The Colossus of Rhodes PROJECT is a European initiative to revive one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This project originates from the ideas and the hopes of some young professionals coming from various european countries: Greece, Spain, Italy and United Kingdom. Courtesy: Ari A. Palla/Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes PROJECT is a European initiative to revive one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This project originates from the ideas and the hopes of some young professionals coming from various european countries: Greece, Spain, Italy and United Kingdom. Courtesy: Ari A. Palla/Colossus of Rhodes

BUILD it and they will come? A group of architects want to reinspire Europe by rebuilding one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — the Colossus of Rhodes.

But the team stresses they do not want to build a replica of the original bronze structure of a warrior standing over the entrance of the ancient city’s harbour.

Instead, they want to construct a 150-metre tall “reimagining” of the wonder, based on the ambitions and vision of the original 2200-year-old monument.

They want to crowdsource its funding through the internet.

It will still be a colossal statue. It will still be a lighthouse. But it will we sheathed in a bronze-coloured skin that doubles as solar panels.

The team says they aim to “put back on the map the island of Rhodes beginning with the restoration of its historical value.”

The enormous structure, which would dwarf the Statue of Liberty, would mainly serve as a library and museum “to bring out to light the hundreds of archaeological findings forgotten in the storerooms of the island.”

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A new push to rebuild the Colossus has been gaining momentum for several years, with the Mayor of Rhodes — Fotis Hatzidiacos — stating last last year that negotiations were underway to identify a site for the new structure.

A previous attempt, in 2000, failed to garner enough financial support.

TOWERING INSPIRATION

The original Colossus was one of the most ambitious construction projects of history, and the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

It is believed to have been about as tall as the Statue of Liberty which overlook’s New York’s harbour.

Like the Statue of Liberty, the awe-inspiring Colossus also held a torch.

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Little clue remains as to how it looked, except for a few surviving accounts from ancient documents. These tell of a glistening naked man, with a cloak over one shoulder, a torch in one hand and a spear in the other.

It was built in 280BC as a lighthouse for Rhodes harbour — then a major trading hub — to thank the Greek sun god Helios for the defeat of a 40,000-strong invading army.

The fleeing force abandoned most of its weaponry and supplies. The equipment was sold and the proceeds used to fund the immensely expensive project. But the bronze weapons and siege machines were melted down for use in the statue itself.

Standing on a white marble base, ancient sources say its bronze plates were attached to an iron and stone frame.

But the 30m tall statue stood for just 56 years.

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An earthquake toppled the massive bronze edifice.

It lay on the ground for almost 900 years until Rhodes fell to an Arab invasion in 654AD. Almost all of the surviving metal was then recovered and recycled.

Only the carved stones used to form the base are believed to survive — also reused in the construction of a fort at the entrance of the harbour.