The ancient world has been an inspiration to a lot of great writers, artists and scholars since 200 B.C. They are considered a marvel in architecture, such as the pyramids, or other similar amazing structures that were built by the human kind with simple tool and manual labor. These structures have been declared wonders, and across history there have been more wonders added to new lists. Today, there is only one wonder of the ancient world standing, out of the seven.
The Great Pyramid of Giza
This pyramid is located in Egypt and it is the only wonder that exists today. It was completed around the year 2560 B.C and has a height of 481 feet. Archaeologists believe that the Great Pyramid has been built in 20 years. It was built in Pharaoh Khufu’s honor.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria
There was a 400 feet tall lighthouse that guarded Alexandria, an ancient Egyptian port city. It was built around the year 280 B.C. and was considered to be the tallest building in the world. But the lighthouse crumbled as time passed by and as it suffered multiple earthquakes. The materials that were in the ruins were used to construct a fortress in 1480: the Citadel of Qaitbay, which still stands today.
The Colossus of Rhodes
This was a war monument, built in the Greek city of Rhodes, in 280 B.C. It was made from bronze and iron and represented the sun god Helios. The stature was about 100 feet tall, almost the same height as the Statue of Liberty. In 226 B.C it was destroyed by an earthquake.
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
This mausoleum was built in what we see today the city of Bodrum, Turkey. It was built in 350 B.C., and it was a tomb created for a Persian ruler and his wife. This monument was the last one to be destroyed, when more earthquakes along the 12th and 15th centuries demolished it.
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The Greek goddess of hunting was honored with a temple that was built close to the present-day Selcuk, Turkey. The temple has been destroyed by a flooding in the 7th century B.C. It was built the second time and managed to remain until 356 B.C. when it was burned to the ground. After that it was again rebuilt but the Goths have destroyed it when they invaded the place in 268 A.D.
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The great sculptor Phidias has built this statue in 435 B.C. Zeus’ statue was made of gold, ivory and wood, measuring over 40 feet in height. It showed the Greek god Zeus on a cedar throne. There aren’t many images of it throughout historical records, but we know that the statue has either been lost or destroyed in the 5th century.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
These gardens were built in present-day Iraq, by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (600 B.C.) or by the Assyrian King Sennacherib (700 B.C). Archaeologists haven’t found many evidence about the existence of the gardens.
Wonders of the Modern World
There are more wonders of the world, not just the 7 ones of the ancient world.
The lists of 7 wonders are spread throughout history: there are 7 wonders of the medieval world, 7 wonders of the modern world and a lot more lists like the first one in the ancient times. Some lists only include natural wonders, while others focus on man-made buildings, like the Golden Gate Bridge, Panama Canal or the Empire State Building. So, don’t be alarmed to see that there are wonders of American engineering among the lists of the wonders of the world.
