Colossus at Rhodes essays

Colossus at Rhodes essays Ancient Greece, a land of great history, was home to one of the seven ancient wonders, the Colossus of Rhodes. In 408 BC, three city-states in Greece, (which are states consisting of sovereign cities), Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos, united and formed one area. This was to become Rhodes, the capital of the three city-states. Rhodes then established itself as a powerful city, becoming economically and commercially powerful while allying with Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. However, in 305 BC, the Antigonids, who were powerful political leaders in Macedonia, rivaled with the Ptolemies and attempted to take over Rhodes in order to disconnect the alliance between the Egyptian and Rhode peoples. The Antigonids leader was Antigous, who sent his son, Demitrius, along with 40,000 men and Aegean pirates, to conquer Rhodes (Unmuseum). The Antigonids attempts were futile; they could not break through into the city. A strong, tall tower protected the city, which was wooden and armed with catapults that could be moved on the wall. Fortunately for Rhodes, the Antigonids left behind their weaponry and embraced a peace agreement. In celebration of their victory, the Rhodians sold the weapons and erected the Colossus, a massive statue, which they dedicated to the sun God, Helios (The Seven Wonders). To build the statue, they melted down bronze from the war machines. It was made from the bronze plates and it stood over an iron framework. According to the book of Pilon of Byzantium, 15 tons of bronze and 9 tons of iron were used to build the Colossus. The statue had several stone columns within it and iron beams were driven into the stone and connected with the bronze outer skin (Unmuseum). The Colossus stood one hundred and ten feet high upon a fifty-foot pedestal. According to Pliny the Elder, a Historian, the statue was a product of twelve years of hard work. The Colossus is located off the Southwestern tip of A ...