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Colossus of Rhodes
Colossus of Rhodes , large statue of Helios, the sun god, destroyed by an earthquake in antiquity. Consider one of the Seven Wonders of the World by the ancients, it was built in part by Chares of Lindus (Rhodes) between 292 and 280 BC Its bronze was taken from the machines and tools left behind by Demetrius I after his unsuccessful siege of Rhodes. According to legend, the 100 ft (30.5 m) statue stood astride the harbor and ships passed between its legs. In reality, it stood on a promontory overlooking the harbor, and the representational type is well known from images on coins of the same period.
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"Colossus of Rhodes." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Colossus of Rhodes." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Colossus.html "Colossus of Rhodes." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Colossus.html |
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Colossus of Rhodes
Colossus of Rhodes. A huge bronze statue of Helios the sun god, regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It stood beside (not astride as it is shown in some reconstructions) the harbour at Rhodes and commemorated the city's successful defence against a siege in 305–304 bc; it was financed by the sale of equipment and stores left behind by the enemy. There was an enormous siege engine among the equipment, and this may have suggested the Colossus or been used in its construction. The sculptor was Chares of Lindos, a pupil of Lysippus, and the statue was finished in about 280 bc after twelve years' work. In about 225 bc it collapsed in an earthquake, but the fallen figure remained until ad 653, when it was broken up by Arab raiders and sold as scrap. According to Pliny, it had stood 70 cubits (32 m; 105 ft) high, and ‘even lying on the ground it is a marvel. Few people can get their arms around its thumb, and the fingers are larger than most statues.’ There are many other references to the Colossus in ancient sources, but no accurate visual records survive.
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IAN CHILVERS. "Colossus of Rhodes." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "Colossus of Rhodes." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-ColossusofRhodes.html IAN CHILVERS. "Colossus of Rhodes." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-ColossusofRhodes.html |
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Colossus
Colossus, the bronze statue of the sun god Helios, one of the seven wonders of the world, which stood near the harbour at Rhodes. It was made by Chares of Lindus from the spoils of war left by Demetrius Poliorcetes when he raised the siege of Rhodes in 304 bc. The statue, reported to be 70 cubits (110 ft/33.5 m) high, took twelve years to complete. Legend has it that the statue held in its hand a light to act as a beacon to shipping and that it stood across the entrance of the harbour, shipping passing between its legs, but this is unlikely. The statue was overthrown by an earthquake in, it is believed, 224 bc, the pieces lying where they fell for ten or eleven centuries, when they were purchased for conversion into weapons.
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"Colossus." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Colossus." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-Colossus.html "Colossus." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-Colossus.html |
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colossus
colossus a person or thing of enormous size, importance or ability; the word in this sense is recorded from the early 17th century, and derives from the Colossus of Rhodes.
Colossus was the name given to the electronic digital computer, one of the first of its kind, which was developed at Bletchley Park in the Second World War to break German codes, the use of which was said to have shortened the war by two years. Colossus of Rhodes a huge bronze statue of the sun god Helios, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Built c.292–280 bc, it stood beside the harbour entrance at Rhodes for about fifty years. Colossus comes via Latin from Greek kolossos, applied by Herodotus to the statues of Egyptian temples. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "colossus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "colossus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-colossus.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "colossus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-colossus.html |
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colossus
co·los·sus / kəˈläsəs/ • n. (pl. -los·si / -ˈläsˌī/ or -los·sus·es) a statue that is much bigger than life size. ∎ fig. a person or thing of enormous size, importance, or ability. ORIGIN: late Middle English: via Latin from Greek kolossos (applied by Herodotus to the statues of Egyptian temples). |
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"colossus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "colossus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-colossus.html "colossus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-colossus.html |
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Colossus of Rhodes
Colossus of Rhodes One of the Seven Wonders of the World, a bronze statue of the Sun god overlooking the harbour at Rhodes. It stood more than 30.5m (100ft) high. It was built, at least in part, by Chares of Lindos between c.292 bc and c.280 bc, and destroyed by an earthquake c.224 bc.
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"Colossus of Rhodes." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Colossus of Rhodes." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-ColossusofRhodes.html "Colossus of Rhodes." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-ColossusofRhodes.html |
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colossus
colossus gigantic statue, e.g. that at Rhodes. XIV. — L. colossus — Gr. kolossós.
So colossal XVIII. — F. |
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T. F. HOAD. "colossus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "colossus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-colossus.html T. F. HOAD. "colossus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-colossus.html |
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colossus
colossus
•Crassus, Halicarnassus, Lassus
•tarsus
•nexus, plexus, Texas
•Paracelsus
•census, consensus
•Croesus • narcissus • Ephesus
•Dionysus • colossus • Pegasus
•Caucasus • petasus
•excursus, thyrsus, versus
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"colossus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "colossus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-colossus.html "colossus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-colossus.html |
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