Ancient Seven Wonders of World

Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt

It is also know as the Great Pyramid of Khufu or the Great Pyramid of the Pharaoh Cheops as was called by Greeks; who listed this pyramid as the first wonder of the world. It is the only one of the seven ancient wonders still remaining to our days and one of the most famous tourist attractions in the modern world. The pyramid is the located in the Giza Necropolis very near Cairo, the capital of the Egypt. The total mass of the great pyramid is estimated around 5.9 million tons and its volume is approximately 2.6 million cubic meters. The great pyramid was surfaced by white casing stones and blocks of highly polished white limestone; therefore the original monument shine brightly with the sun as a jewel. It is a great testimony of perfection in design and construction that reached ancient Egyptian. Many people consider still Giza as a spiritual and energetic place; therefore several privates groups visit Giza all the time attracted by the mystical aspect of the Great Pyramid. 

Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Iraq

These famous gardens were one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World which was described by the Greek historian Herodotus. The oldest descriptions about the gardens were written by Greek sources like Strabo or Philo of Byzantium. These historians described the gardens as one of the most impressive sites of the World.Some stories tell that the hanging gardens towered above hundreds of feet into the air but archaeological investigations indicate a more modest height, but still impressive to the time. The hanging Gardens did not really “hang “in the exact sense of being suspended from cables or ropes. The origin of the name is an inexact translation of the Greek word “kremastos” which mean “hanging”, but it means also “overhanging” such as a terrace or balcony.The Greek Historian Strabo (first century BC) described the gardens with these words: “Babylon, too, lies in a plain; and the circuit of its wall is three hundred and eighty-five stadia (an ancient unit of distance). The thickness of its wall is thirty-two feet; the height thereof between the towers is fifty cubits (an ancient unit of measure); that of the towers is sixty cubits; and the passage on top of the wall is such that four-horse chariots can easily pass one another; and it is on this account that this and the hanging garden are called one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The garden is quadrangular in shape, and each side is four plethra (an ancient unit of measure) in length. It consists of arched vaults, which are situated, one after another, on checkered, cube-like foundations. The checkered foundations, which are hollowed out, are covered so deep with earth that they admit of the largest of trees, having been constructed of baked brick and asphalt — the foundations themselves and the vaults and the arches. The ascent to the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway; and alongside these stairs there were screws, through which the water was continually conducted up into the garden from the Euphrates by those appointed for this purpose. For the river, a stadium in width, flows through the middle of the city; and the garden is on the bank of the river”.Another Greek historian named Diodorus Siculus tells that the gardens were around 400 feet wide by 400 feet long and almost 80 feet high. Garden´s height is very controversial, since Herodotus said it was 320 feet high, but this point seems too exaggerated.Other source described the hanging gardens as follows: "The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns... Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels... These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches... This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is suspended above the heads of the spectators".

Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece

It is one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World that was listed by Herodotus in his famous list. The statue was 12 meters (39 feet) tall. Herodotus said that statue occupied a whole room at western of the temple o Zeus in Olympia (about 150 Km west of Athens), the city where Greeks celebrated the original Olympics games. The statue was made by the Greek sculptor Phidias (who made also the statue of Athena in the Parthenon) in honor to the king of the Greek gods and it was the most famous master piece of art of all Greece.The statue was an ideal representation of the best classical style. It was made of ivory with gold plating. There are not copies of the statue; therefore we don’t know its exactly shape. But, the traveler Pausanias made around II century AD a detailed description of the statue and the throne on it rested. Besides, there are many Roman coins and engraved gems that represents to the Zeus at Olympia.According to the description of Pausanías, the statue was wreathed with shoots of olive and it rested on a wonderful throne of cedar wood, which was ornamented with ebony, gold, precious stones and ivory. In his right hand a figure of Victory made from ivory and gold. In his left hand, his scepter adorned with precious metals and an eagle perched on the scepter. The sandals and the robe of Zeus were made of gold.

The Colossus of Rhodes, Greece

This wonder of the ancient World was located in the Greek Island of Rhodes. It was a giant statue of bronze,  constructed in the III century BC as the representation of the god Helios.According to the legend, the Island of Rhodes was famous for its technology advances , mainly war machines. One of the examples of this technology was the Colossus of Rhodes. Is believed that this statue was approximately as large as the Statue of Liberty in New York, whose creator the French sculptor Auguste Bartholdi was inspired by the ancient wonder of the World.The statue would have been located at the entrance of the harbor of the island of Rhodes. The statue’s base was made of white marble; the pedestal was 50 feet height (approximately 15 meters). The feet of the statue were carved in stone and later they were covered with bronze plates riveted. The bronze skin parts were made by workers using casts, later individual plates of bronze were joined together by through holes made during the molding to form a series of rings. The structure was gradually erected and the bronze form was fortified with an iron and stone framework. The higher parts were constructed using an earth ramp which was built around the statue; this ramp was removed when the colossus was finished. Nevertheless, another theory proposes that the upper parts were built using towers and scaffolding. Is said that The Colossus of Rhode was 110 feet (33 m) height when was completed.There is a misconception about the appearance of the Colossus. It has been believed that the statue stood in front of the Mandraki harbor straddling its entrance. But, considering the colossus’s height and the wide of the harbor mouth, this image is almost impossible; this posture was a figment of medieval imaginations based on texts, like “over land and sea”. The Colossus would probably have been in an upright position with its legs together.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt

This wonder of the ancient World was located in the island of Pharos just off the coast of the city of Alexandria in Egypt. The great Lighthouse served to guide the sailors that traveled to the city founded by Alexander the Great.The Lighthouse of Alexandria worked by 15 centuries and it was the last of the six lost wonders of the ancient world that disappeared. It was one of the greatest architectural feats of the antiquity.Besides, the Lighthouse was the only wonder that was constructed with practical purposes; since it helped seafaring ships to find the harbor safely. The lighthouse served also as a military lookout for approaching enemy ships and a tourist balcony, because it had two observation platforms.The Lighthouse had two beacons near its summit. At night a great bonfire generated the light and during the day a great mirror made with a concave disc of polished metal, reflected and directing the sun rays. The colossal building was constructed with large blocks of light colored stone and it was composed by 3 basic structural elements: a rectangular base, an octagonal midsection and a cylindrical upper section where the beacons were. Access to the entrance was up a long vaulted ramp, from which a spiral staircase led up to many chambers which were used probably by beasts of burden to carry fuel for the fire of the beacons. According to ancient stories the lighthouse could be seen from up 35 miles (56 Km) away and according other legends, the light of the beacons could burn enemy ships, but this legend is very difficult to believe.It believes that the Lighthouse was between 330 and 600 feet (100 – 180 m) height and it was the highest building of the world except the Great Pyramid of Giza. Some texts mentioned a statue which was placed at top of the lighthouse and a poet named Poseidipos of Pella who lived in Alexandria in the III century BC, wrote talking about a statue depicted Zeus the Savior which was accompanied by Poseidon the Lord of the Sea.

The Mausoleum of Maussollos, Turkey

The famous tomb of the king Maussollos of Halicarnassus known as the Mausoleum of Maussollo , which served as tomb for the satrap (a local governor) of the Persian empire and his wife (who was also his sister) was considered by the ancient Greeks one of the Seven Wonders of the World.The tomb was a rectangular building of around 120 feet (40 m) for 100 feet (30 m). The tomb was erected on a hill overlooking the city. The building was in an enclosed patio in whose center was a stone platform on which the Mausoleum sat. There, had a beautiful staircase flanked by stone lions which led to the top of the platform. Many statues of gods and goddess ornamented the outer walls. Each corner of the tomb was guarded by statues of warriors mounted on horseback.At the center of the platform was the tomb itself, which was made of marble. The Mausoleum was around 140 feet height. The tomb was covered by sculptures in reliefs that showed scenes of the Greek history and mythology, such as the battle of the Centaurs with the Lapiths or scenes of battles of the mythical Amazons.Thirty-six slim columns (9 for side) adorned the four sides of the tomb, between each 2 columns, there had a statue; behind columns was a solid block which supported the weight of the great roof. The roof was the shape of a staggered pyramid. Perched at top of the tomb four horses pulling a chariot in which images of Mausolus and his queen rode.

The Temple of Artemis, Turkey

This wonder of the ancient world is also known as the Temple of Diana. The temple was located in Ephesus an ancient Greek city around 50 Km from the actual city of Izmir in the territory that today occupies Turkey. The temple was dedicated to Artemis the Greek goddess, the virginal huntress and twin of Apollo, who occupied the place of Titan Selene as Goddess of the Moon. This deity was passionately venerated as an archaic pre-Hellenic icon. The original statue that represented to Artemis was carved in wood. The statue had many breasts which denoted her fertility, rather than the virginity that Hellenic Artemis assumed.The Greek Artemis was a little different from the Artemis that was adored in Ephesus. The Ephesus’s goddess was a deity of the fertility; whereas the Greek Artemis was traditionally the goddess of the hunt. Therefore, it believes that the cult to the Artemis of Ephesus began several centuries before the Hellenic period. Probably the worship to Artemis derived from the ancient worship that Ephesians gave to Cybele.The temple was built, destroyed and reconstructed many times since Bronze Age. But the temple that was listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World was a project of 120 years which was started by Croesus of Lydia.Antipater of Sidon described the temple using the following words: “I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labor of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught (anything) so grand”.Pliny was who described the temple with more detail. According to his description the temple was 377 feet (115 m) long and 180 feet (55m) wide, with an area three times as large the Parthenon in Athens. It was made mainly of marble and was enclosed in colonnades of 127 Ionics columns, each column was 60 feet (18 m) height. The temple was always surrounded by priests and priestesses, musicians, dancers and acrobats.