The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World

Have you ever wondered why there are several lists of the Seven Wonders of the World?  It all started with the ancient times when archaeologists found records of the lists of The Seven Wonders of The World.  Antipater of Sidon, a poet who wrote into a poem, a collection of the Seven Wonders of the World during his time.  It was during the 2nd century, so far, the oldest record archaeologists could find.  It was a collection of the most magnificent structures made by man.  During the ancient times, little is known about architecture and engineering.  Amazingly though, most of the structures collected by Antipater show that they have created magnificent structures even with little knowledge in these fields.  And their structures continue to inspire us even with our knowledge of modern technology.  The ancient times were full of works of art.  That’s why the Seven Wonders of the World looked very fascinating for us because of their display of artistry even if we compare them with modern arts and culture.

Of all the seven structures in the list, only the Great Pyramid of Giza still exists.  The rest were destroyed through time and natural disasters.  All that were left of them were remnants and written records that they truly existed.

Image via Wikipedia

1.       The Great Pyramid of Giza still exists up to this day.  Of all the seven wonders, this is the only structure that we can still visit.

2.       The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was the only wonder that leaves many people skeptical about its existence.  For one thing, they couldn’t find any trace of its remnants.  However, many ancient historians and poets were impressed by its existence.  They give full detail of their impressions of The Hanging Gardens, thus giving the modern people reasons to believe that it truly existed.

The Ishtar Gate was the entrance to the city of Babylon.  Its walls were long and many decorations of animals were embellished on its walls.  The walls were so long that when Germany sent archaeologists to dig the remnants of this wall, they were unable to ship the whole wall to Germany.  Instead, only a part of The Ishtar Gate was sent to the Pergamon Museum.  It was reconstructed and now on display for the public to see.  The reason it is in this list is because it was originally included as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  It was however, eliminated later and was replaced by The Lighthouse of Alexandria.  Few sources also associate this wall with The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

3.       Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was fully made with marble except for its roof.  It is the only structure in this list that was reconstructed for about three times before it was finally abandoned and destroyed.

4.       Statue of Zeus at Olympia was made so that the Temple of Zeus wouldn’t look too plain.  Many poets were impressed by this statue.  According to Dio Chrysostom, an ancient philosopher, a single glimpse of the Statue of Zeus will make a person forget his worries.  Despite the great work he had done, Phidias, the creator of The Statue of Zeus had to die in prison awaiting his trial.

5.       Mausoleum of Mausolus at Halicarnassus was a tomb built for a king.  The word ‘mausoleum’ as we know today originated from this ancient structure.  It survived for about 16 centuries before it was damaged by an earthquake.  Eventually, the invaders of the place felt the need to construct their own castle using every block and materials of the mausoleum.

6.       Colossus of Rhodes was a colossal statue, similar to the Statue of Liberty.  In fact, the Statue of Liberty was inspired by this monument.  This statue was so huge; it was said that its fingers alone were as big as a man.

7.       Pharos of Alexandria was the first lighthouse of the world.  It was also the longest standing structure of the seven wonders except for the Great Pyramid of Giza.  Pharos was originally the name of the island but it later came to mean lighthouse in Greek and other Latin languages.