Bronze formed the Colossus of Rhodes’s famous outer plates.
The statue was constructed with an internal framework and bronze plates attached to the exterior. Ancient and modern reconstructions generally describe it as a large hollow bronze figure rather than a solid casting. Iron and stone helped provide structural support inside the monument.
The Colossus represented Helios, the sun god and patron deity of Rhodes. It commemorated the city’s successful defense against the siege led by Demetrius I of Macedon in the early third century BC.
The statue’s exact design remains uncertain. The familiar image of it standing astride the harbor entrance is a later artistic invention, because the enormous span would have been unstable and would have obstructed ships. Its actual site was probably near the harbor area, but not across the entrance.