The Colossus of Rhodes - The Mystery Behind the Tallest Statue in the Ancient World

[@TREYtheExplainer]

Sorry for being dead for 4 months.

[@lukeskywalker9016]

no problem, as long as u upload its ok 😎 👍

[@RichMitch]

Well, it's just not good enough!

[@lunarholiday1377]

Just make sure the ressurection ritual went properly, or else there may be dire consequences

[@AnarKhaos]

welcome back from the dead

[@galaxygeneral1200]

Trey I started watching your videos right when you stopped uploading... lol I watched all your videos then had to go four months without you! Also I really liked all your paranormal videos about moth man and the owl thing. I would love you to make more videos about those types of things. Thanks!

[@realityhelix564]

Can you imagine how terrifying it must have been, to see that thing come down? The noise alone. The sense of ending. This thing that defined your home, just gone, sun where its shadow once was.

[@realityhelix564]

Did they mourn the death of their god?

[@Kuwagumo]

Truly, an "end of times" situation

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

They said it sounded like a 'loud bell' but....just the echoing, the quake, the looming groan as it slowly fell over. It makes me curious.

[@caspertms8543]

@@SuperCosmicMutantSquid the way u described that makes me think of when the giant croc came down at the end of "Hook" and ate hook.

[@caspertms8543]

@@SuperCosmicMutantSquid especially the "looming groan as it fell" part.

[@EmperorTigerstar]

Honestly the most beautiful thing about the Colossus is the bonus it gives me in Civ.

[@lollakasfamilianimi3246]

It is a powerhouse of a wonder in civ5, makes Venice so viable

[@taptiotrevizo9415]

A true player here

[@cosmic3004]

it's very powerful to have in rome : total war as well

[@d.m.collins1501]

How did the Colossus go to the bathroom up there all by hisself? (Must have had a Coloss-tomy bag.)

[@MaximilianOOO491]

I agree!!!

[@Tyrantlizard]

He's returned, everyone surround him, and make sure he doesn't escape again.

[@zeus2213]

No you fool! That's not him, its just a barn owl!

[@Deshift00]

he's about as elusive as a cryptid

[@hailgiratinathetruegod7564]

*takes out the ropes

[@eldritchbeer]

Goddammit we got another containment breach!

[@_xx4632]

Ok

[@jjmarz1001]

True story: In 1987 I spent six hours wandering the streets of Rhodes looking to find the famous Colossus statue.

[@JediPolock]

It’s ok, there wasn’t any internet back then

[@TheMedjed-k9n]

Well don’t keep us hanging did you find it!? 😳

[@protendi]

Did you find it though?

[@CNNBlackmailSupport]

"Hmmm... it looked bigger in the brochure." -Macedonian Tourist, 356 B.C.

[@Zanemob]

I’m so sorry…

[@GrayCatbird1]

I didn’t know the statue had stood for only 55 years. Perhaps that explains why there is so little information about it. But yeah, its impact on culture is fascinating

[@RubenKelevra]

I mean it's a metal structure in a vertical size never constructed before, right at the mouth of a sea harbor. Unbelievable that it stood there for 55 years.

[@JonatasAdoM]

@RubenKelevra The fact that the Greece was earthquake land also makes it rather impressive. It's as if the 7 wonders were taken down and only the one remained.

[@TheAurelianProject]

55 years is actually pretty long all things considered

[@user-nx4nc9ob9m]

When the world needed him the most, he returned. Welcome back, Trey.

[@TREYtheExplainer]

Aww thank you thank you ^^ happy to be back!

[@parkersaurus2205]

Merry christmas too

[@DarkSnP]

I've noticed this is just how he post 2 years to see it develop. I'm enjoying the slow brew KZbinrs more and more these days

[@Sunshine-yr3ut]

The "straddling the harbor" pose is hilarious to me. Other than it being impractical and unstable, you'd have to see Helios' taint anytime you went through the harbor.

[@peterprime2140]

I don't see the downside to this.

[@Sunshine-yr3ut]

@@peterprime2140 It honestly would add another level to the whole experience haha

[@0danshi0]

I wouldn't mind that honestly

[@ANTSEMUT1]

It's not like they'd actually model the taint in the sculpture.

[@0danshi0]

@@ANTSEMUT1 I mean... they modeled individual nuts and nipples why not taint its part of the human body

[@stewartmackay]

I live on Rhodes. If you go down to the harbour on each pier of the old harbour is a column with a deer on top. The deer is the symbol of Rhodes. These columns supposedly sit where the feet of the Colossus stood, if he were to be straddling the harbour entrance. However, some people I have spoken to say the statue stood on the hill where the medieval palace of the knights sits today. I was also told that there was no cloak on the statue, an old trick often used to create a third leg and hence a tripod. So with only two legs, and the earthquakes we get here, he supposedly snapped at the knees and the Rhodians believed they had angered Helios by creating his likeness. It lay for 300 years before being sold for scrap to a Syrian trader. How accurate that is, I don't know, but I like to think it's a possibility. Thanks for the very well made video.

[@NealBones]

Thank you for the bit of local lore! I like to think that the stories passed down to people in the areas they happened at least hold some weight 😁

[@kymrawlins8099]

Wow thanks Stewart for the extra info, that was really intetesting🙂

[@laurencesmith2199]

I heard Souness tackled him from behind and the ref gave a bye kick .

[@larrygrimaldi1400]

Yes, the medieval Grand Master's castle is on the highest point of land, so that would make sense.

[@DeneF]

The small castle of Saint Nicholas at the end of the peer that forms one side of Mandraki harbour. That circular building has much, much older plinths in some of is window spaces. These plinths are slightly curved from end to end. If you work out the circumference of the circle these window plinths would have created would be the same size as Saint Nicholas Castle, this giving a perfect base for the colossus to stand on. As I write this I see the video is just speaking about it now. Lol. I lived there for 7 beautiful years.

[@c4feg4r44]

its cool to imagine, if a works that epic in proportions can be reduced to mere rumor and vague accounts. what other wonders got lost to time.

[@pedrobolsi8366]

Imagine how the people of that time felt about their Works? Imagine how the romans felt about their roads, aqueducts, palaces, bridges. Must have felt pretty secure and stable right? Almost like we the west feel today about our own works. Think about it...

[@dkupke]

In relation to the Colossus being modeled after Alexander; there are a number of recorded accounts, but no remaining physical evidence, of a bronze obelisk erected by the tribes on India on the site of Alexander’s last camp before he decided to end his campaign in the Punjab. This monument is said to have had a single lime of dialogue, “Alexander stopped here.”

[@nogoodgod4915]

@@pedrobolsi8366 In a million years nothing that we have build will still be around.

[@curtislowe4577]

If the Library of Alexandria hadn't burned (multiple times) we would probably know many, many thousands more bits of trivia about the ancient world. Unfortunately Alexandria changed hands (violently) many times.

[@invisible3972]

I would've liked to be inmortal only to have been able to see such wonders

[@n3croticism]

It's amazing how the colossus was depicted centuries later by Chinese and Japanese artists. Just shows how fascinating the idea was. Today, we would call that fanart.

[@TMPreRaff]

Well... you would.

[@JonatasAdoM]

@@TMPreRaff Guess he would call copies "fanfics"

[@stxtics4205]

For REALL!!

[@mattchristensen9424]

You can't trust anything the Chinese are part of

[@Boorger]

What are religions if not just some really old, really widespread fandoms?

[@sarnxero2628]

The bronze age collapse was caused by Kaiju and the Colossus of Rhodes was humanity's only defense. The price to defeat the Kaiju was great but humanity survived to rebuild.

[@DeltaOdyssey]

This sounds like a great idea for a story

[@microwavedcheetos]

The Colossus was actually a giant mech the Rhodes road

[@yoursotruly]

@@microwavedcheetos I believe the Rhodes rode the Colossus on the road but I'm no Rhodes scholar, if the Colossus rode the Trojan Horse, that would be a road warrior!

[@LimeyLassen]

And he's still waiting at the bottom of the sea, should humanity ever need him again

[@DeltaOdyssey]

@@yoursotruly That sounds even better

[@foodank_atr817]

I imagine a traveler describing the statue as so... "Its so tall. Taller than any building. Taller than any tree. It stands on a base next to the harbor inlet. It's so big it could straddle the harbor entrance..." Then after dozens of years and hundreds of retellings the "it could" was shifted to an "it does".

[@jonasholzer4422]

That's exactly why I like ancient greece. They were like: "Let's build a HUGE hot dude statue"

[@derpynerdy6294]

The Greek and roman eras were the heights of civilization being able to create magnificent structures and society but then it all crashed after the fall of the roman empire then now we risen up after a thousand year and slowly well probably fall once again

[@ailouros24]

well i dont know how to feel about it. like trey says in the beginning of the video "instead of deeding the poor, they decided to build a statue". monuments are statements of ego. they are a show of prosperity. the good part is that they were funded by private funds half the time. imagine if we got the rich dudes like bezos to chip in today. we could have a city in the clouds.

[@johnbockelie3899]

"Lets build a giant statue of that HOT dude, the Sun God , Helios ( Apollo in Rome, Italy ) It was probably built cheap, that's why it caved in eventually.

[@valletas]

@@ailouros24 thats what makes me angry at least elon musk is trying to put the man on mars but bezos has a LOT of money and isnt really doing anything with it

[@1daveyp]

*clapping* Bravo, one pf my favourite YT comments in a long while, :-)

[@coatofarms4439]

“The god didn’t like the statue” He really really made that point clear.

[@t111ran3]

@Nic Dot Nic most likely people of Rhodes themselves didn't want to rebuild the statue, and used the gods as an excuse. I think the fact that the creator killed himself just because how bad the statue turned out is saying something. People back than were smart, but lacked necessary experience with this kind of projects. Colossus, IMO, was far from perfect.

[@CourtlandMiller1994]

Dong too small for Helios’s ego 😂

[@WrenchWhacker]

@Nic Dot Nic You’re literally a furry, subhuman

[@anima6035]

@@WrenchWhacker rude

[@hornitako7006]

@@CourtlandMiller1994 people back then actually preferred small pp and big ones are considered beastly and uncivilized

[@Brakvash]

*NUDITY* Ancient Greece: it's art Present World: *fierce giggling*

[@morganrobinson8042]

The Greeks were very comfortable with male sexuality, but they were most likely staring at his junk too, just for different reasons. Don't let classists fool you; ancient art was as much about fart jokes, commercialized sexuality, and spending exorbitant amounts as conspicuous consumption with no thought to artistic merit as much then as it is now. A fair chuck of nude sculpture was probably as intentionally sexualized as my Grandfather's explicit nude of Leto and the Swan that he hung in his living room because he was an archetypical dirty old man. People don't change, we just lionize ancient people because temples and large scale public works are what lasts enough to hear about, and tend to be a little more self-possessed.

[@nopenope7826]

@@morganrobinson8042 ancient greeks actually worked out butt naked and thus the word gym comes from gymnasium (γυμνάσιο) which is a product of the word "γυμνός" which means naked

[@joy-wire]

@@nopenope7826 Fun fact, in modern Greek γυμνάσιο is the Greek middle school (no idea why), and γυμναστήριο means gym, γυμναστική is exercise

[@gustavodeoliveira5254]

@@joy-wire in portuguese you can use the word "ginásio" to refer to the middle school too, and "ginástica" to exercise. Greek has influenced almost every language in europe hahah cool

[@f.7681]

@@morganrobinson8042 Didnt they also show statues of the gods as nude because they saw gods as perfect beings?

[@fishcati5620]

*People of Rhodes:* "We built a statue to honor our favorite god!" *Helios:* "hmm... I don't like it." "Hey Poseidon?"

[@brwasalih]

Kratos laughing in distance

[@KRDecade2009]

You know I expected this level of petty from Zeus but Helios? Damn dude you could’ve just told them a bouquet would’ve been fine

[@raystargazer7468]

Poseidon? Could you do that thing? Poseidon: Yeah, no problem. *a thousand screams and rumbling sounds*

[@arcotroll8530]

@@brwasalih Kratos is not a genuine part of Greek mythology. Or Norse mythology for that matter.

[@swampdonkey1567]

@@arcotroll8530 actually kratos is I can't remember the exact thing he represented I believe it was strength or fighting (but not war), I don't remember exactly he was very loyal in mythology. Oh and technically most pagans belived other panthones were either different gods for different lands or just remaining of there gods. For example the Greeks thought the Odin was zeus but neccesarily all the nordic gods, there were even interactions with celtic gods and greek gods, generally celts, germans, nordics, and Greeks and much more agreed that each others were real. It wasn't really till Rome when gods started to be merged even then they still belived some gods were still separate, many pantheon and even Jesus* (going by one respectable Roman historian who belived he either learned magic in egypt or was a weak God) (Heck many Christians aleast in the past agreed pantheon were real beings, just usually demons). This practice was very common outside Europe in asia, Shinto and Traditional chinese religions had similar relations and most notably Hinduism. So technically a Kratos (not the game one) exists in greek mythology and probably nordic, kinda, idk if any direct mentions cause he is isn't considered very important, but if you asked a nordic they would probably say he exists but was weaker then there equivalent.

[@aidengoodrich5974]

imagine someone eating with a spoon that was originally a part of the colossus

[@theoheinrich529]

And the bronze was on the groin part xd

[@josephdanieljirehdimacali4418]

@@theoheinrich529 or its dong?

[@wynstonsmith7194]

Not a stretch: I've heard the Colossus was so fucking huge that even today most bronze objects have traces of the same bronze used in that statue

[@luckyblockyoshi]

@@wynstonsmith7194 the Statue of Liberty itself is around 15 meters taller than the estimated height of the Colossus of Rhodes, so no, definitely not lmao

[@peterprime2140]

Hell of a flex tbh.

[@quique7764]

I'm surprised there haven't been any miniatures found, reliefs & or other images given it was one of the seven wonders.

[@miss_baphomet]

remember the concept of the seven wonders didn't come into existence until about a century after the Colossus fell, what existed then would have been the rubble described by strabo and pliny

[@wranglerboi]

Quique - Yeah, I "wondered" about that, too.

[@curtislowe4577]

Who knows? The Library at Alexandria might have had a travel section. Possibly there were scrolls with several drawings and descriptions of the best restaurants and nightclubs in Rhodes. Maybe the hottest tourist attraction in Rhodes with the line around the block was Dimetrios' Dancing Under The Dong. But unfortunately Alexandria was not exactly a university town and the library burned to the ground several times.

[@CopeAscetic]

@Brad Watson take your meds, bro

[@DJChiefX197]

@Brad Watson en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia

[@SirSomeguy]

You can’t fool me. I played God of War II. I know the truth: Zeus brought the statue to life to kill Kratos and he proceeded to smash it apart at the face.

[@rainpooper7088]

*And then along came Zeus*

[@neodintchly]

ZOOOOOS

[@SirSomeguy]

@Brad Watson I'm sorry, what the heck does any of that mess have to do with God of War II?

[@pimpskittelz]

@Brad Watson Never in all my days did I think I'd find this level of rambling, worth the time for a read

[@kikekatmurillo4370]

I was thinking about god of war through out this video dont listen to this prudes lol

[@Alan_Jozua]

I love the romantic, dramatic story elements you worked into this video essay, it makes the viewer feel much more involved in the subject. Nice work and a lovely video!

[@austinpoudrette1574]

36 more minutes of Treys soothing voice, and a historical video as well! Looking forward to it bud. Happy holidays.

[@grandsome1]

This video tingles my mechanical engineering and my art history training, fun fact: most of the Hellenic statues have capes to act as subtle support for the statues, that's because the human form only stands due to dynamic systems i. e. muscles which a statue 🗽 doesn't have (sub fun fact it's also the reason insects spring on their back when they die), it's only with the innovation of adding iron bars inside the statue that we start to see dynamic poses in Hellenic statues.

[@smolmolmol3413]

Owo

[@elmonko5068]

That's cool as hell oh my god

[@RoarOfWolverine]

As a sculptor, who has sculpted many large statues up to 15 and 20 feet. One was actually 40 feet tall. I sculpted an 83’ statue for Disney, it was Kha from Jungle Book, so it was wrapped around one of the castle spires on Cinderella’s castle in the Orlando park, so the spire was the support. A made a 15’ Zeus for Disney also, it his toga was wide enough at the base to support him. The 12’ Hercules though had a cape, but not large enough to reach the ground, so it took a steel skeleton inside of him to support him. The problem with the human form is that the ankles are far too thin to support a statue without capes, togas or some other cloth. I sculpted a 16’ Neptune and 12’ Venus once and the Neptune was holding a cloth behind him. Holding a corner of the cloth in each hand and the cloak draped just below his ass, but was attached to the back of his le and draped to the ground for support. Venus was standing inside of a shell, so the back of the shell was used to attach to the back of her legs to support her. We usually try to work in cloth to accomplish the support for the human statutes because the ankles would snap off without a large steel skeleton inside.

[@chucklebutt4470]

@@RoarOfWolverine That's really cool!

[@graciliraptor3990]

Imagine the reaction of the guy who found THAT in his fishing net.

[@amia560]

that's one heavy fish

[@walterfortunato9297]

@@amia560 colossus man with a normal sized "fish"

[@LimeyLassen]

I'd expect it to grant me 3 wishes

[@walterfortunato9297]

@@LimeyLassen is that where no nut November came from

[@mikaelpalm2130]

"Not another decaying Basking shark!"

[@mattsam8081]

As a Rhodian myself , I feel absolutely honored to see someone in KZbin explain the whole story behind Colossus .

[@kymrawlins8099]

I love finding stuff out about history such as the Colossus of Rhodes.

[@AnaisAzuli]

Ah I've been last year, absolutely loved your island. Friendliest people I've met so far :)

[@larrygrimaldi1400]

True, a lot more detail than ordinarily heard!

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

I honestly wish it could be remade today. If only some could would offer Turkey the gift of rebuilding the colossus of Rhodes. Just as what France did for America in building the Statue of Liberty.

[@imperfectcell7081]

​@@therealspeedwagon1451Rhodes is in Greece ,not Turkey.

[@N.S.A.]

Others say the statute came to life through the power of the Gods and tried to kill Kratos with quick time events.

[@taliakellegg5978]

Is that a fuck god of war reference? I remember that from my young childhood

[@gustavodeoliveira5254]

We all know what happened to the statue, it got its head exploded by the god of war and sank into the sea

[@TMPreRaff]

Um... the word is statue.

[@snarf2400]

@@gustavodeoliveira5254 Crushed Kratos on his way down though, gottem

[@theautisticguitarist7560]

@@snarf2400 legit the funniest thing in the entire series.

[@AlternateHistoryHub]

Aw yee

[@rexnatura]

O_O I'm subbed to you.

[@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim]

@@rexnatura Alternate History Hub and Trey the Explainer did a collab. *[Conquistadors vs Terror Birds intensifies]*

[@jaroddrake1]

If no one is gonna say it I will. I ship you two

[@zachfreeman2502]

Hi again Cody, I still love you.

[@IVIRnathanreilly]

@@VelociraptorsOfSkyrim your username could actually the title of the crossover too.

[@TheTonyMcD]

"Bronze with maybe a little bit of copper mixed in." I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that there was definitely some copper in this bronze statue. Probably around 85% or so copper....

[@infernomunky]

Beat me to the Alloy comment... I wonder if the research said a bit of gold mixed in? Much like the ancient corrosion resistant Corinthian Bronzes of legend.

[@IeshiAke]

could be some bronze parts and some copper parts

[@jakub_paints6775]

Wanted to say the same. Like no shit there was copper

[@ricky-sanchez]

Damn statue was probably struck by lightning, and the statue fell, causing a huge earthquake.

[@davidanderson_surrey_bc]

@@IeshiAke Well, you can be sure the balls were made of brass.

[@leonardoanacadios995]

You just make the best historical videos out there. You got the rigth balance between humor, historical accuracy, research, inspiration, awe, and an eerie sensation of time that I can't just describe.

[@suleimansghk]

when the world needed him most, he returned. merry Christmas trey.

[@treyxyz]

Thanks, marry Christmas Dino

[@suleimansghk]

@@treyxyz your welcome

[@kenedi987]

Amazing video! If you ever make videos on the other wonders of the ancient world, I'd absolutely love them! I'm especially fascinated in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the truth on their existence, and a video covering them would be most amazing!

[@tomtricks6838]

yessss

[@watfgjgk]

Imagine still existing in the present day. This post was made by C. Of Rhodes Gang

[@deacon6453]

Imagine ever existing in the first place.* This post was made by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon gang

[@darchandarchan7036]

imagine that giant statue carved in mountain existed and made it through to this day.

[@3nthamornin]

Imagine this post was made by john lennon gang

[@MrChristianDT]

Even if nothing helped it along, I find it hard to imagine a giant, metal, top-heavy statue on the ocean would have survived 2000 years, though.

[@bluemobster0023]

@@MrChristianDT it was made of bronze

[@rasguero914]

I'd love to watch a video (same format) about the hanging gardens of babylon. Kinda has the same vibes (at least to me), maybe a little bit more "hyped/romanticized" as it might be slightly more famous.

[@Mikelaxo]

There's no real evidence that those gardens really existed, they're pretty much a myth

[@numberonehater1239]

More than slightly more famous

[@andrew-rn9ui]

They found where it was same as they found where troy was when it was thought to be a myth

[@Alex-mn1fb]

"The Hellenistic period is best characterized as a period where people dreamed big, but fell short, burned bright but faded quickly." So on point, for a period that gave birth to Alexander the Great, Demetrius the Besieger , Ptolemy, Cleopatra, and many other rulers, leaders, philosophers, poets and scientists that shaped the beginnings of our world today.

[@chuckleezodiac24]

A3TG paved the way for Christianity.

[@Alex-mn1fb]

@@chuckleezodiac24 Yes, absolutely. And in many ways also shaped Judaism as well, as it developed under, surrounded and in many ways opposed to Hellenism.

[@chuckleezodiac24]

@@Alex-mn1fb I was quoting lyrics from an Iron Maiden song. But, yeah, by uniting the East & West with a common language and the spread of Greek Culture, he changed the course of civilization. I haven't studied the effects on Judaism. Thanks for the reply.

[@Alex-mn1fb]

@@chuckleezodiac24 hahah oh sorry, I misread and misinterpreted your comment and I was waaay of. 😁 It still stands tho, Hellenistic culture had a huge influence on both Judaism and Christianity and did pay the way 😅

[@chuckleezodiac24]

@@Alex-mn1fb It's cool, bro. For a Heavy Metal band, they had some songs that were historically accurate!

[@aa-to6ws]

Years in the future there would be legends that claimed people of this age were so powerful in science and technology, giant emerald women protected cities and fought literal wars for liberty.

[@markcobuzzi826]

Nostalgia Critic: “Over here, you'll see the statue of the mouse god named Mickey!”

[@theq4602]

Ghostbusters will be used as a documentary.

[@glenmcgillivray4707]

Clearly in the era of the rise of Nuclear weapons, they were deployed against Zombie Plauges. Contemporary sources suggest Zombies in the era were common, and fought using every weapon available: entire cities were littered with sufficient infestation so as to render them mostly uninhabitable. The leaders and rulers created media for the purpose of teaching their populations how to fight back, and defeat differing strains of Zombie plauge, and ready their citizens to tolerate and understand the meaning of 'acceptable losses' for even a single infected scratch could cause friends or family to turn into blood thirsty monsters and spread the Epidemic. We do not see or understand how the media known as 'My Little Pony' was used: presumably as light entertainment in the face of the horrors of the world around them. - Historian after finding scraps of Zombie Movies and some My Little Pony DVD's are decoded into viable video format, some of the only relevant information remaining from the Fragments left over from the 'Modern Era'

[@markcobuzzi826]

@@glenmcgillivray4707 And those Zombie Plagues were so rampant that citizens needed to be trained for combat since childhood. To help accomplish this, a specialized genre of video games was created for the sole purpose of teaching kids the vital tactics for slaying hordes of zombies. Three video game corporations in particular have been credited as the most heroic in these war efforts: Capcom, Sega, and Valve.

[@iwannabethekid34xc]

The man of tomorrow, should we live to see his birth, will remark at how frail, weak, and feeble-minded the "man" of today is, and he will totally crush and conquer all of his foes and usher into a great new Golden Era that may last an eternity.

[@Wapnerzebra16]

"Instead of using this money to, I don't know, feed the poor and needy..." No one feeds the poor and needy because no one is going to make a video about it 2300 years later

[@alexmuller6752]

yeah, nobody remembers the roman habit of giving food to the poor in the capital :D

[@ReformedThe]

@@alexmuller6752 lol if that is suppose to be a counter point it fell flat.

[@alexmuller6752]

@@ReformedThe not a counter at all. just a statement with a cheeky grin.

[@gomahklawm4446]

@@ReformedThe Most anyone who knows anything about Rome knows about the grain dole.

[@amandataylor6434]

Lol right.

[@Khainite]

Great and very informative video. There's a tragic quality to the loss of the Colossus, and it's a shame there's not even a single part of it that we can find left. Even something so dominant and radiant fell in a relatively short amount of time and faded into legend. Fitting for an ancient Greek titan.

[@StonedtotheBones13]

There's smthn to be said for humans' capability/want to see cool shit ppl made, esp ppl who came before us. Like, sure maybe it can be polluted by things like racism (ie these ancient ppl show how advanced ✨ we are now), but I think at the base there's just a very human urge to connect, and curiosity to see cool stuff.

[@charlodynatimberheart4860]

It's fascinating how the pyramids and the colossus represent the two endings for the same kind of prestigious mega-structure. The colossus represented their survival, will, and resilience. their victory, and it collapsed in less than 55 years. the pyramids represented how even the most powerful demigods must face the inevitability of death, and they stand tall and proud even to this day

[@v3ck1n]

​@@charlodynatimberheart4860The pyramids of Giza have literally zero to do with a tomb or a grave.

[@spankynater4242]

It never existed.

[@CthulhusDream]

9:12 Saying "Bronze with maybe a little copper mixed in." is like saying "Stainless Steel with a bit of iron mixed in". Copper is the main ingredient in the alloy that is bronze .

[@Brinta3]

I think he meant that most of the statue was clad with bronze, but some parts with pure copper. Perhaps they did this to make use of slightly different colours? Copper turns green much faster than bronze. I found this sentence on google, and it mentions bronze and copper separately: “Finally, in the 7th Century AD, the Arabs had conquered Rhodes and broke up the remains of the Colossus of Rhodes into smaller pieces selling its bronze and copper, worth quite a hefty amount at that time.”

[@hedgehog3180]

@@Brinta3 Copper is more ductile than bronze so perhaps that is why it was used separately? It might have been used for things like the face which is more detailed.

[@ulalaFrugilega]

This comment plus its answers are exactly why I love and trust KZbin. Watch sth. like this on the telly you're helpless prey to whatever errors the makers make. Here, you can profit from the vast knowledge of humanity, and add your own two cents as well.

[@SabinStargem]

How a Christmas tradition was created: *Pointing at the statue* "Look at those giant berries, Gaius. Let us stand below them and kiss, Helios's virility may bless us with child."

[@eccomi21]

Bronze with maybe a little bit of copper mixed in. I'm confused. The main ingredient of bronze IS copper.

[@november8039]

I'm thinking he meant mixed in as in constructed mostly of bronze with some pure copper components incorporated.

[@eccomi21]

@@november8039 I guessed so myself but like everyone else here I feel the need to point it out.

[@alexandermenzies9954]

Exactly. Later on the same misconception is repeated. Bronze is an alloy of mostly copper with some tin added.

[@yozza4978]

It is? Lol TIL

[@vogonp4287]

Ah yes, the floor here is made of floor.

[@RobRoss]

When I was young, and heard the stories of these giant ancient statues, I was always thinking “why don’t we build giant statues any more?” But we do. The Statue of Liberty is about the same height as the Colossus was, and we have even taller statues in the modern world. Like the Statue Of Unity, for example, which is over twice as tall as the Colossus.

[@AyubuKK]

If I was a nomadic adventurer in Greece around that time, visiting Rhodes to see the statue would be on my bucket list.

[@AyubuKK]

@@sebastiandiaconu1221 lol

[@DaleClark1000]

Thank god you covered their pee-pee's to protect our morals. Now I won't have to flog myself for evil thoughts.

[@TMPreRaff]

There's no apostrophe in pee pees... (that's the first time today I've used that phrase).

[@rokukou]

@@TMPreRaff Hahaha thank you. Here before someone is mean to you for correcting.

[@personarandom7579]

You're afraid of pps lmao

[@Cooe.]

It's to prevent demonetization ya freaking dingus... -_-

[@rokukou]

@@Cooe. Maybe, but most likely not. Educational videos do not need to be censored, as I remember at least.

[@BlacksmithTim]

FYI: You mention "bronze with a little copper added". Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. Adding more copper ... is a curious statement. (But I'm a part time blacksmith and play with this stuff so I notice.) Love your work, BTW. Thank you.

[@madmarscha]

so fucked up that it only stood for 54 years... i want to fucking cry bro

[@katyungodly]

That’s sad bro

[@planescaped]

Even worse that a shittheaded conqueror melted down the remains and sold them. The early muslims just like the Altaic hordes, were notorious for their disrespect of foreign cultures. Wasn't until the Ottomans actually had to start living beside others that they cooled the fuck down slightly. I mean, it was a normal progression... modern Islamic society though doesn't like to remember how they started out though, I suppose because it is so inflammatory to some. At this point, it is literally ancient history. >__>

[@basiliska]

rip in peace colossus :(

[@orestiskal4827]

Honestly, I dont mind even if you make a video a year, as long as you keep making them with that enthusiasm and quality. I love your videos and as a Greek i love it even more when you show intrest in such subjects.

[@robynsegg]

"You spend your whole life building a guy's toe, you're gonna remember him!" -- Bender Rodriguez ("A Pharaoh To Remember", Futurama) 🤣

[@violenceisfun991]

Its Ha-Peaness

[@robynsegg]

@IfWhiningAtProblemsWorks, WhyDoCorporationsLobby? I don't know. You'd have to asked Bender that yourself.

[@alexmason5521]

@IfWhiningAtProblemsWorks, WhyDoCorporationsLobby? ok?

[@sdack3511]

I never expected that a video about a huge statue would get me to cry

[@ZephLodwick]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Colossus had a spear of a shield that it could rest on to stop itself from falling over--especially as it was a commemoration of a military victory.

[@hedgehog3180]

Well it wasn't really commemorating a military victory as much as it was a way to give thanks to a deity for a military victory. A spear also does seem unlikely unless it was posing with it since that would have added more weight. I think we can safely rule out a shield since the shape of a shield from the time would probably actually make it more unbalanced instead of providing support. It would probably have stood fairly straight up as that allows for the simplest transfer of weight down to the base and the pose where it's shielding it's eyes does seem likely however that obviously leaves one hand free. It could have had a spear in that however Helios wasn't a war god so it wouldn't make much sense to depict him as a spear and if instead he's meant to resemble the ideal of athletic beauty then it's probably very likely that he would have instead had a cape draped over his arm, that or they might have used a plant to provide support like a lot of other statues from the period did.

[@begbabeh4638]

"Having lunch under the colossus' mighty dong" Best sentence, hands down

[@waffleonquaffle]

And probably not true, since in Ancient Greece people considered small dicks better than big ones

[@adrianbundy3249]

@@waffleonquaffle There probably wasn't a preference tbh. And besides, if much bigger one did get put into a statue, they might have been one of the easiest and first pieces to weather right off, or break off due to any number of other means. As it stands, we have plenty of statues left that once had dongs, that no longer have dongs, big or small, just due to this and the Christians largely censoring those statues later.

[@error5202]

@@waffleonquaffle Did they now? www.thecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/image3-6.jpg

[@gregoryalbert379]

...Perhaps having lunch under a metal protrusion, would require an umbrella, due to condensation on a foggy misty day !

[@shellsbignumber2]

@@waffleonquaffle Yeah I guess they were all pedos.

[@wereshark6921]

Truly a blessing from lord basking shark

[@doommagic]

Don't you mean lord barn owl, good sir? Because I think you do.

[@wereshark6921]

@@doommagic ahh yes a good alternative

[@greenergrass4060]

Actually he's a Basking Owlosaurus

[@wereshark6921]

@@greenergrass4060 damn you're right

[@lambdaweaponscache5394]

Probably one of my favorite videos from you- your calm narration, detailed coverage of the history of the statue/related topics and sparse but welcome humor is always something i look forward too.

[@daddyleon]

8:34 The "Lycipian gaze", truly, was the "duck face" of its time.

[@caligulalonghbottom2629]

more like the annoying furled brows of the mid 2000s (2008-20013ish) or the modern annoying tik tok poses people try to pull in real life to look cute.

[@thedumbdog1964]

Forgot that was a thing

[@daddyleon]

@@thedumbdog1964 I'm sorry to have reminded you.

[@jimmymcmorgan7827]

Zoolander had it down.

[@wezzard]

I visited Rhodes a couple of years ago. I decided to follow a friendly stray dog and he became my tour guide.. xD We even went through an opening in the ancient city wall and the ruins were filled with red poppy. Beautiful city!

[@concept5631]

Did you tip your guide?

[@senhoritajose]

DO NOT DO THIS ❗️❗️❗️ Most stray dogs are actually Zeus in disguise trying to seduce men and women!!! If you follow the dog long enough you will eventually be seduced !!!❗️❗️❗️

[@marxtheenigma873]

"Killed himself after seeing an architectural imperfection." As an artist plagued with OCD and anxiety, I understand.

[@maosama3695]

No you don't.

[@Nameless2k6]

People back in the day genuinely believed in this type of drama

[@svenm2272]

@@maosama3695 ?

[@marxtheenigma873]

@@maosama3695 You underestimate my mental illness

[@Nightly_Winter]

My favorite wonder of the ancient world is The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which I think are the most mysterious of all the wonders :D Its sad that most people know of it ,but many dont understand how amazing the garden actually was

[@Neptune0404]

The wait was worth it, because this was a beautiful and interesting look at a part of history I hadn't looked at in detail before, and I now hold a new appreciation for what I foolishly had thought was just "a big old statue"

[@wanderingdruid978]

Absolutely infuriating that the Colossus was smelted down and sold.

[@tsopmocful1958]

And it was probably more for religious reasons than for profit, as it may have been seen as a graven polytheist image or idol, which made it 'jahiliyyah' (from the time of ignorance before Islam). This is also what motivated the Taliban to destroy that huge Buddhist statue and ISIS to destroy Palmyra.

[@danielchequer5842]

@@tsopmocful1958 Islam was not the only one to do it. The Greeks themselves did it a lot in the middle ages to get metal to fabricate weapons, thus giving us the impression that the greek world was one of marble, but it seems this way bc they melted down most of their bronze stuff out of necessity. As Trey mentioned in the video, Lycinos worked "almost exclusively" on bronze. So the bizantines would probably melt the statue when desperate times were upon them.

[@Crab_Shanty]

That was the fate of a lot of artefacts, unfortunately.

[@Kyle-gw6qp]

@@tsopmocful1958 the world is arguably more ignorant after Islam.

[@nevio2658]

@@Kyle-gw6qp That's a pretty stupid thing to say. They saved thousands of books and translated them into Arabic. Without that we'd have much less ancient books.

[@umbreonic766]

missed you trey! hope your life isnt too crazy now. i get what it’s like to be unable to put out creative stuff, and the wait for this one was definitely worth it. i’ve loved the colossus ever since 8th grade when i had to do a project comparing the poems The New Colossus and Southbound on the Freeway (an excellent poem that i recommend to anyone reading this). your videos continue to be interesting and fun to watch, and i’ll keep rewatching my favorites no matter how frequently you upload!

[@CuriousWorldProductions]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Excellent.

[@purplehaze2358]

The comparison between Jesus and Alexander the Great is even more accurate when you consider Alexander was considered a child of the gods by the Ancient Greek people.

[@jesusmora9379]

Alexander tried to unite all the nations into one humanity.

[@davidanderson_surrey_bc]

Except that Alexander probably died of complications due to syphilis, and Jesus died of complications due to crucifixion. Also, Alexander conquered by the sword, while Jesus conquered by the word.

[@jmaraf7741]

@@davidanderson_surrey_bc I find it interesting also that both Jesus and Alexander died of nearly the same age.

[@jaojao1768]

Good point

[@john.harrison]

@@davidanderson_surrey_bc did jesus succeed without the sword tho? He did not have (relatively) that many followers at his death. And if you credit him with what christians did after to spread the faith you can't just keep the nice parts you like He would get credit for the gunpoint conventions to.

[@Emira_75]

I LOVE ANCIENT HISTORY AND THE 7 WONDERS WITH AN ACTUAL PASSION. THE FACT TREY CREATED A PLAYLIST HAS GOT MY GIDDY

[@112048112048]

I'm pretty sure the Colossus of Rhodes was just an unusually large barn owl.

[@billblaski9523]

Hahaha, excellent

[@SerpentineSeiđr]

Praise the Sun!

[@AGhostintheHouse]

I was kind of thinking the same thing.

[@cupajoe99]

was looking for this comment, lol

[@br0k3n_b0y2]

@@SerpentineSeiđr Ashen one?

[@richh6001]

Love learning about the history, culture, and art behind all of this!

[@KingofTheGojiras]

I use to to think prehistory was more fascinating than ancient history but videos like this are a constant reminder of why I cherish both studies.

[@Evergreen_Wizard]

I have just imagined the Colossus standing in a JoJo pose over the city.

[@er.mrinalkantidas6949]

Well why not

[@Creed329]

Perfection

[@Raccon_Detective.]

plot twist the colossal of Rhodes is a colossal titan

[@incognitobandito244]

@@Raccon_Detective. ah yes, and the sculptor was Ymir.

[@sipioc]

6:11 “Thats not a dude. You’re a dude. This is a God.”

[@pittassavvas7512]

Greetings from Rhodes, great video and explanation of the famed Colossus of Rhodes. There is a push for a modern version to be built.

[@joewesterland5697]

God damn how does Vapour Wave manage to follow me arround everywhere...

[@kirkalbrecht9557]

That's literally what I was just thinking

[@AyubuKK]

Because it’s an awesome genre of music.

[@joewesterland5697]

@@AyubuKK Hell yes please.

[@DirtScraps]

This was amazing. You never cease to deliver some of the best historical content on KZbin. So glad you didn’t disappear for good.

[@DragoniteSpam]

8:15 Hang on, so those statues were designed to taper off like that so that they look taller on purpose, because of perspective? Nice.

[@wadespencer3623]

Same trick the castle at Disneyland uses. The higher windows are smaller!

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

@@wadespencer3623 it's not just The Castle, the main road that leads from the entrance to the castle also uses optical illusions; the road gets narrower as it get farther from its wide beginning at the park's entrance, and building are shorter as you approach the castle, these combine to not just make the street look longer(and add to the already exaggerated size of the Castle) and thus more impressive when first entering Disney Land, but also make the road look shorter when your on your way out, so you don't feel as exhosted about making that last stretch of your journey out of the park. And similar tricks are used through out the rest of the park, to ensure you are led to the rides before the gift shops, that you admire fancy gardens, statures, or other decorations, and never at service doors for staff to come and go, and so on, and so on. the Disney parks are a true marvel of engineering, not just on the technical aspects, but also on how they subtly play with the minds of guests, to look where they want, and not where they don't, so as to better hide the seams in their magic show, a magician's slight of hand carried out by the mere structure of pathways, buildings, and countless other minor constructs... pretty damn creepy when you think about it that way, isn't it?

[@billblaski9523]

@@RipOffProductionsLLC did you know theres a secret club at Disneyland called Club 33? The annual dues are in the $10,000s!

[@alius386]

It's the same technique used in classical columns.

[@MultiSciGeek]

26:14 Considering it took them 12 years to complete it, maybe at the time of the unveiling the head was green and the legs were orange.

[@microwavedcheetos]

Look out creationists, he's back. Glad to have you back Trey

[@timothymoore8549]

I missed you do you know how hard it is to find KZbinrs that cover paleontology biblical mythos and obscure history.

[@timothymoore8549]

Thank you?

[@williamharbuck8575]

@@timothymoore8549 dude his p carries weight!! Hahaha can’t believe I typed that

[@beckyeinolf3300]

Thanks very much! I've always been interested in this statue, and have seen so many sculptures - whether of Helios or someone else - with what looks like Alexander's pout and/or Lady Liberty's beams of light. It makes so much sense that something enormous and widely known would inspire all of this.

[@AnyoneCanSee]

Considering the tourist money I think they are really missing out not making a copy. It would pay for itself in tourist revenue within a few years not even decades. The Angel of the north in the UK has been massive for tourism locally and yet most locals moaned about it when they spent the money. most people don't understand the value of art to an economy but once it was built they would love it and be immensely proud of it. They just need to make it the same height and as close as they can guess.

[@darkdeifan]

SO Alexander was the first famous cosplayer who everyone simped over so hard that when Rhode got good cash after a figth it was decided they would use it to comision a 30 meter NSFW statue of their boy. did I get that part right?

[@Noam_.Menashe]

No.

[@superubergoober]

@@Noam_.Menashe sounds pretty good to me

[@pedrolmlkzk]

Oh no, the statue was definitely SFW at the time

[@darkdeifan]

@@pedrolmlkzk when you are right, you are right

[@EidolonSpecus]

He was only a part-time cosplayer. His full-time job was war and conquest. Since his conquests brought a lot of seized asian wealth to the mediterranean, the people in the hellenistic world did like him _a lot._ He made lots of people very rich, at the expense of others who were either 1) dead or 2) in a position where they couldn't really complain about it.

[@coolmanjack1995]

Trey this episode is basically a perfect example of why you're my favorite KZbinr. Love you man, I cant wait for what you have cooking

[@Galahadka]

"Noooo you can't just destroy a monument to our god, it costed 300 talentes and a decade of work" "Haha earthquake go brrrr"

[@devonbacha4037]

Does it hurt to be that uncreative lol

[@Galahadka]

@@devonbacha4037 just comment something better then

[@devonbacha4037]

@@Galahadka I ain't ur monkey.

[@TiagoVoltaire]

@@Galahadka It's a good commentary, bro

[@hedgehog3180]

You can't blame them for concluding that actually Helios was unhappy with the statue after that.

[@Alex-mv6yp]

Imagine that after the fall of modern society the only thing remaining to recall the colossus of rhodes it's a vaprowave album cover and some edits.

[@michaelkapsalis869]

Really enjoying the Greek content! I'm from Greece btw!

[@NautyCat]

Your country is beautiful! Sadly, I only visited crete once, but I want to travel to athenes when the pandemic is over.

[@michaelkapsalis869]

@@NautyCat I'm from Crete actually haha. Hope you enjoyed your stay.

[@StickmanComix]

These comments are too wholesome

[@NautyCat]

@@michaelkapsalis869 Crete is beautyful. I had my hotel in Rethymno and went to the aradena bridge. On the way, I encountered scorpions and friendly locals. I also visited a WW2 museum that was located in a small village. As a German, it was quite strange to see the nazi-flags just hanging on the wall.

[@srfrg9707]

NautyCat It's hard to find a place to visit in Europe where German tourists don't find ghosts to haunt them...

[@Beginus1997]

Moral of the story- don't build world wonders near geologically active regions

[@krashd]

In those days they still believed that natural disasters were acts of displeasure from the gods so by building the biggest fuckoff statue of Helios the world had ever seen they likely also thought he would keep them safe from such events. Boy were they in for a surprise.

[@nathanl8622]

There's something kind of funny to me about a statue of Helios posed so that he's desperately trying to keep his own sun out of his eyes.

[@butterskywalker8785]

kinda like how in cartoons suns are depicted to wear sunglasses,for some reasons

[@BorrieBeats]

Might be the reason why the creator possibly killed himself

[@alicelima2320]

This statue was the inspiration for the Titan of Braavos in the Song of Ice and Fire books. Actually, many things in G.R.R. Martin's books are inspired by real places and monuments.

[@concept5631]

You mean GrrM?

[@alicelima2320]

@@concept5631 yeah, I only now have seen my mistake lol The word for J (jay) has a similar pronunciation to the way G sounds in my mother language. I think my brain mixed things up lol 😅

[@concept5631]

@@alicelima2320 Understandable

[@pajamapantsjack5874]

My favorite explanation of where it went is from God of war 2, where Kratos fought it in a boss fight

[@just_a_guy9688]

Hmm, interesting pfp...

[@davidanderson_surrey_bc]

Release the Kratos!

[@batspidey7611]

I remember the Colossus of Rhodes. It was a boss fight in God of War 2.

[@faztznya5207]

No, we face the 1 real in that game, it's another dude

[@gustavodeoliveira5254]

@@faztznya5207 ora ora ora, parece que encontrei um camarada compatriota aqui, tudo certo meu bom?

[@faztznya5207]

@@gustavodeoliveira5254 maseclaro

[@TiagoVoltaire]

@@gustavodeoliveira5254 Olá, confrades brasileiros com cultura e sede por conhecimento.

[@neptune8645]

Anybody else fall asleep to these videos?? I mean this in the best possible way, and I have amazing dreams when I fall asleep listening to you

[@danawinsor1380]

This video is interesting and informativem your narration is clear, and your voice is pleasing to listen to. I don't know why it's taken me so long to find this chanel. Best wishes!

[@LondonPower]

Archaeologist Ursula Vedder postulates that the Colossus was not located in the harbour area at all, but rather was part of the Acropolis of Rhodes, which stood on a hill that overlooks the port area. The ruins of a large temple, traditionally thought to have been dedicated to Apollo, are situated at the highest point of the hill. Vedder believes that the structure would actually have been a Helios sanctuary, and a portion of its enormous stone foundation could have served as the supporting platform for the Colossus

[@Casey_Schmidt]

I've always been intrigued by the story of the Colossus of Rhodes, what an awesome video! I'd love to see more videos on the other ancient wonders too!

[@BeorEviols]

I just subscribed like yesterday and was like "damn last video was four months ago guess he's on a hiatus" and then bam you upload a video, I must be psychic there's no other explanation. Also please make a biblical video about Behemoth and Tannin

[@mohawk1623]

I would take that as a sign that you're being guided in your search for truth. Look for the true history of the new colossus, the statue of liberty. Look closely at the face. He's not a lady, he's a man. Built by French freemasons, meant originally for the Port Said, Egypt. No answers, just more questions right? Keep looking.

[@Froggeh92]

@@mohawk1623 im ready. Give it to me daddy

[@grantwillis8542]

You'll get used to it after a while.

[@morganseppy5180]

He did make a video on the Leviathan, which mentions the Behemoth: kzbin.info/www/bejne/raeUnWWJprGVbbM

[@awesome331000]

This is so fascinating! Been watching since 2013 and this is probably my fav video

[@Leonyithas]

Thank you for making a video about this. I grew up obsessed with my greek ancestry and I remember reading in a book about the helios colossus. That statue was the only thing the book said regarding the supposed predecessor to Apollos’ day job. But it was such a short mention, all it said was basically that it existed, and it was leveled by an earthquake. Years later and I would still find myself sometimes thinking back on that just with the simple though “I wonder what that looked like?” I cannot articulate how cathartic it is to actually have some details on this, even if they are a bit murky.

[@BinaryRex18]

You have a wonderful knack for bringing history alive! Yet another brilliant study from the Explainer :D

[@sarahtosaurus9004]

*some more hot steamy knowledge dripping down my neck and chest*

[@mem8or619]

Unexpectedsamonella

[@AntonDiwa]

salmonella x trey crossover soon?1?? 😳😳😳

[@juanpagg88]

20:27 When i saw his face , i knew it was going to put that song.

[@Rafael_Mena_Ill]

Awesome vídeo! Was great working with you!

[@TREYtheExplainer]

Aww thanks man! It was awesome working with you too man ^^ Thank you for all your hard work!

[@Dahoodsux]

Sup

[@rem7262]

Could u do more videos on the wonders of the ancient world? And maybe even other great structures that a travel may come across. Im fascinated by how amazing the ancient world must have been to explore.

[@liekeze6318]

I may not be a big archaeology fan (nothing against it, paleo just holds my heart too tightly to allow any other field in), but when I see a Trey the Explainer video, I go into full prospective student mode.

[@CatChrist]

Not sure how I've never seen your videos before today. Easy sub 💜