The physical remains of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, no longer exist in any recognizable form in 2026. After standing for only 54 years, the 108-foot bronze statue of the sun god Helios was toppled by a massive earthquake in 226 BC. The giant fragments lay on the ground for over 800 years, becoming a world-famous tourist attraction in their own right; Pliny the Elder famously noted that few people could even wrap their arms around its fallen thumb. However, in 653 or 654 AD, Arab forces under General Mu'awiya I captured Rhodes and sold the remains to a Jewish merchant from Edessa. According to historical chronicles, the bronze was broken down and transported away on the backs of 900 camels. It is widely believed that the metal was eventually melted down and repurposed into coins, tools, or weapons. While there are frequent 2026 proposals to build a modern "New Colossus" at the Rhodes harbor, the original ancient bronze has been scattered and recycled across the Mediterranean world for over thirteen centuries, leaving nothing but legends and empty pedestals behind.