Fun Fact 2 Helios was the Greek God of the Sun. He was one of the Titans who were powerful deities; a deity can be described as a supernatural being with religious significance and power.
Fun Fact 3: The Colossus of Rhodes was erected in 280 BC by a Greek sculptor called Chares of Lindos who was born in Rhodes.
Fun Fact 4: The Colossus of Rhodes was a huge accomplishment for Chares of Lindos and a wonderful interpretation of the Greek God Helios.
Fun Fact 5: The statue stood over the Greek island of Rhodes; it was more than 30 meters in height which made it one of the tallest statues to be built in the ancient world.
Fun Fact 6: The reason the Colossus of Rhodes was constructed was to celebrate the victory over Antigonus/Monophthalmus, the ruler of Cyprus. His son had made an unsuccessful attempt in 305 BC to besiege the Greek island of Rhodes.
Fun Fact 7: The Greeks raised enough money to build the Colossus of Rhodes by selling siege equipment left by Antigonus's army.
Fun Fact 8: The Colossus of Rhodes was damaged in 226 BC by an earthquake. When the earthquake occurred, the huge statue of Helios broke at the legs and toppled over.
Fun Fact 9: Following the damage from the earthquake, the Colossus of Rhodes lay in the same place for almost 800 years! The statue was eventually sold off by invaders.
Fun Fact 10: It took the Greek sculptor Chares of Lindos approximately twelve years to complete the entire structure of the Colossus of Rhodes.
Fun Fact 11: The statue of the Greek God Helios stood tall upon a white marble pedestal measuring approximately 15 meters high.
Fun Fact 12: The exterior of the Colossus of Rhodes was made mainly from iron and bronze. The interior was made mainly from stone which was carved and sculptured.
Fun Fact 13: The reason that the Colossus of Rhodes was not rebuilt after it was damaged during an earthquake, was because the Oracle of Delphi caused the people of Rhodes to fear that they'd offended the Sun God Helios.
Fun Fact 14: Even when the statue lay damaged on the ground, people still marvelled over it. They were amazed by the shear size of the statue and for the majority, just wrapping their arms around one of Helios's thumbs was an impossibility.
Fun Fact 15: The definition of 'colossus' is a statue that is much bigger than life size. The word can also mean or refer to a person of enormous size or importance. |
