the Colossus of Rhodes was a gargantuan
bronze statue built near the entrance of
the city of Rhodes the colossal statue
depicted the Titan Helios who is a Sun
deity of Greek mythology its
construction happened after a massive
military success the citizens of Rhodes
fought against the Macedonian domination
which had established an isolating
blockade around the island of Rhodes the
Macedonian invaders tried to siege and
subjugate the population of Rhodes to
conquer them the Macedonians invested a
fortune in siege equipment but to no
avail
with the support provided by the Pharaoh
Ptolemy of Egypt Rhodes endured the
siege and expelled the Macedonians
during their retreat the invaders left a
fortune in more equipment than was
promptly sold by the Rhodes governments
and the money was used to build a
colossal statue of Helios the city's
patron God in 292 BC the Colossus his
construction began on top of a 15-meter
marble pedestal the statue had a stone
filled brass structure but its lining
was made of iron and bronze most of
these medals had once been weapons
shields and armor of the Macedonian army
after 12 years the statue was ready and
the colossus of rhodes about 30 meters
high stunned the sailors from distant
lands as they approached the port of
rhodes the precise location of the
statue and its stance are still a matter
of debate between experts yet regardless
of its stance and location the Colossus
of Rhodes was indeed an imposing
edification nonetheless the gigantic
statue collapsed after a powerful
earthquake in 226 BC
the ruins were so massive that people
visited roads just to see the Fallen
Colossus in 653 when the island of
Rhodes was under Arab domination the
Caliph ordered the dismantling of the
Colossus ruins and his medals were sold
after that the Colossus of Rhodes was
confined to people's imagination like
the Lighthouse of Alexandria there are
now plans to rebuild the splendid
Colossus in honor of the Sun God the new
Colossus is envisioned to measure
something between 120 and 150 meters of
height five times greater than the
original one and it will cost close to
300 million dollars the new Colossus is
expected to have the same impact as its
predecessor which could amaze all those
who saw it for the first time
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