Mandraki Harbour is a picturesque bay in Rhodes Town, located right next to the northern wall of the medieval Old Town. Today, it is primarily a marina for yachts and pleasure boats, as well as one of the most pleasant places for a leisurely stroll. On one side, the harbour is bounded by the fortress walls and the entrance to the Old Town; on the other, by a long pier on which stand three old windmills and the Fort of St. Nicholas with a lighthouse on its roof.
The entrance to the harbour from the sea is guarded by two stone columns on which are mounted bronze statues of a stag and a doe — the modern symbols of Rhodes. It was here, according to the most famous version, that the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, once stood. The harbour itself is not very large — about a kilometre in length. But so much history is concentrated on its shores that one glance is enough to understand: this place was important long before the first pleasure yachts moored here.
History from ancient times
Mandraki Harbour has existed since 408 BC, when the city of Rhodes was founded as a single polis. It was one of three harbours of the ancient city and served as the main sea gate of Rhodes. It was here that trading ships from Egypt, Syria, Phoenicia and the Greek city-states arrived; here the famous Rhodian wine and olive oil were loaded; and from here expeditions set out.
In the Hellenistic period, Rhodes was one of the wealthiest trading centres in the Eastern Mediterranean. The city controlled sea routes, minted its own coinage, which was a recognised standard of quality, and could afford the most ambitious construction. It was this power and wealth that allowed the Rhodians to aspire to create a statue that was to surpass everything created before them.
The Colossus of Rhodes — a wonder that stood for 56 years
In 305 BC, Rhodes was besieged by Demetrius Poliorcetes ("The Besieger"), the son of one of Alexander the Great`s generals. He brought an army of forty thousand and equipped his forces with the latest siege engines, including a giant wheeled tower — the helepolis. But the Rhodians held out for a whole year and ultimately defended their independence. The huge siege equipment abandoned by Demetrius during his retreat was sold, and with the proceeds they decided to erect a statue of the sun god Helios — the patron of the island.
Who built it and how they did it
The project was entrusted to Chares of Lindos, a pupil of the famous sculptor Lysippos. Initially, Chares planned a statue about 18 metres tall, but the inhabitants demanded twice as much — about 36 metres. This decision proved fatal: when the height is doubled, the volume of material increases eightfold, and therefore the cost increases by the same amount.
Construction lasted 12 years. The technique used by Chares was called sphyrelaton — hammering three-dimensional figures from bronze sheets over a metal armature. The statue was assembled on a stone armature of three pillars connected by iron crossbars. Two pillars passed through the statue`s legs; the third, shorter one, was hidden in the folds of the cloak.
To assemble the statue on site, Chares used an ingenious engineering technique: an earthen mound was gradually heaped up around the statue. As the Colossus grew, the mound rose with it, and workers could climb the slopes to attach the bronze sheets to the upper parts. When the statue was finished, the mound was removed. The Colossus used about 13 tons of bronze and nearly 8 tons of iron.
What the Colossus of Rhodes looked like
The Colossus was a naked, slender youth-god about 33–36 metres tall — roughly the height of an 11-storey building. On his head was a radiant crown, symbolising the sun`s rays. Helios raised his right hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes from the bright light and gazing into the distance; in his left hand he held a cloak falling all the way to the ground.
The statue stood on a fifteen-metre-high white marble pedestal. According to a popular image in medieval books, the Colossus supposedly stood with his legs straddling the entrance to the harbour, and ships sailed between them. However, this picture is a later invention. No ancient author describes the statue in such a position, and the width of the entrance to Mandraki Harbour is about 400 metres, which would have made such a pose technically impossible.
The death and disappearance of the Colossus of Rhodes
In 226 or 227 BC, a powerful earthquake shook Rhodes. The Colossus, which had stood for only 54–56 years, collapsed, breaking at the knees. The Egyptian king Ptolemy III offered to pay for the statue`s restoration, but the Rhodians consulted the Delphic oracle, who replied that they must have angered Helios in some way. Restoring the statue was forbidden.
The fragments of the Colossus lay on the ground for more than eight centuries. Even fallen, it aroused admiration. In 653 AD, the Arabs captured Rhodes. They dismantled the remains of the Colossus and sold them to a Jewish merchant from Syria. According to one version, the fragments were hauled away on 900 camels. Today, no trace of the Colossus remains. But the place where it once stood is marked by two stone columns with deer at the entrance to Mandraki Harbour.
The Knights and the fortification of the harbour
After the Knights Hospitaller (the Order of St. John) captured Rhodes in the 14th century, Mandraki Harbour became the Order`s main naval base. The Knights turned the city into an impregnable fortress — one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean.
On the northern pier of the harbour, in 1464–1467, they built the Fort of St. Nicholas — a round stone tower designed to protect the harbour entrance from Turkish ships. Along the pier, they installed 15 windmills, which were used for grinding grain arriving on merchant ships. Today, only three of the 15 mills remain; they have been restored and stand on their original site as a reminder of the harbour`s medieval past.
In 1480, the Turks besieged Rhodes, and the Fort of St. Nicholas found itself at the epicentre of the fighting. The Knights held the city, but after the earthquake of 1481, the fort was strengthened: a moat and an additional wall were added. In 1522, the siege was repeated, this time successfully for the Ottomans. The Knights left Rhodes, but the harbour`s fortifications remained.
In 1912, the Italians captured the island. They restored many medieval buildings, including the Fort of St. Nicholas and the windmills. It was under the Italians that bronze deer appeared on the columns at the harbour entrance, becoming the symbol of modern Rhodes.
The deer at the harbour entrance
On two high stone columns on either side of the entrance to Mandraki Harbour stand bronze statues of a stag and a doe. Both figures are life-sized, turned towards the sea and seem to greet ships entering the harbour. The statues were installed in the 1920s–1930s, during the period of Italian rule over the island. The stag and doe are symbols of the island; their figures can be seen on some old maps and on modern Rhodes symbolism.
The bronze deer at the entrance to Mandraki Harbour are the main spot for selfies and a mandatory stop on any excursion. Tourists take photos with the harbour, the Fort of St. Nicholas and, of course, the statues themselves as a backdrop. The columns on which they stand are modern, but they successfully imitate ancient ones and create the feeling that you are standing on the very spot where the Colossus once stood.
By the way, live deer do indeed exist on Rhodes. They are a special species — the Rhodian deer, which is protected by the state. They can be found in the forested areas of the island, especially in pine and cypress forests where there is water.
What else can be seen at Mandraki Harbour in Rhodes
• Besides the columns with the deer, the Fort of St. Nicholas and the windmills, there are several other interesting features in and around Mandraki Harbour.
• The Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary — a large, light-coloured cathedral on Eleftherias Square, at the entrance to the harbour. Built by the Italians in the 1920s as a Catholic church, after the reunification of the Dodecanese with Greece it became the Orthodox cathedral.
• The Municipal Market building — an example of Italian architecture from the 1930s, with characteristic arched galleries.
• Pleasure boats — excursions to the island of Symi, to Lindos and even to Turkish Marmaris depart daily from the Mandraki piers. Tickets are sold right on the waterfront.
Mandraki Harbour is a place where bronze deer stand on the very spot where, according to tradition, one of the greatest statues of antiquity once stood. The Colossus is long gone, but its memory lives on. The Fort of St. Nicholas no longer defends the city from enemies but serves as a lighthouse. The mills no longer grind grain but adorn the waterfront. And the deer still greet ships entering the harbour.
