Legendary Colossus of Rhodes. What would it look like today?

Published: 04 June 2023
on channel: Популярная наука
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Legendary Colossus of Rhodes. What would it look like today?

The Colossus of Rhodes is one of the most beautiful Seven Wonders of the World.

This is how it would have looked if it had survived to this day, according to modern designers. The artists at NeoMam Studios have recreated the famous wonders of the past as they might be today. Starting from this article, I will post their work with a description of the famous ancient structures.

And the first on the list is the 36-meter Colossus of Rhodes. This is a giant statue of the ancient Greek god of the Sun - Helios, which stood in the harbor in the city of Rhodes on the island of the same name.

This is the history of construction. In the third century BC, Rhodes was under siege - the next king of Macedonia - Demetrius came to capture it (the glory of the famous Alexander the Great did not give them rest! Only they could not repeat it).

Rhodes held out, but the Macedonians were driven back. They took their siege weapons, sold them and remained in the black. They decided to spend the extra money on the construction of a powerful monument in memory of the glorious victory!

We spent 13 tons of bronze and about 8 tons of iron - gigantic resources by the standards of that time!

For 12 years, the sculptor Khares has been creating his brainchild. And finally, the new Wonder of the World was ready!

The Colossus stood for only half a century, after which it was knocked down by an earthquake.

The Egyptian king Ptolemy III offered to pay for the restoration work. But the inhabitants of Rhodes were categorically against it. They saw in this the wrath of Helios, who did not like the gift.

And so the Colossus remained in a supine position for 800 years. He was broken at the knees.

By the way, the picture in the title causes controversy among modern historians. If earlier it was believed that the Colossus stood in the harbor, and ships sailed between his legs, now historians are increasingly inclined to believe that the statue stood on the shore. It would be too difficult to install it at sea according to the technologies of that time.

In the 7th century AD Rhodes was captured by the Arabs. Caliph Muawiyah I melted down the statue for resale. The buyer was a Jewish merchant who took the Colossus away piecemeal in a caravan of 900 camels.

By the way, the famous Statue of Liberty in New York was built based on the Colossus of Rhodes. So the sculptor Frederic Bartholdi combined the features of the famous Wonder of the World and added modern touches to it.


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