Enthusiasts want to revive one of the Seven Wonders of the World on Rhodes

Athens - A group of young architects, engineers, and archaeologists from Greece, Spain, Italy, and Britain plans to rebuild the Colossus on the Greek island of Rhodes, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Unlike the ancient original, it is intended to take the form of a building that would house a museum.

The planned construction, costing about 240 million euros (6.5 billion CZK), is expected to stand in the Rhodes port and will measure approximately 150 meters in height, which is about five times taller than its ancient predecessor. In addition to the museum, it is also intended to include a library and a lighthouse. However, the team has yet to secure the necessary funding for the project.

Efforts to create a copy of the Colossus in the Rhodes port have been pursued by history enthusiasts since 2000. However, the project failed due to opposition from the Greek Ministry of Culture. Experts almost unanimously labeled the proposed appearance of the statue as kitsch at that time.

The Colossus of Rhodes, a bronze statue of the ancient Greek sun god Helios, was created at the turn of the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. It was destroyed by an earthquake 66 years after its completion.

How the monument looked is not entirely clear. However, experts generally agree that, contrary to tradition, the statue did not stand straddling the entrance to the harbor. It would have collapsed under its own weight.

The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Others included the pyramids in Egypt's Giza, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, and the Hanging Gardens of Queen Semiramis in Babylon.