In the context of The Colossus of Rhodes (Dalí), explore the The Colossus of the Background.

The Colossus of Rhodes was a monumental statue of the Greek sun god, Helios, that stood by the harbour of Rhodes for more than half a century in the third century BC. According to first-century BC historian Diodorus Siculus, it was constructed under the direction of Chares of Lindos to commemorate the city's victory over Demetrius Poliorcetes, who laid siege to Rhodes from 305 to 304 BC; Helios, patron saint of both the city and island of Rhodes, was chosen as the honoree. The statue stood until the 226 BC Rhodes earthquake, when, according to Pliny the Elder three centuries later in his Naturalis Historia, it buckled and fell. In his ninth-century AD Chronographia, Theophanes the Confessor wrote that its ruins remained until 652–53, when Muawiyah I conquered Rhodes and the Colossus was sold for scrap. Beginning with lists formed by Diodorus and other writers, the Colossus is recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.There are no extant contemporary depictions of the Colossus; the only evidence is textual, much of it summary and postdating the statue by centuries. Imagination has frequently filled in for documentation. Scientific attempts to re-envision the Colossus have persisted since the eighteenth century. In a presentation delivered in 1953, Herbert Maryon suggested that the statue was hollow, and stood aside the harbour rather than astride it. Made of hammered bronze plates less than 1⁄16-inch (1.6 mm) thick, Maryon said, the Colossus would have been supported on its base by a third point of support in the form of hanging drapery. Although Maryon's theory was not published until 1956, two years after Dalí's painting, newspaper articles about Maryon's 1953 presentation proliferated quickly and internationally, and his theory influenced Dalí.
Chares of Lindos Demetrius Poliorcetes laid siege to Rhodes Muawiyah I Helios 226 BC Rhodes earthquake Diodorus Siculus Herbert Maryon Greek Colossus of Rhodes Rhodes bronze newspaper articles about Maryon's 1953 presentation Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Theophanes the Confessor Pliny the Elder Naturalis Historia