The word colossus derives from a Greek word for a human statue. It originally meant a larger-than-life statue, particularly the famous statue of the Sun god on the island of Rhodes, off the coast of Turkey, which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Colossus of Rhodes was constructed in the 3rd century BCE, and was about as tall as the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, it toppled over during an earthquake just 80 years after it was built. Its ruins were a tourist attraction for the next 800 years until the metal was melted down to make weapons. Although modern engineers think it would be physically impossible to build a statue that could do this, most of the images during Shakespeare’s time showed the immense statue straddling the entrance to the harbor at Rhodes.