The Colossus of Rhodes

One of the most famous Wonders of the Ancient World is The Colossus of Rhodes. It was a statue of the Greek sun-god Helios constructed in 280 BC by Chares of Lindos in the city of Rhodes on the Greek island of the same name. It was built to commemorate the successful defense of Rhodes city against an attack by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who had besieged it for a year with a great army and navy. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Colossus was the tallest statue in the ancient world, standing around 70 cubits, or 33 meters (108 feet) tall - roughly the height of the present Statue of Liberty from feet to crown. It was destroyed in the earthquake of 226 BC, but sections of it were preserved. The Rhodians did not rebuild it in line with an oracle. John Malalas claimed that Hadrian re-erected the Colossus during his reign, but he was wrong. The Suda referred to the Rhodians as Colossaeans because they placed the monument on the island.

According to the Chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor, the monument was totally demolished and the remains were sold in 653 when an Arab force led by Muslim general Muawiyah I seized Rhodes. Since 2008, a number of unrealized ideas to build a new Colossus at Rhodes Harbour have been announced, while the exact position of the original monument is still unknown.

Location: Rhodes in the Dodecanese, Greece

Built: 280 BC