Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

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The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (from left to right, top to bottom): Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum of Maussollos, Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria as depicted by 16th-century Dutch artist Marten Heemskerk

The Seven Wonders of the World (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a well known list of seven remarkable constructions of classical antiquity. It was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic (Greek) tourists and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. Later lists include those for the Medieval World and the Modern World. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it to be magical.

The Seven Ancient Wonders

The traditional list, though not the first or last, was made by Philo of Byzantium and written in 225 BC in his work "On the Seven Wonders". Earlier and later lists, written by the historian Herodotus (484 BC–ca. 425 BC), and the architect Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305–240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, survive only as references. The later version of a list of seven wonders was compiled by Antipater of Sidon, who described the structures in a poem around 140 BC:

I have gazed on the walls of impregnable Babylon along which chariots may race, and on the Zeus by the banks of the Alpheus, I have seen the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Helios, the great man made mountains of the lofty pyramids, and the gigantic tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the sacred house of Artemis, that towers to the clouds, the others were placed in the shade, for the sun himself, has never looked upon its equal, outside Olympus'

— Antipater, Greek Anthology IX.58

These are given in the table below:

Wonder	Date of construction	Builder	Notable features	Date of destruction	Cause of destruction
Great Pyramid of Giza	2584-2561 BC	Egyptians	Built as the tomb of fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu.	Still standing	---
Hanging Gardens of Babylon	605-562 BC	Babylonians	Diodorus Siculus described multi-levelled gardens reaching 22 metres (75 feet) high, complete with machinery for circulating water. Large trees grew on the roof. Built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Amytis of Media.	After 1st century BC	Earthquake
Statue of Zeus at Olympia	466-456 BC (Temple) 435 BC (Statue)	Greeks	Occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple that was built to house it, and was 12 meters (40 feet) tall.	5th-6th centuries AD	Unknown, presumed destroyed by fire or earthquake.
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus	c. 550 BC	Lydians, Persians, Greeks	Dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis, it took 120 years to build. Herostratus burned it down in an attempt to achieve lasting fame. Rebuilt by Alexander the Great only to be destroyed again by the Goths.	356 BC (by Herostratus) AD 409 (by the Goths)	Arson, Plundering
Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus	351 BC	Carians, Persians, Greeks	Stood approximately 45 meters (135 feet) tall with each of the four sides adorned with sculptural reliefs. Origin of the word mausoleum, a tomb built for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire	by AD 1494	Damaged by an earthquake and eventually disassembled by European Crusaders.
Colossus of Rhodes	292-280 BC	Greeks	A giant statue of the Greek god Helios, c. 35m (110 ft) tall.	Toppled by an earthquake in 226 BC, with the bronze scrap removed in AD 654.	Earthquake
Lighthouse of Alexandria	c. 280 BC	Hellenistic Egypt	Between 115 and 135 meters (383 - 440 ft) tall it was among the tallest structures on Earth for many centuries.	AD 1303-1480	Earthquake

The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.

The Greek category was not "Wonders" but theamata, which translates closer to "things to be seen". The seven as we know them could only have been seen after 280 BC, when the Colossus of Rhodes was completed. Earlier lists included things like the Walls of Babylon. The list is at its core, a celebration of Greek accomplishments. Only two of the final seven were non-Greek. Interestingly enough, since the Colossus of Rhodes fell down after a mere 50 years (it fell in a massive earthquake in 226 BC), few historians could have seen it standing (Philo amongst them) and so the exact form of the statue is unknown. It is known however that the Colossus could not have straddled the harbour entrance as it is often depicted in romantic medieval pictures. The Statue of Liberty was partly inspired by what the Colossus may have looked like.

Antipater's first list replaced the Lighthouse of Alexandria with the Ishtar Gate. Of these wonders, the only one that has survived to the present day is the Great Pyramid of Giza. The existence of the Hanging Gardens has not been proven, though theories abound. Records and archaeology confirm that the other five wonders used to exist. The Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus were destroyed by fire, while the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Colossus, and tomb of Maussollos were destroyed by earthquakes. There are sculptures from the tomb of Maussollos and the Temple of Artemis in the British Museum in London.

See also

• Wonders of the World, about similar lists made throughout the ages.
• Eighth Wonder of the World, about attempted additions to the famous ancient list.

Further reading

• D'Epiro, Peter, and Mary Desmond Pinkowish, "What Are the Seven Wonders of the World? and 100 Other Great Cultural Lists". Anchor. December 1, 1998. ISBN 0-385-49062-3
• "The Seven Wonders of the World, a History of Modern Imagination" written by John & Elizabeth Romer in 1995
• "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" edited by Peter Clayton and Martin Price in 1988

External links

• The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — a look from a professor of civil engineering at the American University in Dubai
• Image of the Seven Wonder locations
• Livius.org: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
• Video about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a virtual satellite tour made with Google Earth [02:34]
• Parkin, Tim, Researching Ancient Wonders: A Research Guide, from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. - a collection of books and Internet resources with information on seven ancient wonders.
• Google Maps 7 Ancient Wonders of the World
• "Eternal wonder of humanity's first great achievements", by Jonathan Glancey in The Guardian, March 10, 2007
• Seven Wonders Suite for Orchestra — A symphonic suite inspired by the seven ancient monuments by UK composer Stuart Mitchell - The Prague Symphony Orchestra