![]() ![]() This would catch the attention of Antigonus, who ruled nearby Asia Minor. However, the island did eventually form a close association with Ptomely, who ruled Egypt. Because of this, Rhodes’ wealth and importance grew while it attempted to maintain neutrality among the surrounding battles for the empire. It also sat around 11 miles from Asia Minor. Rhodes held the entrance to the Aegean Sea and controlled the route to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Each took a hold of different territories, and they went on to battle for control of the whole empire in what would become known as the Wars of the Successors.Īccording to Livius, the island nation of Rhodes held great importance in the power balance. Geographics explains that the empire was divided up by three of Alexander the Great’s lieutenants, Ptomely, Seleucus, and Antigonus. Alexander had no children, hence no one to leave his empire to. Rhodes after Alexander the GreatĪfter Alexander the Great’s death at the age of 32, the future of Rhodes, as well as the rest of his empire, was left in question. Uniglobe Phillips Travel reports that in 332 B.C., Rhodes became part of Alexander the Great’s empire and the Persian Empire fell. In 333 B.C., just as his superiors finally gave him the supplies and men to employ his own strategy against Alexander, Memnon died of an illness. War History Online reports that Memnon’s strategy in facing Alexander the Great was dismissed by his superiors, leading to the Persians’ eventual defeat. Philip had spent two years battling Memnon, but his son saw greater success. In 334 B.C., the Macedonian leader Philip II was assassinated, and his son, Alexander, inherited the throne. His territory bordered Macedonia, and when the city-state began its own empire building, Memnon and his troops faced its soldiers often on the battlefield. After his brother’s death in 340 B.C., Memnon was appointed as commander in the Troad, in the northwest of Asia Minor. Memnon and his brother, Mentor, worked as military commanders for the Persian Empire and helped expand its borders. Memnon’s father, Timocrates of Rhodes, was a Greek citizen who worked for the Persian Empire. In little more than a decade, the Macedonian king would conquer much of the ancient world, from the far reaches of western Europe to Africa.Īccording to the History of War, Alexander the Great’s strongest opponent was Memnon of Rhodes. The Colossus of Rhodes has its origins in the conquests of Alexander the Great. Here is the untold truth of the Colossus of Rhodes. ![]() And much like the period, the statue’s legacy helped shape modern society. The Colossus of Rhodes is a testament to the engineering of the ancient world and the mixture of art and religion during the Hellenic period. During its short existence, the statue was called one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and it was inspiration for many works of art (most famously, the Statue of Liberty). All rights reserved.According to NPS, inscribed on a pedestal on the Statue of Liberty is a poem by Emma Lazarus titled, "The New Colossus." While the lines "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," are well-known in the American lexicon, the title and the opening lines directly reference the Statue of Liberty’s main source of inspiration: "Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land."Įven more than 2,000 years after its erection, the Colossus of Rhodes still fascinates the world. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. An example of a modern colossus is the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. Of two colossal figures of Jesus in South America, one is at Rio de Janeiro, and the other, the Christ of the Andes, on the boundary between Argentina and Chile. The most notable are those at Nara, Kamakura, and Kyoto. In Japan, the word daibutsu describes colossal statues of Buddha, usually over 16 ft (5 m) in height. The Athena Parthenos on the Acropolis at Athens and the Zeus in the temple at Olympia in Greece were other examples. In Egypt, for example, there were many colossuses, 50 to 60 ft (15.2 to 18.3 m) high. In reality, it stood on a promontory overlooking the harbor, and the representational type is well known from images on coins of the same period.Ĭolossi also existed elsewhere in the ancient world. According to legend, the 100 ft (30.5 m) statue stood astride the harbor and ships passed between its legs. Consider one of the Seven Wonders of the World by the ancients, it was built in part by Chares of Lindus (Rhodes) between 292 and 280 BC Its bronze was taken from the machines and tools left behind by Demetrius I after his unsuccessful siege of Rhodes. Colossus of Rhodes kəlŏs´əs, large statue of Helios, the sun god, destroyed by an earthquake in antiquity.
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