The colossus of rhodes skin#

And when it fell, 'few people can make their arms meet round the thumb', wrote Pliny.Īlthough we do not know the true shape and appearance of the Colossus, modern reconstructions with the statue standing upright are more accurate than older drawings. When the colossus was finished, it stood about 33 m (110 ft) high. To reach the higher parts, an earth ramp was built around the statue and was later removed. The structure was gradually erected as the bronze form was fortified with an iron and stone framework. The base was made of white marble, and the feet and ankle of the statue were first fixed.

The colossus of rhodes skin#

To build the statue, his workers cast the outer bronze skin parts. The project was commissioned by the Rhodian sculptor Chares of Lindos. Anyway, it did never straddle the harbor entrance. Recent studies suggest that it was erected either on the eastern promontory of the Mandraki harbor, or even further inland. Moreover, the fallen Colossus would have blocked the harbor entrance. Given the height of the statue and the width of the harbor mouth, this picture is rather impossible than improbable. It has long been believed that the Colossus stood in front of the Mandraki harbor, one of many in the city of Rhodes, straddling its entrance. Let us first clear a misconception about the appearance of the Colossus. It is said that the fragments had to be transported to Syria on the backs of 900 camels. They disassembled the remains of the broken Colossus and sold them to a Jew from Syria. Ptolemy's offer was declined.įor almost a millennium, the statue laid broken in ruins. However, an oracle was consulted and forbade the re-erection. The Rhodians received an immediate offer from Ptolemy III Eurgetes of Egypt to cover all restoration costs for the toppled monument. The city was badly damaged, and the Colossus was broken at its weakest point - the knee.

For years, the statue stood at the harbor entrance, until a strong earthquake hit Rhodes about 226 BC. The construction of the Colossus took 12 years and was finished in 282 BC. To celebrate their unity, the Rhodians sold the equipment and used the money to erect an enormous statue of their sun god, Helios. When a peace agreement was reached in 304 BC, the Antagonids lifted the siege, leaving a wealth of military equipment behind. In 305 BC, the Antigonids of Macedonia who were also rivals of the Ptolemies, besieged Rhodes in an attempt to break the Rhodo-Egyptian alliance. The city thrived commercially and had strong economic ties with their main ally, Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. In 408 BC, the cities united to form one territory, with a unified capital, Rhodes. On the small island of Rhodes were three of these: Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos. Throughout most of its history, ancient Greece was comprised of city-states which had limited power beyond their boundary. It was rather a symbol of unity of the people who inhabited that beautiful Mediterranean island - Rhodes.Īt the entrance of the harbor of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes in Greece. The Colossus of Rhodes was not only a gigantic statue. 'But even lying on the ground, it is a marvel', said Pliny the Elder.

Yet the colossus earned a place in the famous list of Wonders. From its building to its destruction lies a time span of merely 56 years.