The Colossus of Rhodes
Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos. In 408 BC, the cities united to form one territory, with a unified
capital, Rhodes. The city thrived commercially and had strong economic ties with their main
ally, Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. In 305 BC, the Antigonids of Macedonia who were also rivals
of the Ptolemies, besieged Rhodes in an attempt to break the Rhodo-Egyptian alliance. They
could never penetrate the city. When a peace agreement was reached in 304 BC, the
Antagonids lifted the siege, leaving a wealth of military equipment behind.
The Rhodians decided to express their pride by building a triumphal statue of their favourite
god, Helios. The task was assigned to the sculptor Chares of Lindos, a pupil of Lysippos
himself, and twelve years (from 304 to 292 BC) were needed to complete it.
The Colossus of Rhodes was not only a gigantic statue. It was a symbol of unity of the
people who inhabited that beautiful Mediterranean island of Rhodes.
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