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Rhodes is a picturesque island, a magnificent tourist spot with a hidden history all of its own. This is the story how the Sixth Wonder of the ancient world, known as the Colossus of Rhodes, came to be.

Rhodes is not only famous for its impeccable trading system in the ancient world but also for its defensive warfare. Located in South-western Asia Minor in the eastern Aegean Sea the island of Rhodes was part of Alexander the Great’s large Empire which covered an entire three continents! After the death of Alexander his Empire was contested between his leading Generals. In the years of perpetual turmoil Rhodes was able to remain intact when under attack by the Antagonids and to celebrate this great military victory the gigantic statue of Helios, the patron god of Rhodes, was erected.  Unfortunately we don’t possess any valid record of how the bronze statue looked (back in the days when cameras didn’t exist!) but our ancestors measured its height to be around 100ft without the pedestal. It is commonly suggested that the Colossus was built by the harbour and ships would sail under its divaricated legs. If this were true it would have proved to be an extremely complex engineering task for the architect Chares who actually started making miniature models of the statue prior to its construction.  Also, it would have greatly hindered Rhodes’ thriving economy from trade as ships wouldn’t have been able to enter the port during the years of construction which range from 292-280BC. The Colossus was destroyed in an earthquake around 226BC and allegedly around 654AD the Arabs invaded Rhodes and transported the remaining pieces of the statue to Syria. The Colossus is the shortest lived of the seven wonders of the ancient world but remains a symbol of irrevocable freedom to this day.

Two peas in a pod:

From the picture above you can notice just how much the Colossus resembles the Statue of Liberty which is also referred to as the modern Colossus! The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French to the Americans and was erected in New York in 1886. Allegedly the Colossus in Rhodes held a torch as the Statue of Liberty does which is a sign of liberation. Although the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty is slightly larger than that of the original Colossus the meanings engraved in both statues are joyful celebrations of independence.