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From Genee M. via asetest.com
"Was there really an official
seven wonders of the world?
What are they?"
There certainly were, although most of them are gone, lost
to the mists of history. Although most people know that a
list exists, few can name them. The list of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World was originally compiled around
the second century B.C. These "wonders" rivaled those
created by nature in their size, majesty, and beauty. Six of
the seven wonders no longer stand, having been destroyed by
natural disaster or by humans. In chronological order, the
Seven Wonders were:
1) The Great Pyramid of Giza - A gigantic stone structure
near the ancient city of Memphis, serving as a tomb for the
Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu. The only Wonder which does not
require a description by early historians and poets as it is
the only one still standing. The pyramid still stands at the
city of Giza, a necropolis of ancient Memphis, and today
part of Greater Cairo.
2) The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - A palace with legendary
gardens built on the banks of the Euphrates river by King
Nebuchadnezzar II. Supposedly located on the east bank of
the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq, its
possible they may have only existed only in the minds of
Greek poets and scholars. But, as described by scholar
Diodorus Siculus, they sounded grand indeed: "The approach
to the Garden sloped like a hillside and the several parts
of the structure rose from one another tier on tier... On
all this, the earth had been piled... and was thickly
planted with trees of every kind that, by their great size
and other charm, gave pleasure to the beholder... The water
machines [raised] the water in great abundance from the
river, although no one outside could see it."
3) The statue of Zeus at Olympia - An enormous statue of the
Greek father of gods (in whose honor the Ancient Olympic
games were held), carved by the great sculptor Pheidias, .
It was located on the land that gave its very name to the
Olympics. At the time of the games, wars stopped, and
athletes came from Asia Minor, Egypt, and Sicily to
celebrate the Olympics and to worship their king of gods:
Zeus.
4) The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus - A beautiful temple in
Asia Minor erected in honor of the Greek goddess of hunting
and wild nature. To those who visited it, the Ephesusian
temple was more then merely that - it was the most beautiful
structure on earth. Built in honor of the Greek goddess
Artemis (or Diana), the temple housed many works of art,
including four ancient bronze statues of Amazons sculpted by
the finest artists at the time. When St. Paul visited the
city, the temple was adorned with golden pillars and silver
statuettes, and was decorated with paintings.
5) The Mausoleum at Halicanassus - A fascinating tomb
constructed for King Maussollos, Persian satrap of Caria.
It's said that the beauty of the Mausoleum was not only in
the structure itself, but in the decorations and statues
that adorned the outside at different levels on the podium
and the roof. These were tens of life-size as well as under
and over life-size free-standing statues of people, lions,
horses, and other animals. The statues were carved by four
Greek sculptors: Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas, and Timotheus,
each responsible for one side. Because the statues were of
people and animals, the Mausoleum holds a special place in
history as it was not dedicated to the gods of Ancient
Greece.
6) The Colossus of Rhodes - An enormous statue of Helios the
sun-god, erected by the Greeks near the harbor of a
Mediterranean Island. The construction of the Colossus took
12 years and was finished in 282 BC. For years, the statue
stood at the harbor entrance, until a strong earthquake hit
Rhodes about 226 BC. The city was badly damaged, and the
Colossus was broken at its weakest point, the knee. The
Rhodians received an immediate offer from Ptolemy III
Eurgetes of Egypt to cover all restoration costs for the
toppled monument. However, an oracle was consulted and
forbade the re-erection. For almost a millennium, the statue
lay broken in ruins. In AD 654, the Arabs invaded Rhodes.
They disassembled the remains of the broken Colossus and
sold them to a Jew from Syria. It is said that the fragments
had to be transported to Syria on the backs of 900 camels.
7) The Lighthouse of Alexandria - A lighthouse built by the
Ptolemies on the island of Pharos off the coast of their
capital city. Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it's
the only one which had a practical use in addition to its
architectural elegance. For architects, it meant even more:
it was the tallest building on Earth. And for scientists, it
was the mysterious mirror that fascinated them most, the
reflection of which could be seen more than 35 miles
off-shore. Legend says the mirror was also used to detect and
burn enemy ships before they could reach the shore.
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