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The Colossus of Rhodes

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Harvest Moon
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« on: December 25, 2011, 01:43:45 am »

The Colossus of Rhodes Island - Greece

« Last Edit: December 25, 2011, 01:47:28 am by Harvest Moon » Report Spam   Logged

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Harvest Moon
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« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2011, 01:50:07 am »

The Colossus of Rhodes, a wonder of the ancient world




The colossus of Rhodes, as it was - incorrectly - imagined standing at the entrance or Mandraki harbour.
The colossus of Rhodes, as it was - incorrectly - imagined standing at the entrance or Mandraki harbour.
The Colossus of Rhodes is familiar to almost everyone. Its history begins with the siege of Demetrios Poliorketes, successor of Alexander the Great, in 305 BC. When Demetrios was defeated, he abandoned all his siege machinery on Rhodes. The Rhodians decided to express their pride by building a triumphal statue of their favourite god, Helios. The task was assigned to the sculptor Chares of Lindos, a pupil of Lysippos himself, and twelve years (from 304 to 292 BC) were needed to complete it.

From its building to its destruction lies a time span of merely 56 years. Yet the Colossus earned a place in the famous list of Wonders. "But even lying on the ground, it is a marvel", said Pliny the Elder. The Colossus of Rhodes was not only a gigantic statue. It was a symbol of unity of the people who inhabited that beautiful Mediterranean island of Rhodes.

To build the statue, the workers cast the outer bronze skin parts. The base was made of white marble, and the feet and ankle of the statue were first fixed. The structure was gradually erected as the bronze form was fortified with an iron and stone framework. To reach the higher parts, an earth ramp was built around the statue and was later removed. When the Colossus was finished, it stood about 33 metres (110 ft) high. And when it fell, "few people can make their arms meet round the thumb", wrote Pliny.

A strong earthquake hit Rhodes at around 226 BC. The city was badly damaged, and the Colossus was broken at its weakest point - the knee. The Rhodians received an immediate offer from Ptolemy III Eurgetes of Egypt to cover all restoration costs for the toppled monument. However, an oracle was consulted and forbade the re-****. Ptolemy's offer was declined.

For almost a millennium, the statue lay broken in ruins. In AD 654, the Arabs invaded Rhodes. They disassembled the remains of the broken Colossus and sold them to a Jew from Syria. It is said that the fragments had to be transported to Syria on the backs of 900 camels.

Let us clear a misconception about the appearance of the Colossus. It has long been believed that the Colossus stood in front of the Mandraki harbour, one of many in the city of Rhodes, straddling its entrance. Given the height of the statue and the width of the harbour mouth, this picture is rather impossible than improbable. Moreover, the fallen Colossus would have blocked the harbour entrance. Recent studies suggest that it was erected either on the eastern promontory of the Mandraki harbour, or even further inland. In any case, it never straddled the harbour entrance.

Although we do not know the true shape and appearance of the Colossus, modern reconstructions with the statue standing upright are more accurate than older drawings. Although it disappeared from existence, the ancient World Wonder inspired modern artists such as French sculptor, Auguste Bartholdi, best known by his famous work, the 'Statue of Liberty' in New York. Today, the Colossus is regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a masterpiece of art and engineering.

http://www.rhodesguide.com/rhodes/colossus_rhodes.php
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« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2011, 01:51:04 am »

The Destruction of the Great Colossus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c5bKVuTkpU&feature=related
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« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2011, 01:52:26 am »

Colossus of Rhodes to be rebuilt as giant light sculpture



      Helena Smith in Athens
    * The Guardian, Sunday 16 November 2008
    * Article history

The Colossus of Rhodes, an 18th century engraving by George Balthasar Probst
Details from The Colossus of Rhodes, an 18th century engrvaing by George Balthasar Probst, from the Stapleton Collection. Photograph: Bridgeman Art Library

It may not straddle the port as its predecessor once did, but in terms of sheer luminosity and eye-catching height the new Colossus of Rhodes will not disappoint. Nor will it fall short of the symbolism that once imbued the ancient monument.

Twenty-three centuries after craftsmen carved the legendary statue that has inspired legions of painters, poets, playwrights and politicians, a new world wonder, built in the spirit of the original Colossus, is about to be born on the Aegean island.

After decades of dashed hopes, the people of Rhodes will fulfil a long-held dream to revive one of the world's seven ancient wonders - thanks to the promise of international funding and the East German artist Gert Hof.

"It will be a unique architectural creation," said the island's mayor, Hatzis Hatziefthimiou, presenting what is likely to become one of the 21st century's largest artistic projects in Dubai last week.

"We want to make it a work of global appeal and significance."

Like the original, erected in homage to the sun god Helios by the master sculptor Chares of Lindos, the new Colossus will adorn an outer pier in the harbour area of Rhodes, and be visible to passing ships.

And like its ancient namesake, the modern-day wonder will be dedicated to celebrating peace and built, at least in part, out of melted-down weapons from around the world.

But unlike the ancient Colossus, which stood 34 metres high before an earthquake toppled it in 226BC, the groundbreaking work of art is slated to be much taller and bigger. And unlike previous reconstruction efforts, officials say the Cologne-based design team is determined to avoid recreating a replica.

In the past, new Colossus aficionados have persistently run up against the objections of Greece's powerful lobby of archaeologists.

A proposal to recreate the legendary statue in the run-up to the 2004 Athens Olympics whipped up such controversy that opponents claimed its glitzy, we're-bigger-than-you overtones were not only offensive but defiled rather than boosted the country's cultural heritage.

"Monumental works can't be copied for the simple reason that they risk becoming caricatures," insisted Hatziefthimiou.

Instead, in the spirit of the 21st century the new Colossus has been conceived as a highly innovative light sculpture, a work of art that will allow visitors to physically inspect it by day as well as enjoy - through light shows - a variety of stories it will "tell" by night.

"We are talking about a highly, highly innovative light sculpture, one that will stand between 60 and 100 metres tall so that people can physically enter it," said Dr Dimitris Koutoulas, who is heading the project in Greece.

"Although we are still at the drawing board stage, Gert Hof's plan is to make it the world's largest light installation, a structure that has never before been seen in any place of the world."

The statue is also expected to cost up to €200m according to yesterday's Vima newspaper. But, in another first that has also been welcomed by the people of Rhodes, international organisations led by the World Trade Centre Association, a network of exporters who promote peace through trade, have weighed in with financial help.

"The new Colossus has been the dream of Rhodians for many years," said Yannis Hadzimarkos, president of the Dodecannese Islands' Chamber of Commerce which is also supporting the project. "It will be a marvellous opportunity for the economy of the region even if it is naive to think it will be easy."
Backstory

Carved by Chares of Lindon, one of antiquity's greatest sculptors, the original Colossus was erected in homage to the Sun god Helios. It is believed to have been about 120ft high on a 25ft white marble plinth (compared with the Statue of Liberty's 151ft on a 159ft plinth). For almost seven decades it stood over Rhodes before being destroyed by an earthquake in 226BC. In later years, its huge bronze and marble parts were carted off by Arab tradesmen. "Even lying on the ground, it is a marvel," wrote Pliny the Elder. It was so big, he said, that "few people can get their arms around its thumb". Although historians have spent years arguing about the wonder's exact location, artists have always depicted it straddling Rhodes' imposing harbour. Unlike the original statue, which took Chares 12 years to carve in situ, the new statue could be built in less than half that time if adequate funding is found, project organisers say. While the Statue of Liberty was built in France and then assembled in New York, the new Colossus is expected to be built by locals on the island. The Colossus was included in Sidon's list of the Seven Wonders of the World compiled some 2,137 years ago along with the Pyramids, the Walls and Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in modern Turkey, the statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Lighthouse at Alexandria.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/nov/17/colossus-rhodes-greece-sculpture
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« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2011, 01:54:19 am »

The Colossus of Rhodes
By Marissa



     It is sometimes called "Modern Colossus," but more often called the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is somewhat like Colossus. Both were built as a celebration of freedom.
Originally, Colossus stood over 2,000 years ago at the Islands of Rhodes. It is located off of the southwestern tip is Asia Minor, where the Agean Sea meets the Mediterranean Sea. The capitol city, Rhodes, was built in 408 B.C.
In 357 B.C the island which was conquered by Mausolus of Halicarnassus (one of the other seven wonders) fell to the Persians in 340 B.C. and was finally captured by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.
The Statue of Liberty, which is the same size as Colossus, weighs 225 tons! Colossus weighed a little more. Inside the statue were several stone columns, which acted as the main supports.
In the 7th century (A.D.) the Arabs conquered Rhodes and broke up Colossus, and sold it as scrap metal. It took 900 camels to take away the statue. It was a sad ending for what was a majestic work of art.
When Alexander died at an early age people could not decide who would reign. Three people: Ptolemy, Seleucus, and Antigous divided the kingdom between themselves. Antigous sent his son Semetrious to capture and punish Rhodes. The war was very long and painful. The city was protected by a strong wall. The attackers were forced to use siege towers and try to climb over it. Diameters had a second tower built. The second tower stood 150 feet high and 70 feet square at the base. It carried water tanks that were used to fight fires. The tower was mounted on iron wheels, and could be rolled. When Demetrious attacked the city, defenders stopped the machine by flooding a ditch outside the wall and moving the heavy machine in the mud.
To celebrate their freedom, the Rhodians built a giant statue of their patriot God Helious. Colossus was a Latin word, meaning any statue that is larger than life size.
They spelled it "Colossos" but then changed it to "Colossus." Colossus was built in 304 B.C. and it took twelve years to build it. The statue was 110 feet high and stood on the pedestal. Colossus was posed in a traditional Greek manner: ****, wearing a spiky crown, with his eyes shaded from the bright sun with his right hand while holding a cloak over his left hand.
Colossus stood shining in the sun for 56 years. Sadly, an earthquake hit Rhodes, and the statue collapsed. Huge pieces lay in the harbor for a long time. An Egyptian king decided to pay for reconstruction, but the people of Rhodes refused. They had feared that somehow, they had offended Helious who had used the earthquake to tear it down. Out of all of the wonders, Colossus was the one that stood the least amount of time. It stood for only 56 years, but in brief time won fame throughout the entire civilized world.
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002388/colossus.html
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« Reply #5 on: December 25, 2011, 04:56:45 pm »

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« Reply #6 on: December 25, 2011, 04:57:08 pm »

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« Reply #7 on: December 25, 2011, 04:57:35 pm »

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« Reply #8 on: December 25, 2011, 04:57:59 pm »

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« Reply #9 on: December 25, 2011, 04:58:43 pm »

The Colossus of Rhodes trailer.flv

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« Reply #10 on: December 25, 2011, 04:59:46 pm »

The Colossus of Rhodes was the biggest statue ever built at the time, and it has been imitated across centuries, like the statue of emperor Nero in Rome- called the Colosseum - later demolished, which stood next to the amphitheatre which took its name. A modern example is the Statue Of Liberty in New York City. And the film is interesting because based on history, apart from being Sergio Leone's debut as film director
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« Reply #11 on: December 26, 2011, 01:19:38 am »

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« Reply #12 on: December 26, 2011, 01:19:55 am »

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« Reply #13 on: December 26, 2011, 01:20:19 am »

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« Reply #14 on: December 26, 2011, 01:20:51 am »

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