Si vis pacem, para bellum. "If you want peace, prepare for war", the famous Roman politician Publius Flavius Renatus once said. His words still resonate in Switzerland, my home country. Perpetually neutral, we only remain independent if capable of defending ourselves. Preparing this summer’s sailing, I noticed that Publius’ words also apply to ancient Rhodes, the Dorian island in the Dodocanese. Rhodes chose to stay away from the wars of succession after Alexander the Great died. So it armed itself to the teeth.
Entrance to the Ancient Port where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood - at the back half left is the Palace of the Knights of Saint John who ruled the island for 200 years
Let me start with a bit of history first. In the 5th century BC, Rhodes was a lucrative market center, a leading state in the Delian League and wealthy. Not surprisingly, it was invaded and conquered by the tax hungry Persian Empire. Alexander did the same. In the Persian wars with Athens (480 BC) Rhodesian galleys fought on Persia’s side. It is unknown how many of them were lost off Salamis, where the Persian fleet was decisively beaten.
When Alexander's Generals carved-up his Empire, the map looked like this
When Alexandre unexpectedly died in Babylon in 323 AD, his generals started to quibble over his spoils. Under the "Partition of Babylon Agreement", the Ptolemy got Egypt, the Seleucids Persia, Mesopotamia and Afghanistan, the Macedon Greece, Anatolia, the Levant and Cyprus. Nobody was happy though - all wanted more. 150 years of bloody wars between the Hellenistic successor states ensued. Large swaths of land were wasted. These never ending wars created the lawless space in Anatolia where the Cilician pirates found their hunting ground. In 2018 and 2024, we visited Alanya, their hornet’s nest. It was here where Roman General Pompey defeated and enslaved them in 67 BC.
Inside the ancient port - in the Middle Ages people believed the Colossus straddled the Port Entrance - it stood on the site of the Harbour Castle though
Back to Rhodes. The island’s people were smart enough to understand the destructive nature of these wars. They wisely decided to stay neutral. They hoped that their large fleet of > 50 galleys and strong fortifications would deter any enemy. By and large they were right – with one exception though. In 305 AD, the Macedon Ruler Antigonus Monophthalmos (Antigonus, the one-eyed), sent an army of 40’000 men and 170 ships commanded by son Demetrius to Rhodes. He wanted to use the island as spring board for an invasion of Egypt. Despite heavy fighting, Demetrius made little progress. When a Ptolemy relief army arrived in 304 BC, Demetrius beat a hasty retreat, leaving his siege engines and tons of weapons behind.
Classic Greek Bronze Helmet weighting ca. 900 grams
from the 5th or 4th Ceentury BC
To celebrate their victory, the jubilant Rhodesians decided to build a memorial to Sun God Helios, their protective deity. Their second aim was to communicate that no invader will succeed. To ensure that every visitor noticed the statue, they placed it at the entrance of the harbour. In antiquity no news travelled faster than men – and the fastest were the mariners. The statue’s exterior was made from bronze melted from Demetrius’ weapons stash, its supporing interior structure from lumber from the siege engines. The glittering Helios conveyed to everybody “Look what happened to your weapons!” and “We are such good engineers - your siege engines have no chance!”
Modern, 1 mm Bronze Metal Plate
The Colossus was as high as the Statue of Liberty in New York which stands on a much taller pedestal though. The Statue of Liberty's internal scaffoldings give it shape and allow people to climb up inside. It is covered by 28 tons of copper sheets. Knowing that bronze is 1/7 less heavy, the plates for Helios must have weighted 24 tons. The copper plates are 15 mm thick, the thickness of one US Cent. Ancient sources estimate that Helios' weighted 15 – 20 tons. The bronze plates must thus have been equally thin. It speaks of the island’s metal working skills – processing 24 tons of bronze into 15 mm thin plates is - even today with modern technology - an achievement.
The Colossus' internal Scaffolding must have looked similar
That Demetrius left 24 tons of bronze behind indicates that his army fled in total panic. We know that a bronze helmet weighted about 0.9 kg and a bronze sword around 1.5 kg. At least 26’000 helmets or 16’000 swords were thus necessary to yield 24 tons. Not impossible given the army's size of 40’000 men. And my calculation does not count the trinkets, goblets, plates & pots that the Macedonian army would have carried along.
By 280 BC, the Colossus was finally completed. There, at the harbour's entrance Sun God Helios silently stood saying “Do not invade or else!”.
A fancy European Painting of the Colossus who also served as Light House
The text of the inscription plate on the foundation was written down. It said:
”To you, o Sun, the People of Dorian Rhodes, set up this bronze statue reaching to Olympus, when they have pacified the waves of war and crowned their city with the spoils taken from the enemy. Not only over the seas but also on land did they kindle the lovely torch of freedom and independence. For the descendants of Herakles belongs dominion over sea and land.”
Sadly, only 54 years later, in 226 BC, an earth quake destroyed the statue. It snapped on the knees and fell. The Rhodesians believed that Helios was displeased and did not dare to repair it. The remains lay on the ground for centuries and were described by many Roman writers. But then the Arab general Mu’awiya arrived in 653 AD on the island. Not bothered by sentimental feelings, he picked up the 24 tons of bronze and sold them in Edessa as scrap metal – a good trade even today.
The art of messaging is not lost though. The Statue of Liberty in New York does the same today. As the Colossus, it conveys a message of Liberty and Independence through art.
The Statue of Liberty is a French gift to the USA for its 100th birthday in 1876.
𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕠𝕣 𝕟𝕠𝕥, 𝕀’𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 $𝟙𝟝,𝟘𝟘𝟘 𝕒 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕙 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖. ℂ𝕆ℙ𝕐 ℍ𝔼ℝ𝔼➤➤ 𝕤𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖.𝕔𝕠𝕞
𝕁𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕙, 𝕀 𝕞𝕒𝕕𝕖 $𝟙𝟞,𝟠𝟘𝟘 𝕕𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖 𝕛𝕠𝕓