The Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus of Rhodes Other Wonders This bronze statue representing Helios, greek sun god, had been built by the sculptor Charas of Lindos to commemorate the end of the seat of the city, which took place into 305 BC, and the victory of Rhodiens against the Macedonian chief Démétrios Poliorcète. The colossus of Rhodes was located in the wearing of Rhodes in Greece, probably at the end of the current Saint-Nicolas Day mole, where some marble blocks have been found and could have been used to build the base of the statue.The colossus of Rhodes was set up between 303 and 291 BC, so it took twelve years of hard work to totaly finish it. Made of bronze and based on marble block, the statue was 32 meters (105 feet) heigh from the top of the head to the feets, that is to say 14 meters (46 feet) less than the statue of liberty in New York. The heigh enabled the statue to be visible by the ships approching to the port.

In his raised arm, the sun god held a torch while his other arm was pressed on a lance. Contrary to the illustrations we usually find, ships were not passing under the colossesus's legs to enter in the wearing of Rhodes. It was technically impossible that the statue had its legs split. The statue had been partialy destroyed in 225 BC after a earthquake. Then, in 653 AC, all the material (more than 13 tons of bronze and nearly 7 tons of iron, according to Philon) is taken by an arab expedition to be sold to a jewish merchant of Ephesea. The statue has been raised at the entry of the port for only 65 years Why is this a wonder of the ancient world ? We can say that the colossus of Rhodes is part of the seven wonders because of its exemplary vastness. Moreover, it should well be realized that this Greek monument is the result of a very hudge technical prowess which is characterized, amongst other things, by the use of terra cotta moulds necessary to the casting of the colossus.

According to the legend, Charas of Lindos commited a suicide when he discovered an error in his calculs, error that one of his assistants had to correct. illustrations : The Colossus at Rhodes The Colossus at Rhodes The Colossus at Rhodes One of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World The Colossus of Rhodes (from the series The Eighth Wonders of the World) after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1572. Found in the collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images) Share By Jen Rosenberg, Contributing Writer Located on the island of Rhodes (off the coast of modern Turkey ), the Colossus at Rhodes was a giant statue, about 110 feet tall, of the Greek sun-god Helios. Although finished in 282 BCE, this Wonder of the Ancient World only stood for 56 years, when it was toppled by an earthquake . Huge chunks of the former statue stayed on the beaches of Rhodes for 900 years, drawing people around the world to marvel at how man could create something so enormous. Why Was the Colossus of Rhodes Built?

The city of Rhodes, located on the island of Rhodes, had been under siege for a year. Caught up in the heated and bloody battle between the three successors of Alexander the Great (Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Antigonus), Rhodes was attacked by Antigonus’ son, Demetrius, for supporting Ptolemy. Demetrius tried everything to get inside the high-walled city of Rhodes. He brought 40,000 troops (more than the entire population of Rhodes), catapults, and pirates. He also brought a special corps of engineers that could make siege weapons specially geared to break into this particular city. continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know The most spectacular thing these engineers built was a 150-foot tower, mounted on iron wheels, that hosted a powerful catapult. To protect its gunners, leather shutters were installed. To protect it from fireballs hurled from the city, each of its nine stories had its own water tank. It took 3,400 of Demetrius’ soldiers to push this mighty weapon into place.

The citizens of Rhodes, however, flooded the area around their city, causing the mighty tower to wallow in mud. The people of Rhodes had fought back valiantly. When reinforcements came from Ptolemy in Egypt, Demetrius left the area in a hurry. In such a hurry, that Demetrius left nearly all of this weapons behind. To celebrate their victory, the people of Rhodes decided to build a giant statue in honor of their patron god, Helios . How Did They Build Such a Colossal Statue? Funding is usually a problem for such a large project as the people of Rhodes had in mind; however, that was easily solved by using the weapons that Demetrius had left behind. The people of Rhodes melted down many of the leftover weapons to get bronze, sold other siege weapons for money, and then used the super siege weapon as the scaffolding for the project. Rhodian sculptor Chares of Lindos, the pupil of Alexander the Great ’s sculptor Lysippus, was chosen to create this huge statue. Unfortunately, Chares of Lindos died before the sculpture could be completed. Some say he committed suicide, but that is probably a fable.

Exactly how Chares of Lindos constructed such a gigantic statue is still up for debate. Some have said that he built a huge, earthen ramp that got bigger as the statue got taller. Modern architects, however, have dismissed this idea as unpractical. We do know that it took 12 years to build the Colossus of Rhodes, likely from 294 to 282 BCE, and cost 300 talents (at least $5 million in modern money). We also know that the statue had an exterior that consisted of an iron framework covered with bronze plates. Inside were two or three columns of stone that were the main supports for the structure. Iron rods connected the stone columns with the exterior iron framework. What Did the Colossus of Rhodes Look Like? The statue was to stand about 110 feet high, on top of a 50-foot stone pedestal (the modern Statue of Liberty is 111 feet high from heel to head). Exactly where the Colossus of Rhodes was built is still not certain, although many believe it was near the Mandraki Harbor. No one knows exactly what the statue looked like.

We know that it was a man and that one of his arms was held aloft. He was likely naked, perhaps holding or wearing a cloth, and wearing a crown of rays (as Helios is often portrayed). Some have guessed that Helios’ arm was holding a torch. For four centuries, people have believed that the Colossus of Rhodes was posed with his legs spread apart, one on each side of the harbor. This image stems from a 16th century engraving by Maerten van Heemskerck, which depicts the Colossus in this pose, with ships passing under him. For many reasons, this is very likely not how the Colossus was posed. For one, legs open wide is not a very dignified stance for a god. And another is that to create that pose, the very important harbor would have had to have been closed for years. Thus, it is much more likely that the Colossus was posed with legs together. The Collapse For 56 years, the Colossus of Rhodes was a wonder to see. But then, in 226 BCE, an earthquake struck Rhodes and toppled the statue.

It is said that the Egyptian King Ptolemy III offered to pay for the Colossus to be rebuilt. However, the people of Rhodes, after consulting an oracle, decided to not rebuild. They believed that somehow the statue had offended the real Helios. For 900 years, huge pieces of the broken statue lay along the beaches of Rhodes. Interestingly, even these broken pieces were huge and worth seeing. People traveled far and wide to see the ruins of the Colossus. As one ancient writer, Pliny, described after seeing it in the 1st century CE, Even as it lies, it excites our wonder and admiration. Few people can clasp the thumb in their arms, and its fingers are larger than most statues. Where the limbs are broken asunder, vast caverns are seen yawning in the interior. Within it, too, are to be seen large masses of rock, by the weight of which the artist steadied it while erecting it.* In 654 CE, Rhodes was conquered, this time by Arabs. As spoils of war, the Arabs cut apart the remains of the Colossus and shipped the bronze to Syria to sell.

It is said that it took 900 camels to carry all that bronze. * Robert Silverberg, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (New York: Macmillan Company, 1970) 99. Sevens Wonders of the Ancient World - Ancient History - HISTORY.com Sevens Wonders of the Ancient World Sevens Wonders of the Ancient World Author Sevens Wonders of the Ancient World URL A+E Networks Introduction The amazing works of art and architecture known as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World serve as a testament to the ingenuity, imagination and sheer hard work of which human beings are capable. They are also, however, reminders of the human capacity for disagreement, destruction and, possibly, embellishment. As soon as ancient writers compiled a list of “seven wonders,” it became fodder for debate over which achievements deserved inclusion. Ultimately, human hands joined with natural forces to destroy all but one of the wonders. Furthermore, it is possible that at least one of the wonders might not have existed at all. Still, all seven continue to inspire and be celebrated as the remarkable products of the creativity and skill of Earth’s early civilizations.

Google Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt The Great Pyramids, located at Giza on the west bank of the Nile River north of Cairo, are the only wonder of the ancient world that has survived to the present day. The three pyramids–Khufu (Cheops), Khafra (Chephren) and Menkaura (Mycerimus)–were built between 2700 B.C. and 2500 B.C. as royal tombs. The largest and most impressive is Khufu, which covers 13 acres and is believed to contain more than 2 million stone blocks that weigh from two to 30 tons each. For more than 4,000 years, Khufu reigned as the tallest building in the world. In fact, it took modern man until the 19th century to build a taller structure. Amazingly, the nearly symmetrical pyramids were built without the aid of modern tools or surveying equipment. Scientists believe that the Egyptians used log rollers and sledges to move the stones into place. The sloped walls, which were intended to mimic the rays of Ra, the sun god, were originally built as steps, and then filled in with limestone.

The interior of the pyramids included narrow corridors and hidden chambers in an unsuccessful attempt to foil grave robbers. Although modern archeologists have found some great treasures among the ruins, they believe most of what the pyramids once contained was looted within 250 years of their completion. Did You Know? The Colossus of Rhodes was an inspiration for the Statue of Liberty. Hanging Gardens of Babylon According to ancient Greek poets, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built near the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq by the Babylonian king Nebuchadrezzar II around 600 B.C. The gardens were said to have been planted as high as 75 feet in the air on a huge square brick terrace that was laid out in steps like a theater. The king allegedly built the towering gardens to ease his lover Amytis’ homesickness for the natural beauty of her home in Media (the northwestern part of modern-day Iran). Later writers described how people could walk underneath the beautiful gardens, which rested on tall stone columns.

Modern scientists have deduced that for the gardens to survive they would have had to be irrigated using a system consisting of a pump, waterwheel and cisterns to carry water from the Euphrates many feet into the air. Though there are multiple accounts of the gardens in both Greek and Roman literature, none of them are firsthand, and no mention of the gardens has been found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. As a result, most modern scholars believe that the existence of the gardens was part of an inspired and widely believed but still fictional tale. Statue of Zeus at Olympia The famed statue of Zeus was crafted by the Athenian sculptor Phidias and completed and placed in the temple of Zeus at Olympia, site of the ancient Olympics, around the mid-fifth century B.C. The statue depicted the god of thunder seated bare-chested at a wooden throne. Holding up the thrones’ armrests were two carved sphinxes, mythical creatures with the head and chest of a woman, the body of lion and the wings of a bird. The statue of Zeus was richly decorated with gold and ivory. At 40 feet, it was so tall that its head nearly touched the top of the temple.

According to legend, the sculptor Phidias asked Zeus for a sign of his approval after finishing the statue; soon after, the temple was struck by lightning. The Zeus statue graced the temple at Olympia for more than eight centuries before Christian priests persuaded the Roman emperor to close the temple in the fourth century A.D. At that time, the statue was moved to a temple in Constantinople, where it is believed to have been destroyed in a fire in the year 462. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus There was actually more than one Temple of Artemis: A series of several altars and temples was destroyed and then restored on the same site in Ephesus, a Greek port city on the west coast of modern-day Turkey. The most fabulous of these structures were two marble temples built around 550 B.C. and 350 B.C., respectively. The former was designed by the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes and decorated by some of the most celebrated artists of the ancient world. The building burned on July 21, 356 B.C., according to legend the same night that Alexander the Great was born.

About six years later, the building of a new temple to replace it was begun. The new building was surrounded by marble steps that led to a more than 400-foot-long terrace. Inside stood 127 60-foot marble columns and a statue of Artemis. Archeologists disagree as to whether the building had an open-air ceiling or was topped with wood tiles. The temple was largely destroyed by Ostrogoths in A.D. 262, and it was not until the 1860s that archeologists dug up the first of the ruins of the temple’s columns at the bottom of the Cayster River. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Located in what is now southeastern Turkey, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a tomb built by Artemisia for her husband, Mausolus, the king of Carnia in Asia Minor, after his death in 353 B.C. Mausolus was also Artemisia’s brother, and, according to legend, she was so grief-stricken at his passing that she mixed his ashes with water and drank them in addition to ordering the mausoleum’s construction.

The massive mausoleum was made entirely of white marble and is thought to have been about 135 feet high. The building’s complicated design, consisting of three rectangular layers, may have been an attempt to reconcile Lycian, Greek and Egyptian architectural styles. The first layer was a 60-foot base of steps, followed by a middle layer of 36 Ionic columns and a stepped, pyramid-shaped roof. At the very top of the roof lay the tomb, decorated by the work of four sculptors, and a 20-foot marble rendition of a four-horse chariot. The mausoleum was largely destroyed in an earthquake in the 13th century and its remains were later used in the fortification of a castle. In 1846, pieces of one of the mausoleum’s friezes were extracted from the castle and now reside, along with other relics from the Halicarnassus site, in London’s British Museum. Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus was an enormous bronze sculpture of the sun god Helios built by the Rhodians over 12 years in the third century B.C.

The city was the target of a Macedonian siege early in the fourth century B.C. and, according to legend, the Rhodians sold the tools and equipment left behind by the Macedonians to pay for the Colossus. Designed by the sculptor Chares, the statue was, at 100 feet, the tallest of the ancient world. It was completed around 280 B.C. and stood for sixty years until it was toppled in an earthquake. It was never rebuilt. Hundreds of years later, Arabs invaded Rhodes and sold the remains of the statue as scrap metal. Because of this, archeologists do not know much about the exact location of the statue or what it looked like. Most believe that it depicted the sun god standing naked while he lifted a torch with one hand and held a spear in the other. It was once believed that the statue stood with one leg on each side of a harbor, but most scholars now agree that the statue’s legs were most likely built close together to support its immense weight. Lighthouse of Alexandria The Lighthouse of Alexandria was located on a small island called Pharos near the city of Alexandria. Designed by the Greek architect Sostratos and completed around 270 B.C.

during the reign of Ptolemy II, the lighthouse helped to guide Nile River ships in and out of the city’s busy harbor. Archeologists have found ancient coins on which the lighthouse was depicted, and from them deduced that the structure had three tiers: a square level at the bottom, an octagonal level in the middle and a cylindrical top. Above that stood a 16-foot statue, most likely of Ptolemy II or Alexander the Great, for whom the city was named. Although estimates of the lighthouse’s height have ranged from 200 to 600 feet, most modern scholars believe it was about 380 feet tall. The lighthouse was gradually destroyed during a series of earthquakes from 956 to 1323. Some of its remains have since been discovered at the bottom of the Nile. Tags The Seven Wonders: The Colossus of Rhodes Requires javascript The Colossus of Rhodes Historians believe the Colossus of Rhodes stood at the harbor entrance of the ancient port city. (Copyright LeeKrystek, 2011) Travelers to the New York City harbor see a marvelous sight.

Standing on a small island in the harbor is an immense statue of a robed woman, holding a book and lifting a torch to the sky. The statue measures almost one-hundred and twenty feet from foot to crown. It is sometimes referred to as the "Modern Colossus," but more often called the Statue of Liberty. This awe-inspiring statue was a gift from France to America and is easily recognized by people around the world. What many visitors to this shrine to freedom don't know is that the statue, the "Modern Colossus," is the echo of another statue, the original colossus, that stood over two thousand years ago at the entrance to another busy harbor on the Island of Rhodes. Like the Statue of Liberty, this colossus was also built as a celebration of freedom. This amazing statue, standing the same height from toe to head as the modern colossus, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World . The Island of Rhodes The island of Rhodes was an important economic center in the ancient world. It is located off the southwestern tip of Asia Minor where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean. The capitol city, also named Rhodes, was built in 408 B.C.

and was designed to take advantage of the island's best natural harbor on the northern coast. Seven Quick Facts Destroyed: 226 BC by an earthquake Size: Height without 50 foot pedestal was 110 ft. (30m) Made of: Bronze plates attached to iron framework Other: Made in the shape of the island's patron god Helios In 357 B.C. the island was conquered by Mausolus of Halicarnassus (whose tomb is one of the other Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) but fell into Persian hands in 340 BC and was finally captured by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. When Alexander died of a fever at an early age, his generals fought bitterly among themselves for control of Alexander's vast kingdom. Three of them, Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Antigous, succeeded in dividing the kingdom among themselves. The Rhodians supported Ptolemy (who wound up ruling Egypt) in this struggle. This angered Antigous who in 305 BC sent his son Demetrius to capture and punish the city of Rhodes. The War with Demetrius The war was long and painful.

Demetrius brought an army of 40,000 men. This was more than the entire population of Rhodes. He also augmented his force by using Aegean pirates. An engraving by Martin Heemskerck in 16th-century helped to establish the inaccurate harbor spanning pose in people's minds. The city was protected by a strong, tall wall and the attackers were forced to use siege towers to try and climb over it. Siege towers were wooden structures that could be moved up to a defender's walls to allow the attackers to climb over them. While some were designed to be rolled up on land, Demetrius used a giant tower mounted on top of six ships lashed together to make his attack. This tower, though, was turned over and smashed when a storm suddenly approached, causing the battle to be won by the Rhodians. Demetrius had a second super tower built and called it the Helepolis which translates to "Taker of Cities." This massive structure stood almost 150 feet high and some 75 feet square at the base and weight 160 tons. It was equipped with many catapults and skinned with wood and leather to protect the troops inside from archers.

It even carried water tanks that could be used to fight fires started by flaming arrows. This tower was mounted on iron wheels and it could be rolled up to the walls under the power of 200 soldiers turning a large capstan. When Demetrius attacked the city, the defenders stopped the war machine by flooding a ditch outside the walls and miring the heavy monster in the mud. By then almost a year had gone by and a fleet of ships from Egypt arrived to assist Rhodes. Demetrius withdrew quickly, leaving the great siege tower where it was. He signed a peace treaty and called his siege a victory as Rhodes agreed to remain neutral in his war against Ptolemy. Statue Commemorates Victory Another artist's conception of the statue with a slightly different pose (Copyright Lee Krystek, 1998 ) The people of Rhodes saw the end of conflict differently, however. To celebrate their victory and freedom, the people of Rhodes decided to build a giant statue of their patron god Helios. They melted down bronze from the many war machines Demetrius left behind for the exterior of the figure and the super siege tower became the scaffolding for the project.

Although some reportedly place the start of construction as early as 304 BC it is more likely the work started in 292 BC. According to Pliny, a historian who lived several centuries after the Colossus was built, construction took 12 years. The statue was one hundred and ten feet high and stood upon a fifty-foot pedestal near the harbor entrance perhaps on a breakwater. Although the statue has sometimes been popularly depicted with its legs spanning the harbor entrance so that ships could pass beneath, it was actually posed in a more traditional Greek manner. Historians believe the figure was nude or semi-nude with a cloak over its left arm or shoulder. Some think it was wearing a spiked crown, shading its eyes from the rising sun with its right hand, or possibly using that hand to hold a torch aloft in a pose similar to one later given to the Statue of Liberty. No ancient account mentions the harbor-spanning pose and it seems unlikely the Greeks would have depicted one of their gods in such an awkward manner. In addition, such a pose would mean shutting down the harbor during the construction, something not economically feasible.

When the statue was finished it was dedicated with a poem: To you, o Sun, the people of Dorian Rhodes set up this bronze statue reaching to Olympus, when they had pacified the waves of war and crowned their city with the spoils taken from the enemy. Not only over the seas but also on land did they kindle the lovely torch of freedom and independence. For to the descendants of Herakles belongs dominion over sea and land. Colossus To Be Rebuilt? Plans to rebuild the Colossus of Rhodes has been discussed a number of times in the last fifty years. The most recent proposal came in 2008. East German artist Gert Hof hopes to construct a new version of the statue to Helios. However, he does not wish to make it an exact replica. Instead it will stand up to three times as tall as the original and allow people to enter it. At night it will tell "stories" using an innovative light show. Engineering the Statue The statue was constructed of bronze plates over an iron framework (very similar to the Statue of Liberty which is copper over a steel frame).

According to the book of Pilon of Byzantium, 15 tons of bronze were used and 9 tons of iron, though these numbers seem low to modern architects. The Statue of Liberty, roughly of the same size, weighs 225 tons. The Colossus, which relied on weaker materials, must have weighed at least as much and probably more. Ancient accounts tell us that inside the statue were several stone columns which acted as the main support. Iron beams were driven into the stone and connected with the bronze outer skin. Each bronze plate had to be carefully cast then hammered into the right shape for its location in the figure, then hoisted into position and riveted to the surrounding plates and the iron frame. Some stories say that a massive earthen ramp was used to access the statue during construction. Modern engineers, however, calculate that such a ramp running all the way to the top of the statue would have been too massive to be practical. This lends credence to stories that the wood from the Helepolis seige engine was reused to build a scaffolding around the statue while it was being assembled.

The architect of this great construction was Chares of Lindos, a Rhodian sculptor who was a patriot and fought in defense of the city. Chares had been involved with large scale statues before. His teacher, Lysippus, had constructed a 60-foot high likeness of Zeus. Chares probably started by making smaller versions of the statue, maybe three feet high, then used these as a guide to shaping each of the bronze plates of the skin. It is believed Chares did not live to see his project finished. There are several legends that he committed suicide. In one tale he has almost finished the statue when someone points out a small flaw in the construction. The sculptor is so ashamed of it he kills himself. Comparing the Statue of Liberty with the Colossus: Though the bodies are the same size, Liberty stands higher because of the taller pedestal. In another version the city fathers decide to double the height of the statue. Chares only doubles his fee, forgetting that doubling the height will mean an eightfold increase in the amount of materials needed. This drives him into bankruptcy and suicide. There is no evidence that either of these tales is true, however.

Collapse of the Colossus The Colossus stood proudly at the harbor entrance for some fifty-six years. Each morning the sun must have caught its polished bronze surface and made the god's figure shine. Then an earthquake hit Rhodes in 226 BC and the statue collapsed. Huge pieces of the figure lay along the harbor for centuries. A computer simulation suggests that the shaking of the earthquake made the rivets holding the bronze plates together break. At first only a few weak ones gave way, but when they failed the remaining stress was transferred to the surviving rivets, which then also failed in with a cascading effect. Though some accounts related that the statue fell over and broke apart when it hit the ground, it is more likely pieces, starting with the arms, dropped away. The legs and ankles might have even remained in position following the quake. "Even as it lies," wrote Pliny, "it excites our wonder and admiration. Few men can clasp the thumb in their arms, and its fingers are larger than most statues. Where the limbs are broken asunder, vast caverns are seen yawning in the interior.

Within it, too, are to be seen large masses of rock, by the weight of which the artist steadied it while erecting it." It is said that the Egyptian king, Ptolemy III, offered to pay for its reconstruction, but the people of Rhodes refused his help. They had consulted the oracle of Delphi and feared that somehow the statue had offended the god Helios, who used the earthquake to throw it down. In the seventh century A.D., the Arabs conquered Rhodes and broke the remains of the Colossus up into smaller pieces and sold it as scrap metal. Legend says it took 900 camels to carry away the pieces. A sad end for what must have been a majestic work of art. Video: The Destruction of the Great Colossus Copyright Lee Krystek 2011. All Rights Reserved. History of THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD bsx The pyramids: c.2500 BC The three pyramids at Giza, a few miles southwest of Cairo, are by far the earliest of Antipater's seven wonders.

The largest of the pyramids , built as the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu (known to the Greeks as Cheops), dates from about 2500 BC. No building in the subsequent 4500 years of history has matched this pyramid for sheer bulk. Nearby, and only slightly smaller, are the pyramids created for Khufu's son and grandson, Khafre and Menkure. The next in date, among the Seven Wonders, follows after a very long gap of two millennia. It is the hanging gardens of Babylon. bsy The hanging gardens of Babylon: c.580 BC No archaeological trace has been found of the hanging gardens, but tradition assigns them to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar in the last years of Babylon's greatness. One story says that he built them to console a wife, homesick in this flat region for the landscape of her childhood, the mountainous country of the Medes. They are 'hanging' gardens in the sense that the plants appear to float in the air, growing on different levels of artificial terraces irrigated from the Euphrates. The other five wonders are all connected with Greek civilization.

They include the most sacred statue of the entire Greek cult, the image of Zeus at Olympia. bsz The statue of Zeus at Olympia: c.430 BC The statue of Zeus is the centrepiece of the god's temple at Olympia. About seven times lifesize, it shows him seated on a throne. In one hand he holds the winged figure which to the Greeks symbolizes victory; in the other is a sceptre surmounted by an eagle. The surface of the statue is gold and ivory. In the eyes of the ancient world this is the masterpiece of the great sculptor Phidias, surpassing even his earlier statue of Athena (also of gold and ivory) for the Parthenon in Athens. The discovery of the workshop of Phidias at Olympia has enabled archaeologists to date the statue of Zeus to the years around 430 BC. Both the temple and the statue are destroyed in the 5th century AD. bta The temple of Diana at Ephesus: c.550 BC The fourth and fifth wonders of the world are in western Turkey.

The temple of Artemis (or Diana) at Ephesus is built in about 550 BC by a man whose name has become a byword for wealth - Croesus, king of Lydia. In keeping with his image, the temple is outstandingly large. But it also contains a famous and unusual statue of Artemis. This Artemis is not the virgin huntress of Greek myth. She is a local fertility goddess, festooned with swathes of pendulous objects variously interpreted as breasts, eggs or even, it has been argued, testicles (the chief priest of Ephesus is always a eunuch). The temple of Artemis is destroyed by Goths in AD 262. btd The mausoleum at Halicarnassus: c.350 BC Halicarnassus in southwest Turkey (the modern Bodrum) is selected as a new capital in the 4th century BC by the ruler of a small kingdom, Caria. The king is Mausolus, who dies in about 353 BC. His spectacular tomb, built for him by his widow Artemisia (she is also his sister), has given the world a new word, 'mausoleum'.

It is adorned with sculptures, including a frieze of the battle between the Greeks and the female Amazons. The temple stands until the 12th century AD, when it is damaged by an earthquake and later plundered for building materials. Many fragments of the sculptures are in the British Museum. bte The colossus of Rhodes: 292 BC A giant bronze statue of Helios the sun god, known subsequently as the colossus of Rhodes, is put up to celebrate the city's survival of a long siege in 305-4 BC. Reinforced with iron and about 30 metres high, it takes some twelve years (292-280 BC) to build and erect beside the harbour. The image of the colossus straddling the harbour entrance is a medieval invention. Before the end of the 3rd century BC an earthquake snaps the statue off at the knees. It lies, a humbled giant, until AD 653 when the Arabs capture the island. They break it up for scrap and require, it is said, more than 900 camels to cart it away.

btf The pharos at Alexandria: c.280 BC The sun god Helios features also in the last of the seven wonders. This is the lighthouse put up on the island of Pharos at Alexandria (as a result pharos becomes the Greek word for any lighthouse). It consists of a three-tier stone tower, said to be more than 120 metres high, which has within it a broad spiral ramp leading up to a platform where fires burn at night. They are reflected out to sea by metal mirrors. Above the fires is a huge statue, of either Alexander or Ptolemy in the guise of Helios. The lighthouse survives until the 12th century. In the 15th century a fort, still standing today, is built from its ruins. The Colossus of Rhodes: Ancient Greek Mega Statue | Ancient Origins 18 June, 2015 - 00:50 Bryan Hill The Colossus of Rhodes: Ancient Greek Mega Statue (Read the article on one page) The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the most ambitious and tallest statue of the Hellenistic period.

The last of the seven wonders to be completed, it was a statue built to thank the gods for victory over an invading enemy. Bearing a striking resemblance to the Statue of Liberty in the United States, the Colossus of Rhodes stood for less than sixty years before being destroyed by an earthquake. Some mystery remains as to where it was really located and what happened after it was destroyed. Since ancient times, the small Greek island of Rhodes has been a main intersection between the Aegean and the Mediterranean seas, and was an important economic center in the ancient world. The capital city, also named Rhodes, was built in 408 BC and was designed to take advantage of the island's best natural harbor on the northern coast. In 357 BC the island was conquered by Mausolus of Halicarnassus but fell into Persian hands in 340 BC and was finally captured by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. In the late fourth century BC, Rhodes allied with Ptolemy I of Egypt against their common enemy, Antigonus I Monophthalmus of Macedonia.

In 305 BC, Antigonus sent his son Demetrius to capture and punish the city of Rhodes for its alliance with Egypt. He attacked the island with 40,000 men and weapons and started a war which lasted a year. A relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived in 304 BC, and Antigonus’ army abandoned the siege, leaving behind most of their siege equipment. To celebrate their victory, the Rhodians sold the equipment and decided to use the money to build a huge statue, to their sun god, Helios, called the Colossus of Rhodes. Nearly as tall as the iconic Statue of Liberty built 2,000 years later, the Colossus was also erected as a celebration of freedom. The masterful works of ancient sculptor Phidias The Colossus of Rhodes, depicted in this hand-colored engraving, was built about 280 BC. Standing 30 meters (100 feet) high, it was built to guard the entrance to the harbor at Rhodes. The ancient Greeks and Romans considered it to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Public Domain According to Pliny the Elder, a Greek historian who lived several centuries after the Colossus was built, its construction took 12 years and was completed in 280 BC. The pride of the city, the people thought the statue would stand forever. Charles of Lindos was its architect and was given the task of building a statue nearly twice as tall as any ever built. The base was made of white marble and the structure was gradually erected as bronze plates were fortified over an iron and stone framework. According to the book of “ Pilon of Byzantium” , 15 tons of bronze was used, along with 9 tons of iron, though these numbers seem low to modern architects. Bronze came from another unlikely source. It was decided to fashion the colossus from the bronze weapons of their defeated invaders along with a captured giant enemy siege tower, some nine stories in height which served as the scaffolding of the project.

When the statue was finally finished, it was dedicated with a poem: Preserved in Greek anthologies of poetry is what is believed to be genuine dedication text for the Colossus: To you, o Sun, the people of Dorian Rhodes set up this bronze statue reaching Olympus, When they had pacified the waves of war and crowned their city with the spoils taken from the enemy. Not only over the seas but also on land did they kindle the lovely torch of freedom and independence. For to the descendants of Herakles belongs dominion over seas and land. The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of superhuman proportions. It stood over 107 feet (30 meters) high, making it one of the largest statues in the ancient world; the thigh alone was supposedly 11 feet (3 meters) in width, the ankle 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length. Colossal statues, then and now. Left, illustration of the Colossus of Rhodes in ancient Greece, and right, the Statue of Liberty of the United States of America. (Public Domain) Today, nobody’s exactly sure how the Colossus of Rhodes looked or what its posture was.

The only thing for certain is that it did not stand with its legs stretched across the harbor entrance as depicted in many medieval drawings. If the completed statue had straddled the harbor, the entire mouth of the harbor would have been effectively closed during the entirety of the construction. Seven Wonders of the World: Most Britons only know Great Pyramid of Giza | Daily Mail Online Share this article Share The pharaoh’s tomb, completed around 2550BC, is the largest pyramid ever built, incorporating around 2.3million stone blocks. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were said to have been laid out on an artificial mountain in Iraq on the east bank of the Euphrates from around 600BC. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is said to have stood on the east bank of the River Euphrates, from around 600BC before being destroyed by earthquakes although many experts now doubt it ever existed at all An engraving of Statue of Zeus at Olympia. The temple was built between 466and 456 BC. The statue was added in 435 BC.

It was disassembled during the 5th and 6th centuries AD and later destroyed by fire An engraving of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Turkey. It was built by the Lydian Greeks in 550 BC and again at 323 BC. It was destroyed in 401 and only fragments now remain Legend has it that they were destroyed by an earthquake, but some experts doubt whether they ever existed. Just under half of those questioned by travel agency Bonvoyage.co.uk said they had learned all seven wonders at school but had forgotten them. More than three quarters of the 2,486 participants said they found the ancient monuments ‘boring’. As a result the company asked people to come up with seven new modern wonders. They included the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the Great Barrier Reef, Table Mountain, the Northern Lights and Mount Vesuvius.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus at Bodrum, Turkey, was built in 351 BC by the Greeks Carians and the Greeks but was destroyed by earthquakes in 1494 The Colossus of Rhodes, a statue of the Greek Titan Helios, was built by the Greeks between 292 and 280 BC. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria was built between 280 and 247 BC on the coastal island of Pharos at Alexandria, Egypt. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1303 THE OLD SEVEN WONDERS Statue of Zeus at Olympia Temple of Artemis at Ephesus Mausoleum at Halicarnassus SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus of Rhodes The Colossus stood at the harbour entrance Travellers to New York City harbour see a marvellous sight. Standing on a small island in the harbour is an immense statue of a robed woman, holding a book and lifting a torch to the sky. The statue measures almost one-hundred and twenty feet from foot to crown.

It is sometimes referred to as the "Modern Colossus," but more often called the Statue of Liberty. This awe-inspiring statue was a gift from France to America and is easily recognized by people around the world. What many visitors to this shrine to freedom don't know is that the statue, the "Modern Colossus," is the echo of another statue, the original colossus that stood over two thousand years ago at the entrance to another busy harbour on the Island of Rhodes. Like the Statue of Liberty, this colossus was also built as a celebration of freedom. This amazing statue, standing the same height from toe to head as the modern colossus, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The island of Rhodes was an important economic centre in the ancient world. It is located off the South-western tip of Asia Minor where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean. The capitol city, also named Rhodes, was built in 408 B.C. and was designed to take advantage of the island's best natural harbour on the northern coast. In 357 B.C.

the island was conquered by Mausolus of Halicarnassus (whose tomb is one of the other Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), fell into Persian hands in 340 B.C., and was finally captured by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.. When Alexander died of a fever at an early age, his generals fought bitterly among themselves for control of Alexander's vast kingdom. Three of them, Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Antigous, succeeded in dividing the kingdom among themselves. The Rhodians supported Ptolemy (who wound up ruling Egypt) in this struggle. This angered Antigous who sent his son Demetrius to capture and punish the city of Rhodes. The war was long and painful. Demetrius brought an army of 40,000 men. This was more than the entire population of Rhodes. He also augmented his force by using Aegean pirates. The city was protected by a strong, tall, wall and the attackers were forced to use siege towers to try and climb over it. Siege towers were wooden structures often armed with catapults that could be moved up to a defender's walls to allow the attackers to scale them.

While some were designed to be rolled up on land, Demetrius used a giant tower mounted on top of six ships lashed together to make his attack. This tower, though, was turned over and smashed when a storm suddenly approached. The battle was won by the Rhodians. Demetrius had a second super-tower built. This one stood almost 150 feet high and some 75 feet square at the base. It was equipped with many catapults and skinned with wood and leather to protect the troops inside from archers. It even carried water tanks that could be used to fight fires started by flaming arrows. This tower was mounted on iron wheels and could be rolled up to the walls. When Demetrius attacked the city, the defenders stopped the war machine by flooding a ditch outside the walls and miring the heavy monster in the mud. By then almost a year had gone by and a fleet of ships from Egypt arrived to assist the city. Demetrius withdrew quickly leaving the great siege tower where it was. To celebrate their victory and freedom, the Rhodians decided to build a giant statue of their patron god Helios.

They melted down bronze from the many war machines Demetrius left behind for the exterior of the figure and the super siege tower became the scaffolding for the project. According to Pliny, a historian who lived several centuries after the Colossus was built, construction took 12 years. Other historians place the start of the work in 304 B.C.. The statue was one hundred and ten feet high and stood upon a fifty-foot pedestal near the harbour mole. Although the statue has been popularly depicted with its legs spanning the harbour entrance so that ships could pass beneath, it was actually posed in a more traditional Greek manner: nude, wearing a spiked crown, shading its eyes from the rising sun with its right hand, while holding a cloak over its left. No ancient account mentions the harbour-spanning pose and it seems unlikely the Greeks would have depicted one of their gods in such an awkward manner. In addition, such a pose would mean shutting down the harbour during the construction, something not economically feasible. The statue was constructed of bronze plates over an iron framework (very similar to the Statue of Liberty which is copper over a steel frame).

According to the book of Pilon of Byzantium, 15 tons of bronze were used and 9 tons of iron, though these numbers seem low. The Statue of Liberty, roughly of the same size, weighs 225 tons. The Colossus, which relied on weaker materials, must have weighed at least as much and probably more. Ancient accounts tell us that inside the statue were several stone columns which acted as the main support. Iron beams were driven into the stone and connected with the bronze outer skin. Each bronze plate had to be carefully cast then hammered into the right shape for its location in the figure, then hoisted into position and riveted to the surrounding plates and the iron frame. Comparing the Statue of Liberty with the Colossus: Though the bodies are the same size the Statue stands higher because of the taller pedestal and upraised torch. The architect of this great construction was Chares of Lindos, a Rhodian sculptor who was a patriot and fought in defence of the city. Chares had been involved with large scale statues before. His teacher, Lysippus, had constructed a 60-foot high likeness of Zeus.

Chares probably started by making smaller versions of the statue, maybe three feet high, then used these as a guide to shaping each of the bronze plates of the skin. It is believed Chares did not live to see his project finished. There are several legends that he committed suicide. In one tale he has almost finished the statue when someone points out a small flaw in the construction. The sculptor is so ashamed of it he kills himself. In another version the city fathers decide to double the height of the statue. Chares only doubles his fee, forgetting that doubling the height will mean an eightfold increase in the amount of materials needed. This drives him into bankruptcy and suicide. There is no evidence that either of these tales are true. The Colossus stood proudly at the harbour entrance for some fifty-six years. Each morning the sun must have caught its polished bronze surface and made the god's figure shine. Then an earthquake hit Rhodes and the statue collapsed. Huge pieces of the figure lay along the harbour for centuries. "Even as it lies," wrote Pliny, "it excites our wonder and admiration. Few men can clasp the thumb in their arms, and its fingers are larger than most statues.

Where the limbs are broken asunder, vast caverns are seen yawning in the interior. Within it, too, are to be seen large masses of rock, by the weight of which the artist steadied it while erecting it." It is said that an Egyptian king offered to pay for its reconstruction, but the Rhodians refused. They feared that somehow the statue had offended the god Helios, who used the earthquake to throw it down. In the seventh century A.D. the Arabs conquered Rhodes and broke the remains of the Colossus up into smaller pieces and sold it as scrap metal. Legend says it took 900 camels to carry away the statue. A sad end for what must have been a majestic work of art. What was the Colossus of Rhodes? - Ask History Ask History September 25, 2015 By Elizabeth Nix Credit: by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images Share this: What was the Colossus of Rhodes? Author What was the Colossus of Rhodes? URL Google One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Colossus of Rhodes was a massive statue of a male figure built around 280 B.C.

and erected on the Greek island of Rhodes. Much about the monument remains shrouded in mystery, as it was destroyed in an earthquake in 226 B.C. However, ancient accounts hold that the Colossus of Rhodes was created in honor of the sun god Helios and to commemorate the Rhodians’ successful defense of their island against a siege led by Macedonian leader Demetrius Poliorcetes in 305 B.C. Legend has it the people of Rhodes sold the equipment left behind by the Macedonians in order to bankroll the statue’s creation. Designed by Greek sculptor Chares of Lindos, the Colossus of Rhodes reportedly stood about 110 feet tall atop a 50-foot platform. By comparison, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only ancient world wonder that still survives, initially rose about 481 feet when it was completed, likely sometime between 2560 B.C. and 2540 B.C. Another ancient world wonder, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, produced in the mid-fifth century B.C., was about 40 feet tall.

Today, the world’s tallest statues include China’s Spring Temple Buddha, which stands 354 feet atop a 66-foot-high lotus throne (that itself sits on an 82-foot-tall building), and Burma’s Laykyun Setkyar Buddha, which is 381 feet high with a 44-foot-tall base; both structures were completed in the early 21st century. In 2008, government officials in Rhodes announced plans were in “the drawing board stage” for a new Colossus; rather than being a replica, it’s intended to take shape as the planet’s largest light sculpture. Tags

Question: The Colossus, one of the seven wonders of the world, was built where?
Answer: Rhodes