Colossus at Rhodes Rhodes, Greece

          The Colossus of Rhodes was actually an enormous, looming 100-foot tall statue of the Greek god Helios, built on the island of Rhodes around 280 B.C. The statue was erected to commemorate the island's patron god, Helios, after Rhodes successfully defended itself in 304 B.C. from an invasion. Scholars believe that the statue stood either on a pedestal at the entrance to the island's harbor or on a breakwater in the harbor. An earthquake destroyed the statue in 226 B.C., a mere 54 years after its construction.