Topic > The Statue of Liberty and the Colossus of Rhodes and their significance

Human civilization has always been accompanied by disputes and wars, in the tremendous transformation of thousands of years. From ancient Babylon and Egypt to modern society, there have been thousands of wars. Humanity has made countless sacrifices to expand and defend their homeland. Many sculptures and buildings were built to commemorate the victory of the war, to remember future generations and promote freedom and peace. Among these sculptures, the Colossus of Rhodes in ancient Greece and the Statue of Liberty in the United States are the most representative. The meaning of these two sculptures lies in the following. The first is to declare the sovereignty of your territory. The second is that both implicitly show their vision and hope for the future of the country and the nation. Third, both reflected the desire for peace. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe full name of the Statue of Liberty is Liberty Enlightening the World, which was a gift to the United States from France, in 1876, celebrating the centennial of the Revolutionary War victory. The torch on the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of enlightenment. The torch lights the way to freedom, showing us the path to Freedom. Even the statue's official name represents its most important symbol: "Freedom Enlightening the World" (National Park Service). It symbolizes the freedom and security of the United States. Before that, the United States was a British colony. To satisfy its needs, the United Kingdom had implemented extensive exploitation, excessive taxes, and tyranny over its colonies, which subsequently caused much dissatisfaction on the part of the Americans. After many violent incidents, the war finally broke out and the United States finally overthrew the British rule, from the United States. The chains of the Statue of Liberty represent this. From that point on, Americans freed themselves from the tyranny and shackles of the British Empire and seized territorial sovereignty. The book of the Declaration of Independence on the Statue of Liberty also showed Americans' confidence in protecting their sovereignty. On the other hand, the Colossus of Rhodes also has a history. The statue on Rhode Island is actually their sun god Helios, in the story he is the God who will protect this island forever. Helios was in charge of taking care of the sun. The land of Rhode Island was given to Helios by Zeus, the king of lords. After Zeus took the throne from his father Cronus, every god he ruled would get a land on the land of Greece. However, on that day of the ceremony, Helios was busy with his routine task of sunbathing, so he missed it and did not get a land. After that, unhappy, he went to Zeus and complained about it. Zeus soon used magic to raise a large stone over the Aegean Sea where the climate is warm, humid and comfortable; animals and plants thrive on that island. Helios was happy and brought his family to live on that island. So the residences on that island were the descendants of Helios. So he was the worshiped god of Rhode Island. He drove the golden chariot carrying the sun into the sky. Therefore, he may actually be able to have a clear view of the earth and sky, because traveling between them sees God from above and sees people from below. Many times people consider him a witness to everything, so his strength and responsibility are enormous. As in the Orphic Hymn 8 to Helios, “Hear, golden Titan, whose eternal eye of matchless sight illumines all the sky. Native, tireless in spreading light and to all eyes an object of delight,” his eyes cansee everything, so his ability is powerful. So back to Emma's poem: not like the brash giant of Greek fame; With conquering limbs astride from earth to earth. He used the limbs as a metaphor to express Helios' great ability. The Colossus of Rhodes, 34 meters high and 11 steps high, is like a "skyscraper" from which to look across the panorama of the entire surrounding area of ​​the island just like the power of Helios. The people of Rhode Island successfully defended their country from siege by the Macedonians. Then, with money from selling their enemies' weapons, they built the sculpture to commemorate the sun god Helios and the war in which they successfully defended their land. The location of the two sculptures is also very significant, as the Statue of Liberty is located just south of New York Harbor. Ships coming and going will surely pass through it. This is more or less the case for the Colossus of Rhodes, its feet are built on both sides of the strait, outside the harbor, and ships entering and leaving the harbor pass under its body. Both statues are built in very important places, which fully demonstrate the determination of the people, in order to defend their national territorial sovereignty. In the long stream of human history, wars have been inevitable disasters. Although they could more or less promote the development of human civilization, they have always been rejected and hated in people's hearts. Every battlefield was accompanied by death, in which countless soldiers died, countless civilians were destroyed by gunfire, and many families were separated. Every war had been accompanied by enormous economic losses. Many cities were ruined, countless properties devastated, precious lands burned, and many rare treasures were destroyed. After wars, the country usually erected a statue or monument to commemorate the soldiers who lost their lives in war, to warn future generations about the cruelty of war and the importance of peace and freedom. After the American Revolutionary War, the Statue of Liberty was built not only to commemorate the victory, but also to commemorate the heroes who died for the country. And the goddess of Liberty holds the torch and looks out over the vast Atlantic Ocean to the south. Why is it not facing the land of the United States but facing the sea? In fact, the purpose is to give a warm welcome to all who come to the United States, especially to the large number of immigrants from Europe, who enter New York Harbor by boat, and what they see at first glance is the Statue of Liberty. The famous Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus wrote a poem about the Statue of Liberty. This poem was engraved under his pedestal. His poem ensured that the Statue of Liberty would instead be seen as a beacon of welcome for immigrants leaving their European homeland, for the new "Mother of Exiles." These two sculptures represent the symbols of hope and future for people. Every leader and people of a country want a better future, for their homeland. They hope that the economy will prosper, that the people will be happy, that the country will remain peaceful, unified and technologically advanced. However, in many cases, people built statues or buildings to express this goodwill. Imagining that, if all of Manhattan is a giant sailboat, the Statue of Liberty is like a compass positioned in front of the bridge, indicating its direction. The flame on the glow, as Mao Zedong said, "A single spark can start a prairie fire", a small group of flames can set an entire prairie on fire. Small hopes can lead to a huge victory. The United States is a “great ship” sailing in the sea of ​​history and will suffer.