Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World or what remains of them is one of the first Destinations On public travel lists.

The idea of creating a list of architectural wonders arose after Alexander the Great's conquest of much of the known world in the 4th century BC, giving Greek travelers access to the civilizations of the Egyptians, Persians, and Babylonians.

Greek writers did not refer to these monuments as “wonders” but rather described them as “things to be seen” (themata).

Everyone had their own version of the Seven Wonders of the World list.

Some lists include ancient wonders such as the Walls of Babylon and the Palace of Cyrus, King of Persia.

Today, new lists of these wonders are constantly being created, but these are the original wonders of the world.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Seven Wonders of the World - Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was built between 353 and 350 BC for Mausolus, ruler of the Persian Empire.

After Mausolus' death, his wife and sister (a custom in the region to keep power and wealth in the family) decided to build him the most magnificent mausoleum.

The construction was so beautiful and unique that Antipater of Sidon placed it on his list of the original wonders of the world.

But the wife lived for only two years after her husband's death and the construction was not completed.

The couple's ashes were placed in the unfinished grave.

The shrine was also destroyed by a series of earthquakes that hit the area in the 15th century.

The remaining stones were used to build the massive Bodrum Castle.

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Seven Wonders of the World Statue of Zeus at Olympia

The statue of Zeus at Olympia was made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 432 BC.

The seated statue, about 12 metres (43 ft) tall, was so large that (suppose, for example) “if Zeus were to stand up he would hit the roof of the temple in which it was located.”

The statue is seated on a magnificent throne of cedar wood, inlaid with ivory, gold, ebony and precious stones.

In Zeus' right hand was a small statue of the crowned goddess of victory Nike, and in his left hand was a golden scepter on which sat an eagle.

The circumstances of the destruction of this statue are a source of controversy: it was taken to Constantinople, and it is possible that the statue was destroyed in the fire of 475 or that the statue perished with the temple when it burned in 425.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was built between 280 and 247 BC on an island in Alexandria to guide sailors into the harbor at night.

The lighthouse, built of large blocks of light-coloured stone, consists of three sections: a lower section with a central core, an octagonal middle section, and a circular section at the top.

Estimated to be between 120 and 140 metres (390–460 ft) tall, it was among the tallest Structures On earth for centuries.

The lighthouse was severely damaged by several earthquakes and completely disappeared in 1480.

That's when Sultan built Egypt A fort was built on the site of the lighthouse using some of the stones that had fallen from it.

The name of the island on which it was built, Pharos, eventually became the Latin word for lighthouse.

Alexandria Lighthouse

Temple of Artemis

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was a Greek temple dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of hunting, wild animals and many other things according to ancient Greek mythology.

It took 120 years to build and was completed around 550 BC and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

A young man named Herostratus burned down the temple on July 21, 356 BC to gain fame.

The angry crowd sentenced Herostratus to death and forbade anyone from mentioning his name, which apparently did not go over well.

On that same night, Alexander the Great is supposed to have been born.

The temple was restored, destroyed by the Goths and restored again.

In 401, the temple was destroyed by a mob led by the Archbishop of Constantinople.

Remains of the Temple of Artemis

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are one of the most enigmatic of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Some historians even question whether the Hanging Gardens were an actual creation or a poetic creation due to the lack of documentation of them in the records of Babylonian history.

These gardens are believed to have been built by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC.

He reportedly built the gardens to please his homesick wife who longed for the trees and plants of her homeland, Persia.

The gardens are described by historians as having been multi-level, reaching a height of 22 metres (75 feet), and containing techniques that allowed for the conduction and circulation of water.

The gardens were destroyed by several earthquakes that struck the area after the 2nd century BC.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Colossus of Rhodes

Built between 292 and 280 BC, the Colossus of Rhodes is a giant statue of the Greek god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes.

The Colossus was made of bronze and iron and stood over 30 metres (107 ft) tall, making it one of the tallest Statues In the ancient world.

It was the last of the Seven Wonders of the World to be completed, but it was the first to be destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC.

The statue's knees were cut off and it fell to the ground.

The Pharaoh of Egypt offered to pay for the reconstruction of the statue, but the Oracle of Delphi frightened the Rhodians, claiming that they had offended Helios, and they refused to rebuild it.

Colossus of Rhodes

The Great Pyramid of Giza

It was built The Great Pyramid In Giza as a tomb for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu over a period of 20 years and ended around 2560 BC.

It consists of an estimated 2.3 million limestone blocks that were transported from nearby quarries.

According to historians, the limestone blocks used in construction were quarried across the Nile River.

The giant granite stones in the King's Chamber weigh between 25 and 80 tons and were transported from Aswan, more than 500 miles away.

Rising 146.5 metres (480.6 ft), the pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to have survived the wrath of time.

Or as the Arabic proverb goes: “Man fears time, but time fears the pyramids.”

The Great Pyramid