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3.7: Colossus of Rhodes

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    Colossus of Rhodes

    12.png

    Artist: Chares of Lindos
    Medium: Bronze (lost original)
    Art Historical Time Period: Hellenistic Greek (ca. 292–280 BCE)

    The Colossus of Rhodes was a massive bronze statue of the sun god Helios. It stood at the entrance to the harbor of Rhodes, a Greek island, and was built to celebrate a military victory. The statue was about 33 meters tall, making it one of the tallest in the ancient world.

    The Colossus was special because of its size and engineering. It showed how skilled Greek artists and builders were. Even though it fell after an earthquake, it inspired later large statues, like the Statue of Liberty. The Colossus remains a symbol of strength and creativity, as well as a reminder of how monumental sculpture can serve to commemorate civic pride and victory.

    Vocabulary

    • Engineering The work of designing and building structures.

    Student Authors

    • Aaron Arraez ’25 and Brandon Tyler ‘25

    References and Image Attribution

    • Boardman, John. Greek Sculpture: The Hellenistic Period. Thames & Hudson, 1995.

    • Stewart, Andrew. Art in the Hellenistic World. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

    • Pollitt, Jerome J. Art and Experience in Classical Greece. Cambridge University Press, 1972.

    • Image: “Colosse de Rhodes (Barclay)” from an 1880 wood engraving by Sidney Barclay, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Modified from original.

       

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    3.7: Colossus of Rhodes is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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