“To you, O Sun, the people of Dorian Rhodes set up this bronze statue reaching to Olympus, when they had pacified the waves of war and crowned their city with the spoils taken from the enemy. Not only over the seas but also on land did they kindle the lovely torch of freedom and independence. For to the descendants of Herakles belongs dominion over sea and land.“
(Dedicatory inscription of the Colossus)

“Why man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonourable graves”
(William Shakespear, CE 1600, Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II)

“The brazen giant of Greek fame with conquering limbs astride from land to land”
(Emma Lazarus, CE 1883, The New Colossus)