The Colossus

Our next wonder that we will open and explore is the Colossus at Rhodes. This wonder was erected in 357 B.C. And, if you followed yesterdays blog, the army that took control over King Mausolo and Queen Artemisia land, the Persians had ultimalety conquered the land and renamed it Rhodes. It was then only just a few short years later that Alexander the Great conquered the land and took control. If one searches, and this will be part of this blog, how old was Alexander when he died, and what did he die of? I won't tell the rest of the story, but it was only then that it was that the land of Rhodes was open for attack from multiple countries. Many countires tried to come in and over take the land, but some of the men in Alexander's league, decided to make great towers for lookout posts.After the land was attacked by the Egyptians, overall, the Rhodians had won the battle, and were thankful to keep their state independent from any other countries. It was in thier honor that they constructed a huge statue of their beloved sun God, Helios. Another fact, was that the war that was fought among the Rhodians and the Egyptians, was fought among in the water. They decided that they wanted to build their staute over looking the harbor in Rhodes. There they erected a 110 foot statue that was made out of melted bronze, silver, and gold. It was there that they had the statue containing all of the spoils from war and all of borrowed and given donations. The people in Rhodes loved that their sun God was to be there forever and that it was to be looked at by all of the people who came into the city from far away places. The Colossus of Rhodes stood for over 38 years and lasted for a long time until an earthquake came along and shook it down. Many people like to come over and see where the Colossus once stod, but it is viturally and physically impossible to do so beacuse, as from the picture, and from many texts, the Colossus stood over the harbor and fell right into the ocean and was never to be found again, except one of the Colossus thumb that held the burning torch. Many people were over excited when they heard that the thumb of the Colossus was found and that they could travel and see it.Now legend of Rhodes, says that they built the inside of the torch base completley in gold so when it was lit, and truth be told, it was semi used as a lighthouse, to a point, but more or less, when the sun reflected out of the torch, and was seen, it was like a gianormous fireball that lit the sky both in the morning and the night. Unfortunatly, the correct drawings and configurations of the Colossus still remain unknown and still have not been able to produce and excact replica of what stood once in the Rhodian harbor. Many historians believed that the model for the statue was that of a young, male teenager with long curly hair and a halo above his head. with one hand holding a spear and the other a bowl of fire thrusted toward the sky. Another depiction of the Colossus is what many people think of when they hear "the Colossus of Rhodes", and that is what is pictured above. Another statement had the Colossus as a man standing with his head looking down upon the harbor, and one hand at his side, the other hand had it lifited towards the sky with once again a bowl of fire. Think of what stautes you know of that people show their pride of their country. The Rhodians were extremley happy with thier statue and were ultimaltly gladdened when a piece of the Colossus was found. Think if you had a country that was war torn and was being attacked over several times, what kind of figure would you put at the entrance of your city to show that you were happy that you city was saved? Also to find out the facts about Alexander the Great,as mentioned above in the reading. Look and explore! And creativity is a must for this!