Ancient Greece was composed of city - States, whose power did not extend beyond their borders. On the small island of Rhodes were three of them: Aloso, Kamiros and Lindos. In 408 BC, these policies were United in one - Rhodes. The city prospered commercially and had strong economic ties with their main ally, Ptolemy Setaram from Egypt.

Place:

The entrance of the harbour on the island of Rhodes in Greece.

History:

In 304 BC the armies of the ruler of Western Asia and Syria Demetrius of Poliorketes suddenly attacked the island of Rhodes. However, strong resistance, the courageous struggle of the Rhodians forced the enemy to retreat.

In honor of the victory of the inhabitants of the island decided to erect a statue of the God Helios, the patron Saint of Rhodes. Helios was not just a particularly esteemed deity on the island - it was his Creator: not having a place dedicated to him, the sun God made the island on their hands from the depths of the sea.

The money was obtained through the sale of a variety of siege weapons, abandoned during the retreat of the enemy. Among them was, and brought considerable revenue of heliopolice - the miracle of military equipment, a huge siege tower, equipped with a battering RAM, catapults, sites for the assault troops, rocker bridges.

The construction of the monument was entrusted to famous sculptor of Hares, a pupil of the famous Lysippus. It took 12 years of hard labor, and delighted the eyes of the inhabitants of the island was opened majestic picture. At the entrance of the harbour on the white marble hill stood a giant bronze statue of the Sun God.

On an artificial hill hares has established three stone pillars at the two of them were attached to the bronze details, depicting the legs and torso giant, the third part of the cloak. Build the statue was carried out from the bottom up - first formed feet, then eggs, etc. as the pieces of their covered with earth, thus creating a platform for working at a higher level. Only when the statue was completely ready, the hill was hidden.

The base was made of white marble, were first set foot of the statue, and then the statue. Bronze form of deity was fortified with iron and stone constructions. His head was adorned with a crown in the form of diverging rays of the sun; the left hand he supported the drop-down coat, and the palm of the right, bent, he closed his eyes, staring at the open sea. First, the figure of Helios was usually depicted with her hand stretched forward. This time the sculptor gave it a different situation: the calculations showed that otherwise the hand snapped under the weight of its own weight. According to the testimony of the Roman scholar and writer Pliny the Elder, who studied part of the destroyed statues, not everyone was able to embrace the thumb of the hand of the giant.

The fame of the Colossus of Rhodes spread around the Mediterranean, many travelers from other countries came to admire the magnificent work of art.

Compared to other wonders of the world, the Colossus of Rhodes has lived a short life. About 50 years after the “birth” it was destroyed by an earthquake. From strong shocks broke the knee of the statue, she fell down. Part of the bronze of the body of the Sun God for centuries rested upon the earth, giving rise to various legends. So, one of them was told that a ship heading to the harbour, floated between the legs of a giant.

In 977 ad, the Arab Governor, who ruled the island, sold the remaining part of the statue. To transport them took 900 camels. She seemed forever disappeared in melting furnaces. However, recently, archaeologists have found at the bottom of the ancient harbour right hand of the God of the Sun. This is all that has remained from the last of the seven wonders of the world, created in the antique period.