NOT THE COLOSSUS LOCATION [19]
ON OUR MAP: 19
Where did the Colossus stand?
It has long been believed, shown, and written (as in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar) that the Colossus stood in front of one of the five harbours of Rhodes, straddling its entrance.
Given the height of the statue and the width of the harbour’s mouth, this would have been impossible.
Recent studies suggest that its location was further inland.
Some believe that it stood where the Palace of the Grand Masters now is. It is a location slightly higher than the harbours, where ruins of an Apollo temple have been found.
Others suggest that the Colossus was part of the Acropolis of Rhodes, the hill overlooking the city and big part of the island.
The Acropolis was a world-famous cultural, political, and athletic center, adorned with beautiful buildings, structures, and thousands of statues. Among others, a large temple dedicated to Apollo, who’s ruins can be still visited, was situated near the top.
There was no better location for the Colossus to be seen by aspiring conquerors and remind them of why and at who’s expense it was placed there.
The hill’s highest plateau is visible by all approaching ships (of friends and enemies), as well as from the coast of Asia Minor, where raids against Rhodes were often launched from.
Shrewd international traders, with a universally accepted currency, the Rhodians would not have invested such resources in erecting Colossus on a less observable and effective location.
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