The Colossus of Rhodes
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.
To build the statue, the workers cast the outer bronze skin parts. The base was made of
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