Wonders of the World

1. Wonders of the World

2. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World • The Pyramids at Giza (c. 2560 BCE) • The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (c. 600 BCE) • The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (c. 550 BCE) • The Statue of Zeus at Olympia (c. 450 BCE) • The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (c. 350 BCE) • The Colossus of Rhodes (c. 282 BCE) • The Lighthouse of Alexandria (c. 270 BCE)

3. Before Common Era • The expression B.C.E. is now generally used instead of B.C. and A.D. • The term B.C. stood for “before Christ.” • The term A.D. stood for “anno Domini.” • Since these terms make references to a religion with which others might be unfamiliar more generic terms were created: B.C.E. and C.E. • These stand for “Before Common Era” and “Common Era.”

4. The Great Pyramid at Giza The Pyramids at Giza is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that still exists. You can travel to Egypt to visit them! Actually, the only pyramid to be included in the list of wonders was the Great Pyramid, known as the Pyramid of Cheops or the Pyramid of Khufu.

5. Hanging Gardens of Babylon • The Hanging Gardens of Babylon might have never existed. All of the historians who wrote about the gardens had never actually seen them, so their writings were pure speculation. • The gardens were supposedly built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife who missed the natural beauty of her homeland. • The Hanging Gardens employed a water pump system to water the terraced gardens off the Euphrates River.

6. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus • Artemis was the Greek goddess of the wilderness, the hunt and fertility. • The temple erected at Ephesus was what we would now consider a museum, housing fine sculptures and artwork. • The Temple of Artemis was burnt down on July 21, 356 BCE, the same day Alexander the Great was born. • Ruins of the temple can still be seen in Ephesus.

7. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia • Wanting to honor their god, Zeus, the Greeks devised the Olympic Games to bring the area together in celebration. • The Greeks also wanted to build a monument in honor of Zeus at Olympia where the Olympics were held, but they believed that a temple was not enough. • The sculptor Pheidias was selected to create a statue to the chief Greek god. • The statue was so large that it almost touched the ceiling of the temple. It stood 4 stories high at 13 meters. • Zeus’ robe and sandals were made of gold, and the remainder of the statue was made of other kinds of metals, ebony and ivory and inlaid with precious gems.

8. The Mausoleum at Halnicarnassus • Built as a tomb for King Maussollos, this monument is where we get the word “mausoleum.” • The Mausoleum stood for sixteen centuries until it was damaged by an earthquake and deconstructed by British knights during the Crusades to build a castle. • The castle still stands and the polished marble stones with the elaborate Greek frieze patterns can be found amongst the other stones used to build the castle.

9. Colossus at Rhodes • The Colossus was erected to honor the Sun-god Helios. It was probably about 33m high. • The Colossus at Rhodes was the shortest-lived of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It stood at the entrance of a harbor on the island of Rhodes for only 56 years before toppling over due to an earthquake. • The statue was not rebuilt after an oracle advised against it. • About a thousand years later, Arabian invaders sold the broken portions of the statue to a private collector and transported the pieces out of Greece on the backs of 900 camels.

10. The Lighthouse at Alexandria • Standing 117m high, the Lighthouse at Alexandria was not only an elegant monument to Alexander the Great, but also the world’s first lighthouse. • Utilizing flames and mirrors, the lighthouse provided guidance to ships up to 35km away to the harbor off the island of Pharos. • Toppled by earthquakes, the lighthouse has remained hidden from nautical archeologists until recently when some artifacts believed to be from the lighthouse were discovered in the Mediterranean Sea.

11. How Well Do You Know Your Wonders? • Take the Ancient Wonders Quiz to identify how well you know the Wonders of the Ancient World. • After learning about them, what trends do you notice? Are they all geographically related? Historically related? • Are there any wonders that you think are missing?

12. The Ancient Wonders • The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were named by various Greek historians. The list we see today is a compilation of their lists, with the seven most-chosen. • The list was generated around 200 BCE before many of the monuments we consider wonders were even built. • The list is very ethno-centric—that is, since it was generated by Greek historians, much of the focus is on Greek culture.

13. The Requirements to Wonder • What kinds of things did you come up with that make something a Wonder of the World? • Do they have to do with the wonder’s appearance? Its significance? Does the wonder have to be manmade?