Which ancient wonder stood at the entrance to the harbour of Rhodes?

The Colossus of Rhodes stood near the entrance to the harbour of Rhodes. This enormous bronze statue represented the sun god Helios and was erected in the Greek city of Rhodes after the city successfully resisted a siege by Demetrius I of Macedon in 305–304 BCE. It became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Construction was completed around 280 BCE under the direction of the sculptor Chares of Lindos. Ancient descriptions indicate that the statue was about 30 metres high, making it one of the tallest statues of the ancient world. Contrary to a popular modern image, the Colossus almost certainly did not stand with its legs spanning the harbour entrance; that pose would have been structurally impractical and is not supported by ancient evidence.

An earthquake brought the statue down around 226 BCE. The fallen remains reportedly stayed at the site for centuries, but no confirmed fragments survive today. Its fame endured through literary descriptions and later artistic reconstructions, which often repeat the inaccurate image of a statue straddling the harbour.