The Guardian — The Colossus of Rhodes is one of the most short-lived great statues in history – and certainly had the briefest existence of the seven great wonders of the world. The giant iron and bronze tribute to Helios, god of the sun, managed just over 50 years before an earthquake in 226BC snapped it at the knees. The inhabitants of Rhodes decided against rebuilding, since the Oracle at Delphi suggested that its destruction meant they had angered Helios by building it in the first place.
Now Helios must be over his hump, since a company of architects have plans to rebuild it – but this time five times higher, at 150 metres, taller than the Statue of Liberty, which the original once inspired. The new Colossus will be a tourist attraction, with shops, cafes, a museum and a library, and will also act as a lighthouse. Helios’s skin will be made of solar panels and state of the art computer technology will ensure it never falls again.
The cost is estimated at €250m. It would be an astonishingly ambitious project for any country – but for Greece, which has suffered so much in recent years, is it foolhardy? When Greek people are hungry, surely €250m could cover a lot of meals for children and supplies for hospitals.
The first statue pretty much funded itself. After the armies of the Cypriot ruler Antigonus I Monophthalmus failed to take the city in 280BC, they dumped their weapons and military supplies and fled – and the Rhodians sold off the stuff for the cash to build a giant statue. They took 12 years to construct it. It was an image of triumph – and a warning to Antigonus never to try it again. Rhodes was hugely powerful.
Greece is no longer the terror of the world – and there is no old armour to sell off. So the new Colossus will be paid for by crowdfunding, donations and some government help – and the projection that it will generate an estimated €35m worth of tourism a year. Aris A Pallas, the architect leading the project, says: “We want to revive the symbolism it imbued, pooling human and financial resources together from across the globe.”
The Greek government has been quiet on the plan so far – but certainly the plan fits in with the Keynesian ideal of igniting economies through major building projects.
The architects presumably also aim to give a new image of Greece – opening a new chapter of strength and excellence. Few could deny the country that possibility – and if the money comes from donors and individuals, rather than the beleaguered government, surely it is to be valued much more than projects such as sports stadiums that fall to pieces after great events. Greece depends on tourist cash more than any other European country and Rhodes has seen tourism in decline over recent years. Crowdfunding is ever more popular – and what a thing this would be to give money to and see it succeed.
The seven wonders of the world provided a guide for early Hellenic tourists. Even after the Colossus fell, tourists flocked to admire its huge limbs, and Pliny the Elder declared no one could get their arms around even one giant thumb. After the capture of Rhodes by Arab forces in 653AD, it was broken down and sold off to a merchant who took it away on 900 camels.
Surely modern tourists will be keen to see the new statue bestriding two piers in the harbour of the city, as the original was said to have done. (Although it probably didn’t, as it would have blocked entry.)
There is one important change – the new one will have a loincloth over its giant nether regions.
“Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair,” wrote Shelley on the fallen statue of Ozymandias. Will this new Colossus be crumbled in 1,000 years, an exemplar of the decadence of building vanity statues while all around us Europe collapsed? Perhaps.
But, still, I hope it goes ahead. We can always look at the cost of building great projects and claim they are unaffordable, but such thinking would mean we would never have ended up with the Colossus in the first place. Surely sometimes it’s worth looking beyond cost and risk, and instead think of the future generations we can inspire. The new statue of Helios would be a reminder of Greece’s great history – and also how temporary seemingly unassailable power can be.
