The Colossus of Rhodes
Location: At the entrance of the harbor of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes in Greece
Throughout most of its history, ancient Greece was comprised of city-states which had
limited power beyond their boundary. On the small island of Rhodes were three of these:
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
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