Around the year 64, the Roman emperor Nero commissioned a huge statue depicting himself as a god. The bronze statue, designed and constructed by the Greek architect Zenodorus, was approximately 115 feet high, comparable to our Statue of Liberty. It was so heavy, it took a team of 24 elephants to move it. The statue was not covered with gold.
Known as the Colossus of Nero (Colossus Neronis), the statue was parked outside the Flavian Amphitheater (Amphitheatrum Flavium), which was eventually renamed the Colosseum. We know what this monument looked like because it was represented on coins and medallions.
At the time, it was controversial (and somewhat offensive) for a still-living emperor to be portrayed as a god, something that had been done previously by Caligula. After Nero's suicide, the statue was modified to represent the sun god Sol. Emperor Commodus had the head replaced, along with other modifications, to depict himself as Hercules, but after his death, it was restored as Sol.
The Colossus of Nero was destroyed, possibly during the Sack of Rome or in the fifth-century earthquakes. The remaining bronze was salvaged and melted down, and may have been used to make cannons. Today, the only remaining traces of this monument to narcissism are some of its concrete foundation stones on display near the Colosseum.
Looks like history is trying to repeat itself. Hoping the current "Emperor" and his "tributes" end the same way as Nero's.
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