The Colossus of Rhodes
The Ancients
History Hit
4.7 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 16 February 2023
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Colossus of Rhodes has lived on in legend - with fact and fiction often blurring. A 108 ft high statue of the Sun God Helios, it was erected in celebration by the people of Rhodes after successfully defending the island against Alexander the Great's successors in 304 BC. But what happened to this monumental statue, and why did it only stand for 50 years?
In this episode Tristan is joined by Professor Andrew Erskine to delve into this iconic monument and the legacy it left. From Alexander the Great to Game of Thrones, what can we learn about the Colossus of Rhodes, and just how wonderful was it really?
The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie
The Assistant Producer was Annie Coloe
Edited by Aidan Lonergan
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's the Entrance on History Hit. |
| 0:11.3 | I'm Tristan Hughes, your host and in today's episode where we are talking about a massive |
| 0:18.2 | statue from ancient history. |
| 0:21.6 | A colossal statue, a wonder of the ancient world, the colossus of roads that when it was |
| 0:29.7 | standing upright, dominated the island Bastien of Rhodes in the Eastern Mediterranean. |
| 0:36.3 | The story of this ancient wonder is incredible. |
| 0:39.7 | Of those seven iconic ancient monuments, the colossus of roads is my personal favourite |
| 0:46.3 | wonder. |
| 0:47.3 | So I'm delighted that for the first ever of our ancient episodes about the wonders of |
| 0:52.6 | the ancient world, don't worry, we will be doing more in the future. |
| 0:55.6 | I'm delighted we are able to kick it off with the colossus, the mighty colossus. |
| 1:00.9 | Its legacy in ancient history after it fell down, little hint there, is remarkable. |
| 1:07.4 | As is its legacy in more recent times, you might some of you have watched Lord of the Rings, |
| 1:13.5 | where they go past those mighty statues, the Argonath down the river and in, or you might |
| 1:20.0 | have watched Game of Thrones. |
| 1:21.6 | And some of them visit the city of Gravo's and to enter the harbour, they go through |
| 1:25.5 | the legs of a mighty colossal statue, overlooking the entrance to this maritime city state. |
| 1:33.1 | Well, the real inspiration for that was the colossus of roads. |
| 1:37.6 | Whether the colossus actually stood at the forefront of the Rhodian harbour is debated |
| 1:42.8 | as you're going to hear, but it's a fascinating story from the story behind why this colossal |
| 1:49.5 | statue was built to who it represents, to its falling down, and then to its legacy after |
| 1:56.5 | this bronze mega statue collapsed. |
... |
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