Colossus
of Rhodes
 |
A reconstruction of the Colossus of Rhodes
based on a Medieval concept
|
One of the seven ancient wonders
of the world. A colossus is a statue larger than life. The most famous
colossus of antiquity was the Colossus of Rhodes, erected between 292 and
280 BC. It was a bronze statue of the sun god Apollo,
cast by Chares of Lindos. No one knows exactly what it looked like; but
the common view – that its legs straddled the entrance to the harbor,
so that ships passed beneath it – is an invention of the Middle Ages.
About 56 years after it was pt up the Colossus was overthrown by an earthquake.
Pliny, more than 300 years later, described its finger as larger than a
status of ordinary size; but this is an exaggeration, for the statue was,
in fact, about 105 feet high. It disappeared in AD 672
when a Jewish traveler from Emesa bought the fragments, loaded them on to
900 camels, and carted them away.
Also on this site:
Encyclopedia of
Science
Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy
& Sustainable Living
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