The statue (made of bronze plates on an iron frame) represented the Greek sun god, Helios.

Pliny the Elder describes it like this:

Other sources attributed him a height of 80 cubits. It is possible that the difference was due to whether or not the height of the base was added. Depending on the length attributed to the cubit, it is estimated that it could have measured between 30 and 39 m.[16]​.

In comparison, the Statue of Liberty ―located in New York― measures 46 meters, although if the height of the pedestal is added, its total height is 93 meters.[16]​.

Philo of Byzantium mentions that the base was made of white marble and also points out that five hundred talents of bronze and three hundred of iron were spent on the statue and that it had stones inside.[16]​.

In the year 305 BC. C. Rhodes, which in the fights of the diádocos had aligned itself with Ptolemy I, was attacked by a powerful army led by Demetrius Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus I Monophthalmos.

Demetrius ordered the construction of several siege towers and ballistae in order to assault the walls. The first of these towers was mounted on six ships. This first attempt was unsuccessful because the ships were wrecked in a storm before the tower could be used. Demetrius tried again with another even larger tower built on the ground. It was so big that the Rhodians had to enlarge the walls so that the tower would not be above it. This type of siege weapon was called helépolis. However, the Rhodian defenders repelled the attack by flooding the ground in front of the walls so that the helépolis could not be displaced.

In the year 304 BC. C. a fleet sent by Ptolemy I, an ally of Rhodes, rushed to flee Demetrius, who abandoned most of his siege weapons. Despite his failure against the walls of Rhodes, Demetrius obtained the nickname Poliorcetes, "conqueror of cities", for his military successes.

The Rhodians sold the abandoned siege equipment for 300 talents "Talent (currency)".[17]​.

To celebrate their victory, the Rhodians decided that Chares of Lindos – a native of the island, and disciple of the famous Lysippus, who had sculpted in Taranto a bronze statue of Zeus about 22 meters high – would build a gigantic statue of the god Helios, protector of the city. They asked the sculptor how much a 50-foot (15-meter) tall statue would cost; When he answered them, they asked him how much a statue twice as tall would cost. He replied twice as much, and the Rhodians signed the contract. Cares did not keep in mind that by doubling the height, he would need eight times more materials. This led to bankruptcy and suicide.[18]​.

The Colossus of Rhodes was completed by Laches (also from the Rhodian village of Lindos) in 292 BC. C.[19][20]​.

Sixty-six years after its construction, in the year 226 BC. C., an earthquake brought down the colossal work. The inhabitants of Rhodes decided to leave it lying in the same place, since an oracle assured that the demolition of the statue had been the will of the gods. And so the remains of the statue remained for approximately nine hundred years, until in the year 654 AD. C. the Muslims seized the bronze as loot in one of their raids.[20]​.

A Jew from Edessa bought the bronze and said he needed 900 camels to carry it[21]​ although other authors consider it doubtful that the Muslim attack would have found appreciable remains of the statue since nine centuries had passed after its destruction and the remains were valued to be reused as bronze and iron.[22]​.

For many years it was believed that the statue had been erected with one leg resting on each part of the Rhodes pier as it appears in some images. However, it does not seem to have really been this way for two reasons: if it had been erected there, it would have collapsed under its own weight. The other reason is that for its construction they would have had to close a dock of great military importance for several years, making it vulnerable to attacks by sea.

While scholars generally agree that anecdotal depictions of the Colossus on horseback at the harbor entrance have no historical or scientific basis,[23] the actual location of the monument remains a matter of debate. As mentioned above, it is believed that the statue stood on the spot where two pillars now stand at the entrance to the port of Mandraki.

Another hypothesis, published in an article by the German archaeologist Úrsula Vedder (2008), suggests that the Colossus would not have been in the port, but was part of the Acropolis of Rhodes, on a hill now called Mount Smith, overlooking the port area. The temple at the top of Mount Smith was traditionally believed to be dedicated to Apollo, but - according to Vedder - it would have been a shrine to Helios. According to Vedder, the oversized stone foundations at the temple site, whose function is not exactly known, would have been the support base for the Colossus.[24]​.

The floor of St. Nicholas Fortress, near the harbor entrance, contains a circle of sandstone blocks of unknown origin or purpose. Curved marble blocks that were incorporated into the structure of the fortress, but are considered too intricate to have been quarried for this purpose, have been postulated as the remains of a marble base for the Colossus, which would have been raised on sandstone block foundations.[23]

Archaeologist Ursula Vedder postulates that the Colossus was not located in the port area, but was part of the Acropolis of Rhodes, which was located on a hill overlooking the port area. At the highest point of the hill are the ruins of a large temple, traditionally believed to have been dedicated to Apollo. Vedder believes that the structure would have actually been a shrine to Helios, and a portion of its massive stone foundation may have served as a support platform for the Colossus.[25]

According to the mayor of Rhodes, Hatzis Hatziefthimiou, in 2008 the German artist Gert Hof was commissioned to reconstruct the work using a steel "luminous sculpture" (which, as a tribute to pacifism, would be cast from firearms collected around the world).

Due to a translation error, a Spanish newspaper published that the statue "will not be made of bronze or stone, but of light", but in reality the English term light sculpture refers to 'luminous (or luminous) sculpture', that is, a work with luminous devices that would make it visible at night.[26]​

The statue would be built on the outer dock of the port. With an initial value of around 100 million euros, it would measure between 60 and 100 m (the original measured just over 30 m) and various international commercial organizations would finance it. According to the artist, the public could physically enter the new sculpture.[20]​.

Another project is the Colossus of Rhodes Project, with an international team that includes architects Ari A. Palla and Ombretta Iannone, archaeologist Christos Giannas, salesperson Dionisis Mpotsas, engineers Enrique Fernández Menéndez and Eral Dupi, and economist Matilda Palla. Their objective was to build a 150-meter statue that would serve as a tourist attraction and boost the island's economy.[27]​.

• - John: Who's who in Ancient Greece. Madrid: Acento, 2002. ISBN 84-483-0655-4.

• - PIJOÁN, José: General history of art, vol. IV: «Greek art until the taking of Corinth by the Romans (146 BC)». Bilbao: Espasa Calpe (Summa Artis collection), 1932.

• - AIMERICHII, Matthaei: Novum lexicon historicum et criticum. Bassani, 1787.

• - Enciclopedia.us.es.

The statue (made of bronze plates on an iron frame) represented the Greek sun god, Helios.

Pliny the Elder describes it like this:

Other sources attributed him a height of 80 cubits. It is possible that the difference was due to whether or not the height of the base was added. Depending on the length attributed to the cubit, it is estimated that it could have measured between 30 and 39 m.[16]​.

In comparison, the Statue of Liberty ―located in New York― measures 46 meters, although if the height of the pedestal is added, its total height is 93 meters.[16]​.

Philo of Byzantium mentions that the base was made of white marble and also points out that five hundred talents of bronze and three hundred of iron were spent on the statue and that it had stones inside.[16]​.

In the year 305 BC. C. Rhodes, which in the fights of the diádocos had aligned itself with Ptolemy I, was attacked by a powerful army led by Demetrius Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus I Monophthalmos.

Demetrius ordered the construction of several siege towers and ballistae in order to assault the walls. The first of these towers was mounted on six ships. This first attempt was unsuccessful because the ships were wrecked in a storm before the tower could be used. Demetrius tried again with another even larger tower built on the ground. It was so big that the Rhodians had to enlarge the walls so that the tower would not be above it. This type of siege weapon was called helépolis. However, the Rhodian defenders repelled the attack by flooding the ground in front of the walls so that the helépolis could not be displaced.

In the year 304 BC. C. a fleet sent by Ptolemy I, an ally of Rhodes, rushed to flee Demetrius, who abandoned most of his siege weapons. Despite his failure against the walls of Rhodes, Demetrius obtained the nickname Poliorcetes, "conqueror of cities", for his military successes.

The Rhodians sold the abandoned siege equipment for 300 talents "Talent (currency)".[17]​.

To celebrate their victory, the Rhodians decided that Chares of Lindos – a native of the island, and disciple of the famous Lysippus, who had sculpted in Taranto a bronze statue of Zeus about 22 meters high – would build a gigantic statue of the god Helios, protector of the city. They asked the sculptor how much a 50-foot (15-meter) tall statue would cost; When he answered them, they asked him how much a statue twice as tall would cost. He replied twice as much, and the Rhodians signed the contract. Cares did not keep in mind that by doubling the height, he would need eight times more materials. This led to bankruptcy and suicide.[18]​.

The Colossus of Rhodes was completed by Laches (also from the Rhodian village of Lindos) in 292 BC. C.[19][20]​.

Sixty-six years after its construction, in the year 226 BC. C., an earthquake brought down the colossal work. The inhabitants of Rhodes decided to leave it lying in the same place, since an oracle assured that the demolition of the statue had been the will of the gods. And so the remains of the statue remained for approximately nine hundred years, until in the year 654 AD. C. the Muslims seized the bronze as loot in one of their raids.[20]​.

A Jew from Edessa bought the bronze and said he needed 900 camels to carry it[21]​ although other authors consider it doubtful that the Muslim attack would have found appreciable remains of the statue since nine centuries had passed after its destruction and the remains were valued to be reused as bronze and iron.[22]​.

For many years it was believed that the statue had been erected with one leg resting on each part of the Rhodes pier as it appears in some images. However, it does not seem to have really been this way for two reasons: if it had been erected there, it would have collapsed under its own weight. The other reason is that for its construction they would have had to close a dock of great military importance for several years, making it vulnerable to attacks by sea.

While scholars generally agree that anecdotal depictions of the Colossus on horseback at the harbor entrance have no historical or scientific basis,[23] the actual location of the monument remains a matter of debate. As mentioned above, it is believed that the statue stood on the spot where two pillars now stand at the entrance to the port of Mandraki.

Another hypothesis, published in an article by the German archaeologist Úrsula Vedder (2008), suggests that the Colossus would not have been in the port, but was part of the Acropolis of Rhodes, on a hill now called Mount Smith, overlooking the port area. The temple at the top of Mount Smith was traditionally believed to be dedicated to Apollo, but - according to Vedder - it would have been a shrine to Helios. According to Vedder, the oversized stone foundations at the temple site, whose function is not exactly known, would have been the support base for the Colossus.[24]​.

The floor of St. Nicholas Fortress, near the harbor entrance, contains a circle of sandstone blocks of unknown origin or purpose. Curved marble blocks that were incorporated into the structure of the fortress, but are considered too intricate to have been quarried for this purpose, have been postulated as the remains of a marble base for the Colossus, which would have been raised on sandstone block foundations.[23]

Archaeologist Ursula Vedder postulates that the Colossus was not located in the port area, but was part of the Acropolis of Rhodes, which was located on a hill overlooking the port area. At the highest point of the hill are the ruins of a large temple, traditionally believed to have been dedicated to Apollo. Vedder believes that the structure would have actually been a shrine to Helios, and a portion of its massive stone foundation may have served as a support platform for the Colossus.[25]

According to the mayor of Rhodes, Hatzis Hatziefthimiou, in 2008 the German artist Gert Hof was commissioned to reconstruct the work using a steel "luminous sculpture" (which, as a tribute to pacifism, would be cast from firearms collected around the world).

Due to a translation error, a Spanish newspaper published that the statue "will not be made of bronze or stone, but of light", but in reality the English term light sculpture refers to 'luminous (or luminous) sculpture', that is, a work with luminous devices that would make it visible at night.[26]​

The statue would be built on the outer dock of the port. With an initial value of around 100 million euros, it would measure between 60 and 100 m (the original measured just over 30 m) and various international commercial organizations would finance it. According to the artist, the public could physically enter the new sculpture.[20]​.

Another project is the Colossus of Rhodes Project, with an international team that includes architects Ari A. Palla and Ombretta Iannone, archaeologist Christos Giannas, salesperson Dionisis Mpotsas, engineers Enrique Fernández Menéndez and Eral Dupi, and economist Matilda Palla. Their objective was to build a 150-meter statue that would serve as a tourist attraction and boost the island's economy.[27]​.

• - John: Who's who in Ancient Greece. Madrid: Acento, 2002. ISBN 84-483-0655-4.

• - PIJOÁN, José: General history of art, vol. IV: «Greek art until the taking of Corinth by the Romans (146 BC)». Bilbao: Espasa Calpe (Summa Artis collection), 1932.

• - AIMERICHII, Matthaei: Novum lexicon historicum et criticum. Bassani, 1787.

• - Enciclopedia.us.es.