The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1869-02-25
THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES.

THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES.
Tradition has it, as is well known,
that at the entrance to the port of
Rhodes there was, standing a gigantic
statue of Apollo, with outstretched
legs, one foot resting on a lower mole.
and the other on higher: holding a
bow in one hand, and in the. other,
raised high above his head, an inn
mense basin, in which large fire was
constantly maintained. The size of
the statue, report added, was so colos-
sal that the largest vessels could easi-
ly pass between the legs.
The facts unfortunately are, that the
Colossus of Rhodes never served as a
lighthouse, and that vessels never
passed beneath it into the harbor.
The whole story rests upon the
highly romantic account found in a
very Indifferent compiler of the seven
teenth century, who for the first time
mentions the Colossus as serving as a
lighthouse, but carefully abstains
from giving his authority for the state
ment. Another writer, of even less
Judgment, translator of Philostrates,
added subsequently the story of the.
vessels passing between the outstretch-
ed legs of the statue. This author, al
so, is discreetly silent as to the source
| from which he has derived. his infor-
nation. Eats s.
|. What, then, is the truth about the
Colossus? There is no lack of reliable
Statements concerning the statue
| Strabo quotes fragment of an epi-
gram in Iambic verses in which the
name of the architect, Chares, from
Lindos, a town on the;island of Rhodes,
and the dimensions of his, great work.
/ seventy yards height, are both mem
toned. He, adds that the Colossus
was, in his day, lying on the ground,
having been oyerthroWn by fearful
earthquake, which destroyed a large
portion of the, city. "The Rhodians,' y
he says, I" dared not raise it again,
warned by an oracle 7 and that's liter
ally all the illustrious geographel
seems to have learned about the CO.
lossus. Pliny, however, gives us ad-
ditional and interesting details. "The
statue" he says, "fell fifty-six years
after its erection but although thrown
down, it is still marvel. Few mel
are able with their arms to span its
thumb; its fingers are larger than
most of our statues. Its disjointe6
limbs form vast cayerns, and in the
/ inside are yet to be seen enormous
masses of stone, by means of which il
had been balanced. They say it cos
!, three hundred talents-a sum which
the Rhodians obtained from the sale o.
instruments of war left by Demetriu'
before their city when he abandoned
the siege in despair" A clever engi
neer of the third century before Christ
Philo of Byzantium, is the third .au
thor who gives, in his Interesting worl
on the Seven Wonders of the World
if it really is his-a still more detailed
description of the statue; but, as has
been seen, not one of these writers
speaks either of a lighthouse or o
the marvellous fact that ships couli
have sailed beneath the Colossus.
For nine hundred years the giganti
limbs remained lying near the entranc
of the harbor, the pride of the inhabi
tants and the wonder of all travellers
In 672, however, the Arabs came, il
, the rapture of their first successes, t
Rhodes also and their general. one. Q
Othman's lieutenants, caused the pie
ces, to be, cut up, and sold the metal
q jew, who is said to have loaded min
? hundred camels with the precious bun
! den. Il Thus every trace was lost c
the far-famed statue, and even til
. name of the artist was long lost, a.
J, though "he had made god like unit
& a god, and given second sun to til
q world.n-lH. Schele De oTere, IN Hd'
!, per''s Nagazine. es@i Z''-' Aaa