2007-03-22 14:43:56 · 5 answers · asked by ? 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
The statue stood for only 56 years until Rhodes was hit by an earthquake in 224 BC. The statue snapped at the knees and fell over onto the land. Ptolemy III offered to pay for the reconstruction of the statue, but an oracle made the Rhodians afraid that they offended Helios, and they declined to rebuild it. The remains lay on the ground for over 800 years, and even broken, they were so impressive that many travelled to see them.
Pliny the Elder remarked that few people could wrap their arms around the fallen thumb and that each of its fingers was larger than most statues. In AD 654 an Arab force under Muawiyah I captured Rhodes, and according to the chronicler Theophanes, the remains were sold to a travelling salesman from Edessa. The purchaser had the statue broken down, and transported the bronze scrap on the backs of 900 camels to his home. Pieces continued to turn up for sale for years, after being found on the caravan route.
2007-03-22 14:46:58 · answer #1 · answered by jrfire91 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Earthquake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_of_Rhodes#Destruction
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2007-03-22 21:47:02 · answer #2 · answered by RockHanger 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Rhodes was hit by an earthquake in 224 BC.
2007-03-22 21:48:07 · answer #3 · answered by nostromobb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They aren't sure but they think an earthquake brought it down.
2007-03-22 21:46:56 · answer #4 · answered by rossini 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was built in 280 bc and was hit by an earthquake in 224 bc
2014-06-02 17:13:53 · answer #5 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋