One of the seven “wonders of the ancient world” was the Colossus of Rhodes, an enormous bronze statue of a male figure. Whom did the figure represent?
A) Alexander the Great of Macedonia B) Helios, the Greek sun-god ü C) Socrates, the Athenian philosopher D) Xerxes, ruler of the Persian Empire
Helios was the patron god of the people of Rhodes. They undertook to construct the Colossus after their successful defence of the island against Demetrius, son of Alexander the Great’s general Antigous. The statue stood 33.5 m (110 ft.) high, on a 15 m (50 ft.) pedestal. It was constructed over a period of years around 300 BC under the supervision of an artist named Chares of Lindros. Unfortunately, the Colossus was felled by an earthquake only half a century after it was erected. Even the remnants were removed and sold for scrap metal by Arab conquerors in the seventh century AD.
