THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES

                   THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES

It was located at the entrance of the harbor of the Mediterrnean island of Rhodes in Greece.

Throughout most of its history, ancient Greece was comprised of city-states which had limited power beyond their boundary. On the small islands of Rhodes were three of these: Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos. 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 Ptolemis, besieged Rhodes in an attempt to break the Rhodo-Egyptian alliance. They could never penetrate the city. A peace agreement was reached in 304 BC. To celebrate their unity, the Rhodians erected an enormous statue of their sun god, Helios. The construction of the Colosuss took 12 years and was finished in 282 BC. For years, the statue stood at the harbor entrance, until a strong earthquake hit Rhodes about 226 BC.