The island of Rhodes was a mercantile republic with a large navy which controlled the entrance to the Aegean Sea.

Much of the Greek world, regardless of whether they were allies of Demetrius or not, apparently also viewed the siege as a pirate attack and sympathized with the Rhodians, and this attitude existed even in Macedonia.

Early in the siege the walls were breached and a number of troops entered the city but they were all killed and Demetrius didn't press the attack.

Several years later the Helepolis, which had been abandoned, had its metal plating melted down and - along with the money from selling the remains of the siege engines and equipment left behind by Demetrius - was used to erect a statue of their sun god, Helios, now known as the Colossus of Rhodes, to commemorate their heroic resistance.

[5] L. Sprague de Camp used the siege and the building of the Colossus in one of his historical novels, The Bronze God of Rhodes.