We are told that the Co-los'sus of Rhodes, as this statue was generally
called, was so tall that ships under full sail easily passed under its
spreading legs in and out of the harbor.

It stood there for about sixty years, when it was overthrown by an
earthquake. After lying in ruins for a long time, the brass was sold as
old metal. It was carried off on the backs of camels, and we are told
that nine hundred of these animals were required for the work.

Thus vanished one of the much talked of wonders of the ancient world.
The others were Diana's Temple at Ephesus, the Tomb of Mau-so'lus (which
was so fine that any handsome tomb is sometimes called a mausoleum), the
Pha'ros or Lighthouse of Alexandria or Messina, the Walls and Hanging
Gardens of Babylon, the Labyrinth of Crete, and the Pyramids of Egypt.
To these is often added the Parthenon at Athens, which, as you have
seen, was decorated by the carvings of Phidias.

CVIII. THE BATTLE OF IPSUS.

Demetrius, having failed to take Rhodes, now passed over into Greece,
hoping to overthrow Cassander; but the other kings, growing afraid of
him, agreed to help the ruler of Macedon. They therefore collected a
large army, and forced Demetrius to stop and fight them all at Ip'sus,
in Asia Minor.

Here, just twenty years after Alexander's death, his generals met in a
great battle. Seleucus, it is said, brought a number of fighting
elephants, such as Porus had used, which added much to the confusion and
fierceness of the struggle.

Antigonus, the father of Demetrius, was slain, and Demetrius himself was
defeated, and driven to Ephesus. The Athenians, who had been his friends
and allies as long as he was prosperous, now basely deserted him. They
declared themselves his enemies, and made a law whereby any one who
spoke well of him, or tried to make peace with him, should be put to
death.

The battle of Ipsus decided the fate of Alexander's kingdom. It was now
divided into four principal parts. Ptolemy remained master of Egypt, and
his family reigned there many years, until under Cle-o-pa'tra, the last
of his race, the country fell into the hands of the Romans.

Seleucus and his descendants, the Se-leu'ci-dae, had the Persian Empire,
or Syria and the land between the Indus and the Euphrates. The capital
of this empire was first Se-leu'cia, near Babylon, and later An'ti-och,
which became a rich and well-known city.

Lysimachus was given the kingdom of Thrace, which,