Long ago, people built a giant statue.
It was a sun god. It was very tall. The statue was made of bronze. Then, a big shake in the ground broke it. Many people still want to see it. Can you imagine a statue that big?
Long ago, people built a giant statue.
It was of a sun god named Helios. The statue stood on a Greek island. It was the tallest statue ever made then.
People used bronze and iron to make it. They used money from old weapons to pay for it. Then, a big shake in the ground broke it. The statue fell down and stayed on the land. People still talk about this amazing wonder today.
The Colossus of Rhodes was a giant statue.
It stood on the Greek island of Rhodes. The statue showed the sun god, Helios.
It was built to celebrate a big win. The people of Rhodes defended their city from an attack. They used money from old weapons to pay for it.
A man named Chares of Lindos led the work. It took twelve years to finish the statue. It was about 70 cubits tall. That is about two-thirds the height of the Statue of Liberty. The statue was made of bronze plates. Inside, it had iron bars and stone blocks. It stood for 54 years. Then, a large earthquake hit the island. The statue snapped at the knees and fell.
The people did not rebuild it. The broken parts lay on the ground for a long time. Some say the metal was later sold. People still wonder where it stood exactly.
The Colossus of Rhodes was a giant statue from long ago.
It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This massive statue showed Helios, the Greek god of the sun. It stood on the Greek island of Rhodes. The people built it to celebrate a great victory. They had successfully defended their city from a long attack.
This victory happened after a year-long siege by Demetrius I of Macedon. The Rhodians were very proud of their strength.
Building such a huge statue was a very hard job.
The people used money from selling old siege equipment to pay for it. They earned 300 talents from this sale. A man named Chares of Lindos led the construction. He was a sculptor who had worked on large statues before. He used iron tie bars to hold the structure together. Then, he attached bronze plates to form the skin of the statue. Inside, workers filled the structure with stone blocks as it grew taller.
Construction began in 292 BC and took twelve years to finish.
When it was done in 280 BC, it was incredibly tall. It stood about 70 cubits high. That is about two-thirds the height of the modern Statue of Liberty. It was the tallest statue in the ancient world. Some people thought it stood on a white marble pedestal. Others believed it sat on a breakwater near the harbour. Many people traveled from far away just to see it.
Even though it was strong, the statue did not last forever.
It stood for 54 years before a large earthquake hit in 226 BC. The earthquake caused the statue to snap at the knees. It fell over onto the land. A leader named Ptolemy III offered to pay to rebuild it. However, the Rhodians chose not to fix it. They followed advice from the Oracle of Delphi. They feared they had offended the god Helios by building it.
For hundreds of years, the broken pieces stayed on the ground.
Many people still visited the ruins to look at them. Some stories say an Arab force destroyed the metal in 653. These stories say the bronze was sold and carried away by camels. However, some historians think these stories might just be legends. Today, people still debate exactly where the statue once stood. Some think it was near the Mandraki port entrance. New ideas to build a new Colossus have been shared since 2008.
The Colossus of Rhodes was a massive bronze statue of the Greek sun god, Helios.
It was located on the Greek island of Rhodes. This monument was famous as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The statue was built to celebrate a major military victory. The people of Rhodes had successfully defended their city during a long siege. This siege was led by Demetrius I of Macedon. He had attacked the city with a large army and navy for one year.
To fund the project, the Rhodians sold the siege equipment left behind by Demetrius. They earned 300 talents from this sale. The construction was led by Chares of Lindos. Chares was a sculptor who had experience with large-scale works. He had studied under the famous sculptor Lysippos. Construction began in 292 BC and lasted for twelve years. The statue was finally completed in 280 BC.
Engineers used specific methods to make the statue stand. The structure likely used iron tie bars to provide strength. Bronze plates were then fixed to these bars to create the outer skin. As the statue grew, workers filled the interior with stone blocks. Some ancient accounts suggest the statue was built in horizontal courses. Philo of Byzantium described a method where workers built mounds of earth around each finished section. This allowed them to cast the next part on a level surface.
Modern analysis helps us understand the physical scale of the Colossus. The statue stood approximately 70 cubits tall. This is about two-thirds the height of the modern Statue of Liberty. It was the tallest statue in the ancient world. The base was likely a circular or octagonal pedestal made of white marble. The feet were carved from stone and covered in thin bronze plates. These plates were held together by rivets. The thickness of the bronze plates varied to provide strength where it was needed most.
The Colossus stood for only 54 years. In 226 BC, a powerful earthquake struck the island. The earthquake destroyed many buildings in the harbour and the city. The statue snapped at the knees and fell onto the land.
A leader named Ptolemy III offered to pay for the reconstruction. However, the Rhodians decided not to rebuild it. They followed the advice of the Oracle of Delphi. They feared they had offended the god Helios.
The broken remains stayed on the ground for over 800 years. Even in pieces, the statue was so impressive that travelers came to see it. Some historical accounts, like the Chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor, claim the metal was destroyed in 653. This account says an Arab force under Mu'awiya I took the bronze. It claims the metal was sold and carried away by 900 camels. However, some historians believe this story might be propaganda. They suggest the metal might have been repurposed for coins or tools much earlier.
There is a famous myth that the statue straddled the harbour entrance. Many old drawings show ships passing between its legs. However, engineers believe this was not possible. The statue would have blocked the harbour during construction. It also likely would have collapsed under its own weight. Most researchers believe the statue stood on a pedestal or a breakwater.
The exact location of the original monument is still a subject of debate today. Since 2008, people have proposed building a new Colossus at Rhodes Harbour.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (7)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.