The term colossus is used to describe those people who have large physical characteristics, it is also used to refer to historical and fictional characters that have great strength and size which exceeds in comparison to an ordinary person. In general, this adjective is widely used in the fiction genre of literature, to refer to characters of a size that exceeded the limits of normality and possessed great power. This word derives from the Latin "colossus" which means "statue that exceeds the limits of normality" and this at the same timeIt comes from the Greek "Kolossos" which is translated as "giant statue", this means that it is also used to indicate those buildings or large objects, for example, that building has a colossal size.
As mentioned above, it can be used as a qualifier for characters in mythology, usually gods, however it is also used figuratively to refer to a quality of an individual which exceeds the normal limits of an ordinary person. In that sense, it can be said that a person is a colossus of mathematics or is even a colossus of sports, which means that it is not necessary for him to have enormous physical characteristics, but only have some ability that is considered superior to the normal. For these reasons, it can be said that when this adjective is used most of the time it is seen as something positive with respect to the person or thing to which it is referring.
On the other hand, in the field of art, specifically in sculpture, when talking about a colossus, reference is being made to those figures that are built with dimensions that exceed those of an average person, in the world there are a large number of statues that have great fame and which are known as colossi, especially those that have an exorbitant size, one of the best known is that of the Colossus of Rhodes, however it was destroyed by an earthquake in 266 BC.
