Difference between revisions of "Colossus of Rhodes" - New World Encyclopedia
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| − | + | [[Image:rhodes0211.jpg|thumb|right|300px|This drawing of ''Colossus of Rhodes'', which illustrated The Grolier Society's 1911 ''Book of Knowledge'', is probably fanciful, as it is unlikely that the statue stood astride the harbor mouth.]] | |
| − | [[Image:rhodes0211.jpg|thumb|right|300px|This drawing of ''Colossus of Rhodes'', which illustrated The Grolier Society's 1911 ''Book of Knowledge'', is probably fanciful, as it is unlikely that the statue stood astride the | ||
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The '''Colossus of Rhodes''' was a giant [[statue]] of the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] [[God (male deity)|god]] [[Helios]], erected on the [[Greece|Greek]] [[island]] of [[Rhodes]] by [[Chares of Lindos]], a student of [[Lysippos]], between [[292 B.C.E.|292]] and [[280 B.C.E.]]. It was roughly the same size as the [[Statue of Liberty]] in [[New York City|New York]], although it stood on a lower [[platform]]. It is one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]. Before its destruction, the Colossus of Rhodes stood 70 cubits tall, over 100 feet, making it the tallest statue of the ancient world. | The '''Colossus of Rhodes''' was a giant [[statue]] of the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] [[God (male deity)|god]] [[Helios]], erected on the [[Greece|Greek]] [[island]] of [[Rhodes]] by [[Chares of Lindos]], a student of [[Lysippos]], between [[292 B.C.E.|292]] and [[280 B.C.E.]]. It was roughly the same size as the [[Statue of Liberty]] in [[New York City|New York]], although it stood on a lower [[platform]]. It is one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]. Before its destruction, the Colossus of Rhodes stood 70 cubits tall, over 100 feet, making it the tallest statue of the ancient world. | ||
==Erection of the statue== | ==Erection of the statue== | ||
| − | + | [[Alexander the Great]] died at an early age in [[323 B.C.E.]] without having time to put into place any plans for his succession. Fighting broke out among his generals, the ''[[Diadochi]]'', with three of them eventually dividing up much of his empire in the Mediterranean area. During the fighting Rhodes had sided with [[Ptolemy I of Egypt|Ptolemy]], and when Ptolemy eventually took control of [[Egypt]], Rhodes and Ptolemaic Egypt formed an alliance which controlled much of the trade in the eastern Mediterranean. | |
| − | [[Alexander the Great]] died at an early age in [[323 B.C.E.]] without having | ||
| − | Another of Alexander's generals, [[Antigonid dynasty|Antigonus I Monophthalmus]], was upset by this turn of events. In 305 B.C.E. he had his son [[Demetrius I Poliorcetes|Demetrius Poliorcetes]], also a general, invade Rhodes with an army of 40,000. However, the city was well defended, and Demetrius—whose name "Poliorcetes" signifies the "besieger of cities"—had to start construction of a number of massive [[siege towers]] in order to gain access to the walls. The first was mounted on six ships, but these were capsized in a storm before they could be used. He tried again with a larger, land-based tower named ''[[Helepolis]]'', but the Rhodian defenders stopped this by flooding the land in front of the walls so that the rolling tower could not move. In 304 B.C.E. a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, and Demetrius's army abandoned the siege, leaving most of their siege equipment. To celebrate their victory, the Rhodians sold the equipment left behind for 300 talents<ref>[[Pliny's Natural History]] xxxiv.18.</ref> and decided to build a colossal statue of their patron god, [[Helios]]. Construction was left to the direction of Chares, a native of Lindos in Rhodes, who had been involved with large-scale statues before. His teacher, the sculptor Lysippus, had constructed | + | Another of Alexander's generals, [[Antigonid dynasty|Antigonus I Monophthalmus]], was upset by this turn of events. In 305 B.C.E. he had his son [[Demetrius I Poliorcetes|Demetrius Poliorcetes]], also a general, invade Rhodes with an army of 40,000. However, the city was well defended, and Demetrius—whose name "Poliorcetes" signifies the "besieger of cities"—had to start construction of a number of massive [[siege towers]] in order to gain access to the walls. The first was mounted on six ships, but these were capsized in a storm before they could be used. He tried again with a larger, land-based tower named ''[[Helepolis]]'', but the Rhodian defenders stopped this by flooding the land in front of the walls so that the rolling tower could not move. In 304 B.C.E. a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, and Demetrius's army abandoned the siege, leaving most of their siege equipment. To celebrate their victory, the Rhodians sold the equipment left behind for 300 talents<ref>[[Pliny's Natural History]] xxxiv.18.</ref> and decided to build a colossal statue of their patron god, [[Helios]]. Construction was left to the direction of Chares, a native of Lindos in Rhodes, who had been involved with large-scale statues before. His teacher, the sculptor Lysippus, had constructed one 60-foot-high, bronze statue of [[Zeus]] at [[Tarentium]]. In order to pay for the construction of the Colossus, the Rhodians sold all of the siege equipment that Demetrius left behind. |
[[Image:Colossus_of_Rhodes.jpg|right|thumb|250px|'''Colossus of Rhodes''', imagined in a 16th-century engraving by [[Martin Heemskerck]], part of his series of the Seven Wonders of the World]] | [[Image:Colossus_of_Rhodes.jpg|right|thumb|250px|'''Colossus of Rhodes''', imagined in a 16th-century engraving by [[Martin Heemskerck]], part of his series of the Seven Wonders of the World]] | ||
==Construction== | ==Construction== | ||
| − | + | Ancient accounts, which differ to some degree, describe the structure as being built around several stone columns (or towers of blocks) forming the interior of the structure, which stood on a fifty-foot-high, white-marble pedestal near the Mandraki harbor entrance. Other sources place the Colossus on a breakwater in the harbor. Iron beams were embedded in the brick towers, and bronze plates attached to the bars formed the visible skin of the sculpture. Much of the iron and bronze was reforged from the various weapons Demetrius's army left behind, and the abandoned second siege tower was used for scaffolding around the lower levels during construction. Upper portions were built with the use of a large earthen ramp. The statue itself was over 110 feet tall, somewhere near the harbor entrance to Rhodes. After twelve years, in 280 B.C.E., the statue was completed. During the building they would pile mounds of dirt on the sides of the colussus. To an observer it may have looked like a volcano-like sculpture. Upon completion all of the dirt was moved and the colossus was left to stand alone. | |
| − | Ancient accounts, which differ to some degree, describe the structure as being built around several stone columns (or towers of blocks) forming the interior of the structure, which stood on a | ||
==Destruction== | ==Destruction== | ||
| − | The statue stood for only | + | The statue stood for only 56 years until Rhodes was hit by an [[earthquake]] in 224 B.C.E. The statue snapped at the knees and fell over onto the land. [[Ptolemy III of Egypt|Ptolemy III]] offered to pay for the reconstruction of the statue, but an [[oracle]] made the Rhodians afraid that they had offended Helios, and they declined to rebuild it. The remains lay on the ground as described by [[Strabo]] (xiv.2.5) for over 800 years, and even broken, they were so impressive that many traveled to see them. [[Pliny the Elder]] remarked that few people could wrap their arms around the fallen thumb and that each of its fingers was larger than most statues. |
In 654 an Arab force under [[Muawiyah I]] captured Rhodes, and according to the chronicler [[Theophanes the Confessor]],<ref>See also [[Constantine VII|Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos]], ''[[De administrando imperio]]'' xx-xxi.</ref> the remains were sold to a traveling salesman from [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]]. The buyer had the statue broken down, and transported the bronze scrap on the backs of 900 camels to his home. Pieces continued to turn up for sale for years, after being found along the caravan route. | In 654 an Arab force under [[Muawiyah I]] captured Rhodes, and according to the chronicler [[Theophanes the Confessor]],<ref>See also [[Constantine VII|Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos]], ''[[De administrando imperio]]'' xx-xxi.</ref> the remains were sold to a traveling salesman from [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]]. The buyer had the statue broken down, and transported the bronze scrap on the backs of 900 camels to his home. Pieces continued to turn up for sale for years, after being found along the caravan route. | ||
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==Modern times== | ==Modern times== | ||
*Media reports in 1989 initially suggested that large stones found on the seabed off the coast of Rhodes might have been the remains of the Colossus; however this theory was later shown to be without merit. | *Media reports in 1989 initially suggested that large stones found on the seabed off the coast of Rhodes might have been the remains of the Colossus; however this theory was later shown to be without merit. | ||
| − | |||
| − | *In [[Sergio Leone]]'s [[sword and sandal]] film "[[Il Colosso di Rodi]]" (1961) the Colossus stands spread-legged over the only entrance to Rhodes' | + | *There has been much debate as to whether to rebuild the Colossus. Those in favour say it would boost tourism in Rhodes greatly, but those against construction say it would cost too large an amount over 134 million dollars. This idea has been revived many times since it was first proposed in 1970 but, due to lack of funding, work has not yet started. |
| + | |||
| + | *In [[Sergio Leone]]'s [[sword and sandal]] film "[[Il Colosso di Rodi]]" (1961), the Colossus stands spread-legged over the only entrance to Rhodes' harbor. In this instance the statue is hollow (like the [[Statue of Liberty]]) and is armed with defensive weaponry. | ||
| − | *[[Sylvia Plath]]'s poem "The Colossus" | + | *[[Sylvia Plath]]'s poem "The Colossus," refers to the Colossus of Rhodes. Perhaps the most famous reference to the Colossus, however, is in the immortal poem, "The New Colossus," by [[Emma Lazarus]], written in 1883 and inscribed on a plaque at the [[Statue of Liberty]] in [[New York City]]'s harbor. |
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| Line 67: | Line 64: | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
| − | * | + | * Ashley, James R. ''Macedonian Empire,'' McFarland & Company, 2004. ISBN 0-7864-1918-0} |
| + | |||
| + | * Franzen, Nils-Olof. ''Agaton Sax and the Colossus of Rhodes,'' Andre Deutsch Ltd, 1972. ASIN B0000PJBXB | ||
| − | + | * Lawrence, Caroline. ''The Colossus of Rhodes,'' Roaring Brooks Press, 2006. ISBN 978-1596430822 | |
| − | * The Colossus | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
Revision as of 01:59, 11 April 2007
The Colossus of Rhodes was a giant statue of the Greek god Helios, erected on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos, a student of Lysippos, between 292 and 280 B.C.E. It was roughly the same size as the Statue of Liberty in New York, although it stood on a lower platform. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Before its destruction, the Colossus of Rhodes stood 70 cubits tall, over 100 feet, making it the tallest statue of the ancient world.
Erection of the statue
Alexander the Great died at an early age in 323 B.C.E. without having time to put into place any plans for his succession. Fighting broke out among his generals, the Diadochi, with three of them eventually dividing up much of his empire in the Mediterranean area. During the fighting Rhodes had sided with Ptolemy, and when Ptolemy eventually took control of Egypt, Rhodes and Ptolemaic Egypt formed an alliance which controlled much of the trade in the eastern Mediterranean.
Another of Alexander's generals, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, was upset by this turn of events. In 305 B.C.E. he had his son Demetrius Poliorcetes, also a general, invade Rhodes with an army of 40,000. However, the city was well defended, and Demetrius—whose name "Poliorcetes" signifies the "besieger of cities"—had to start construction of a number of massive siege towers in order to gain access to the walls. The first was mounted on six ships, but these were capsized in a storm before they could be used. He tried again with a larger, land-based tower named Helepolis, but the Rhodian defenders stopped this by flooding the land in front of the walls so that the rolling tower could not move. In 304 B.C.E. a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, and Demetrius's army abandoned the siege, leaving most of their siege equipment. To celebrate their victory, the Rhodians sold the equipment left behind for 300 talents[1] and decided to build a colossal statue of their patron god, Helios. Construction was left to the direction of Chares, a native of Lindos in Rhodes, who had been involved with large-scale statues before. His teacher, the sculptor Lysippus, had constructed one 60-foot-high, bronze statue of Zeus at Tarentium. In order to pay for the construction of the Colossus, the Rhodians sold all of the siege equipment that Demetrius left behind.
Construction
Ancient accounts, which differ to some degree, describe the structure as being built around several stone columns (or towers of blocks) forming the interior of the structure, which stood on a fifty-foot-high, white-marble pedestal near the Mandraki harbor entrance. Other sources place the Colossus on a breakwater in the harbor. Iron beams were embedded in the brick towers, and bronze plates attached to the bars formed the visible skin of the sculpture. Much of the iron and bronze was reforged from the various weapons Demetrius's army left behind, and the abandoned second siege tower was used for scaffolding around the lower levels during construction. Upper portions were built with the use of a large earthen ramp. The statue itself was over 110 feet tall, somewhere near the harbor entrance to Rhodes. After twelve years, in 280 B.C.E., the statue was completed. During the building they would pile mounds of dirt on the sides of the colussus. To an observer it may have looked like a volcano-like sculpture. Upon completion all of the dirt was moved and the colossus was left to stand alone.
Destruction
The statue stood for only 56 years until Rhodes was hit by an earthquake in 224 B.C.E. The statue snapped at the knees and fell over onto the land. Ptolemy III offered to pay for the reconstruction of the statue, but an oracle made the Rhodians afraid that they had offended Helios, and they declined to rebuild it. The remains lay on the ground as described by Strabo (xiv.2.5) for over 800 years, and even broken, they were so impressive that many traveled to see them. Pliny the Elder remarked that few people could wrap their arms around the fallen thumb and that each of its fingers was larger than most statues.
In 654 an Arab force under Muawiyah I captured Rhodes, and according to the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor,[2] the remains were sold to a traveling salesman from Edessa. The buyer had the statue broken down, and transported the bronze scrap on the backs of 900 camels to his home. Pieces continued to turn up for sale for years, after being found along the caravan route.
The harbor-straddling Colossus was a figment of later imaginations. Many older illustrations (above) show the statue with one foot on either side of the harbor mouth with ships passing under it: "… the brazen giant of Greek fame, with conquering limbs astride from land to land …" ("The New Colossus", the poem inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty). Shakespeare's Cassius in Julius Caesar (I,ii,136–38) says of Caesar:
- Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world
- Like a Colossus, and we petty men
- Walk under his huge legs and peep about
- To find ourselves dishonorable graves
Shakespeare alludes to the Colossus also in Troilus and Cressida (V.5) and in Henry IV, Part 1 (V.1).
While these fanciful images from poetry feed the misconception, simple reflection on the mechanics of the situation reveal that the Colossus could not have straddled the harbor as described in Lemprière's Classical Dictionary. (a) If the completed statue straddled the harbor, the entire mouth of the harbor would have been effectively closed during the entirety of the construction, nor would the ancient Rhodian have had the means to dredge and re-open the harbor after construction. (b) The statue fell in 224 B.C.E.: if it straddled the harbor mouth, it would have entirely blocked the harbor, nor would the ancient have had the ability to remove the entire statue from the harbor so it would be visible on land for the next 800 years, as discussed above. Even neglecting these objections, the statue was made of bronze, and an engineering analysis proved that it could not have been built with its legs apart without collapsing from its own weight.
Modern times
- Media reports in 1989 initially suggested that large stones found on the seabed off the coast of Rhodes might have been the remains of the Colossus; however this theory was later shown to be without merit.
- There has been much debate as to whether to rebuild the Colossus. Those in favour say it would boost tourism in Rhodes greatly, but those against construction say it would cost too large an amount over 134 million dollars. This idea has been revived many times since it was first proposed in 1970 but, due to lack of funding, work has not yet started.
- In Sergio Leone's sword and sandal film "Il Colosso di Rodi" (1961), the Colossus stands spread-legged over the only entrance to Rhodes' harbor. In this instance the statue is hollow (like the Statue of Liberty) and is armed with defensive weaponry.
- Sylvia Plath's poem "The Colossus," refers to the Colossus of Rhodes. Perhaps the most famous reference to the Colossus, however, is in the immortal poem, "The New Colossus," by Emma Lazarus, written in 1883 and inscribed on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty in New York City's harbor.
- Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
- With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
- Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
- A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
- Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
- Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
- Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
- The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
- "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
- With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
- Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
- The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
- Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
- I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Ashley, James R. Macedonian Empire, McFarland & Company, 2004. ISBN 0-7864-1918-0}
- Franzen, Nils-Olof. Agaton Sax and the Colossus of Rhodes, Andre Deutsch Ltd, 1972. ASIN B0000PJBXB
- Lawrence, Caroline. The Colossus of Rhodes, Roaring Brooks Press, 2006. ISBN 978-1596430822
External links
- Rhodes Guide
- http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/colossus.html
- Herbert Maryon, "The Colossus of Rhodes" The Journal of Hellenic Studies 76 (1956), pp. 68-86. A sculptor's speculations on the Colossus of Rhodes.
- D. E. L. Haynes, "Philo of Byzantium and the Colossus of Rhodes" The Journal of Hellenic Studies 77.2 (1957), pp. 311-312. A response to Maryon.
- M. H. Gabriel, BCH 16 (1932), pp 332-42.
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