![]() ![]() The base of the statue, of which only a few vestiges still exist today, was demolished in 1933, when Via dell’lmpero and Via dei Trionfi were built. At the time, the statue was known as the Younger Memnon after the two colossal statues of Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC), standing not far from the mortuary. His bronze was almost certainly reused by Pope Gregory the Great (540- 604 A.D.) who had it melted down to produce the cannons of Castel Sant’Angelo. ![]() The Colossus was probably destroyed during the Sack of Rome (410 A.D.), or perhaps it fell as a result of one of the earthquakes of the fifth century. SKU: A12210 Description This metallic bronze statue depicts the Colossus of Rhodes, a massive statue of Helios, god of Sun, that was erected in order to. At first a symbol of immortality and later of the Eternal City, it continued to be an object of worship even in the Christian era. When the latter emperor died, the Colossus again became the image of Helios and remained such during the reign of Septimius Severus, as demonstrated by the coins of the period portraying the god with his left hand resting on a helm and his right one holding a globe. Vespasian had it transformed into a radiate image of the Sun, while Commodus preferred to characterize it with the attributes of Hercules and his physiognomy. Thus Hadrian, in order to build the Temple of Venus and Rome, had to use a cart pulled by twenty-four elephants to move the statue from its original location. ![]() Its gigantic size – it was about 35 meters tall, as can be calculated from the proportions of the base and a passage from Piiny the Elder – made it the largest bronze statue ever made in the ancient world. On the other side were villas with fields, vineyards and pastures, and woodlands full of all kinds of domestic and wild animal» The size of the latter was such that it had three colonnades a mile long and a pool that ivas more like a sea, surrounded by buildings as large as cities. «… a colossal statue of Nero, 120 feet tall, stood in the vestibule of the house. The colossus of Rhodes was a gigantic statue located near the port of the city of Rhodes, the main town of the island of the same name. Commissioned from the sculptor Zenodoros and inspired by the famous Colossus of Rhodes created by Chares of Undos at the beginning of the third century B.C., it portrayed the emperor standing and decorated the vestibule of the Domus Aurea on the site now occupied by the Temple of Venus and Rome. It derives from the colossal bronze statue of Nero, which stood in the immediate vicinity. The idea of the Statue of Liberty came from Edouard Rene Lefebvre de Laboulaye, a professor of law in Paris. Last, we'll learn about the Lighthouse of Alexandria.The name Amphitheatrum- Colyseus appeared for the first time in the eleventh century as a designation for the building, which had previously been called “ Amphitheatrum Caesareum”, and was later extended in the name regio Colisei to the entire valley. Its legacy lives on in the style of a famous statue created by Frederic Bartholdi: the Statue of Liberty.įor our last stop on the tour of ancient wonders, we island-hop back to where we started: Egypt. In 653 A.D., invading Arabs sold the toppled Colossus for scrap metal. Tourists would try to wrap their arms around the colossus' thumb, but it was too big to grasp. Pliny wrote that it was still a wonder to see in this condition. For almost four centuries, the colossus lay prostrate on the ground. When the Rhodians considered rebuilding the colossus, an oracle, or message from the gods, advised them not to. The colossus broke at its knees, and when it toppled over, it crushed several houses and buildings in its wake. The colossus stood strong for 53 years until an earthquake struck Rhodes in 225 B.C. Furthermore, the colossus was likely located inland near the center of town. Instead, the statue was probably sculpted in the classical Greek style with both legs planted solidly under his shoulders and some sort of base for support. Even more telling, the bustling port city of Rhodes wouldn't have been able to support its people with the harbor out of commission during the statue's erection. For one thing, Chares didn't have the knowledge, materials or skills to support the weight of a statue in this position. While there are plenty of accounts and illustrations that support this theory (some suspiciously from the Middle Ages, centuries after the statue had been destroyed), it's unlikely that the colossus would have stood over the harbor. Legends say that he stood over the harbor, one leg on either side forming a majestic tunnel. And some accounts testify that its face was modeled after Alexander the Great's. Judging from written accounts, scholars have proposed that it was a standing figure holding a torch in one hand. No one knows for sure what the colossus looked like or where it was located on the island. Three Lions/Hulton Archives/ Getty Images ![]()
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