Colossus of Rhodes to Rise Again

The Colossus of Rhodes will rise again, if ambitious plans by the mayor of Rodos, Yiannis Iatridis, to rebuild the ancient statue come to fruition. Mayor Iatridis said that Cypriot sculptor Nikos Gotziamanis had undertaken both to carry out the project and find funding for it.

Mr. Gotziamanis, for his part, announced that he has set up a committee of European politicians, intellectuals and artists, led by former Portuguese president Mario Soares, which will undertake to publicize the project. The cost of building the 33-meter statue is estimated at 100 million euros.

Mr. Gotziamanis had presented the same project to local authorities a decade ago but had been rebuffed.

The mayor of Rodos said the new Colossus would be built on a hill in the Faliraki area.

The original Colossus, depicting the sun god Helios and straddling the ancient harbor, was erected in 282 BC and took 12 years to build. The master sculptor was Chares, from Lindos. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC.