC to celebrate theirs victory against the Macedonian king Demetrius I, who had besieged the island in 305 BC but failed to seize it.
History and legend of the Colossus dedicated to the Sun
Work on the Colossus of Rhodes began in 292 BCand were financed with the proceeds obtained from the sale of Macedonian military equipment abandoned on the beaches of Rhodes by the army of Demetrius I. The project was entrusted to Charetes of Lindosstudent of Lysippusone of the most important sculptors in the history of Greek art. The works for the creation of the statue they lasted twelve yearsand the giant was officially inaugurated in 280 BC
The statue of Helios remained standing for 54 years olduntil 226 BCwhen it collapsed due to a violent earthquake which devastated the entire island of Rhodes. It seems that the gigantic statue had broken at the knee level, then falling disastrously to the ground. Thinking you have offended somehow the god, the Rhodians chose to do not rebuild the statue. For this reason the colossus remained substantially intactalthough demolished, for centuries, arousing the wonder of those who visited Rhodes. including the Greek geographer Strabo and the Roman writer Pliny the Elder.
In the last centuries of antiquity the fate of the demolished colossus it is not known. Most likely, with the advent of Christianity and the need metal in the first centuries of the Middle Ages it is probable that the bronze and iron with which the statue was made they were systematically stripped. A single late source says that the bronze was raided by the Arabs in the 7th century. AD but that is it highly unlikely and it would be the result of the anti-Islamic propaganda of the 8th-9th centuries. When the Arabs arrived in Rhodes in 653 most likely the colossus of the sun god no longer existed for some time, having been recast to make coins or tools.
Structure and reconstruction of the statue
The statue, tall 70 cubits (about 32 meters), rose on a stone pedestal. The feet, covered in bronze, were also made of stone, which had to support the entire weight of the structure. The bronze plates were supported by an internal structure made of iron and stone. Although its precise location is not clear, according to some authors the colossus was located near the entrance to the port of Rhodesto signal the naval dominance achieved by the island between the 3rd and 2nd centuries. BC According to some authors the god was even depicted with legs spread wideto allow ships entering the port to pass through below. In reality, the most recent research has shown that this positioning was rather unlikely.
There being no traces left of the bronze parts of the statue, to date it is not possible to establish with certainty how the colossus was created. Philo of Byzantiumwho lived during the period when the statue was still standing, wrote that Chares of Lindos he had the plates melted on sitebuilding the statue in vertical and pouring the liquid metal progressively into a gigantic mold contained within an enormous mound of earth the same height as the statue. Today historians believe implausible the use of this technique with the knowledge of the time. Much more likely, the various segments of the statue they were melted down and made separately with the same techniques with which the smaller statues of the time were created. The individual pieces would then be mounted vertically with the aid of ramps and cranes.
After the collapse the Rhodians chose to don’t rebuild the statue based on what was reported by a oracle. More recently however there have been several proposals for reconstruction. The first, by a German architect, envisaged a colossus of 150 meters highand was disclosed in 2008. The second, however, saw a campaign of crowdfunding In the 2015and involved the creation of a real multifunctional cultural center inside the statue. Neither project found investors.
Where is the Colossus of Rhodes located?
Since no trace remains of its metal structure, recast in the last centuries of antiquity, it’s very difficult to date establish where the colossus was located precisely. There tradition he wanted it at the entrance to the island’s port, but this location appears unlikely due to the absence of any geological formation that could support a statue of such weight. It has recently been proposed that the collocation more likely for the colossus it was theacropolis of Rhodes, the highest part of the city, where the temples and most sacred buildings were located.
