The Original Seven Wonders of the World
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The Seven Wonders of the World has
historically been a listing of seven sites known to the Ancient Greeks as the
most notable locales in their known world.
Since then, many have developed lists of the "modern" Seven Wonders of the World. The only list that really
stands out and has stood the test of time for more than a decade is the Seven
Wonders of the Modern World, developed by the American Society of Civil
Engineers.
The Original Seven Wonders of the World
1) : -The Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek Titan
Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes on the Greek
island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos between 292
and 280 BC. It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It
was constructed to celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of Cyprus, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, whose son
unsuccessfully besieged Rhodes in 305 BC.
Before its destruction in 226 BC - due to an earthquake - the Colossus of Rhodes stood
over 30 meters (107 ft) high, making it one of the tallest statues of the
ancient world.
2) : -The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza (called the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb for fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops in Greek) over an approximately 20 year period concluding around 2560 BC. Initially at 146.5 metres (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. Originally, the Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed a smooth outer surface; what is seen today is the underlying core structure. Some of the casing stones that once covered the structure can still be seen around the base. There have been varying scientific and alternative theories about the Great Pyramid's construction techniques. Most accepted construction hypotheses are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place.
There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber
is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished.
The so-called
Queen's Chamber and King's Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only pyramid in Egypt known to contain both
ascending and descending passages. The main part of the Giza
complex is a setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honor
of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile),
three smaller pyramids for Khufu's wives, an even smaller "satellite"
pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small mastaba tombs
surrounding the pyramid for nobles.
3) : -The Hanging
Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were considered to be one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one of the Wonders that may have
been purely legendary. They were purportedly built in the ancient city-state of
Babylon, near present-day Al Hillah, Babil
province, in Iraq.
The Hanging Gardens
were not the only World Wonder in Babylon;
the city walls and obelisk attributed to Queen Semiramis
were also featured in ancient lists of Wonders.
The gardens were attributed to the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II,
who ruled between 605 and 562 BC. He is reported to have constructed the
gardens to please his homesick wife, Amytis
of Media, who longed for the plants of her homeland.
The gardens were said to have been destroyed by several earthquakes after the
2nd century BC.
The Hanging Gardens
of Babylon are
documented by ancient Greek and Roman writers, including Strabo, Diodorus
Siculus, and Quintus Curtius Rufus. However, no cuneiform texts describing
the Hanging Gardens are extant, and no definitive
archaeological evidence concerning their whereabouts have been found.
Ancient writers describe the possible
use of something similar to an Archimedes screw as a process of irrigating the
terraced gardens. Estimates based on descriptions of the gardens in ancient sources
say the Hanging Gardens would have required a minimum
amount of 8,200 gallons (37,000 liters) of water per day. Nebuchadnezzar II is
also reported to have used massive slabs of stone, a technique not otherwise
attested in Babylon,
to prevent the water from eroding the ground.
4) : -The Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Lighthouse of Alexandria (in Ancient Greek, ὁ Φάρος της Ἀλεξανδρείας),
was a tower built between 280 and 247 BC on the island
of Pharos at Alexandria, Egypt.
Its purpose was to guide sailors into the port of Alexandria.
With a height variously estimated at somewhere between 393 and 450 ft (120
and 140 m), it was for many centuries among the tallest man-made structures on
Earth. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
5) : -The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus (in Greek,
Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC at
Halicarnassus
(present Bodrum,
Turkey) for Mausolus,
a satrap in the Persian
Empire, and Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister. The structure was
designed by the Greek architects Satyros and Pythius
of Priene.
The Mausoleum stood approximately 45 m (148 ft) in height, and
each of the four sides was adorned with sculptural reliefs created by
each one of four Greek sculptors — Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas of Paros and Timotheus.
The finished structure of the mauloseum was considered to be such an aesthetic
triumph that Antipater of Sidon identified it as one of his Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World.
The word mausoleum has now come to be used generically for grand
tomb.
6) : -The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was made by the Greek
sculptor Phidias,
circa 432 BC on the site where it was erected in the Temple
of Zeus, Olympia, Greece.
It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
7): - The Temple
of Artemis at Ephesus
The Temple of Artemis (Greek: Ἀρτεμίσιον,
or Artemision), also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana,
was a Greek temple dedicated to a goddess Greeks identified as Artemis and was
one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was located in Ephesus (near the modern town of Selçuk in
present-day Turkey),
and was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction in 401. Only
foundations and sculptural fragments of the latest of the temples at the site
remain.
The first sanctuary (temenos) antedated the Ionic immigration by many years,
and dates to the Bronze Age. Callimachus, in his Hymn to Artemis, attributed it
to the Amazons. In the 7th century the old temple was destroyed by a flood. Its
reconstruction began around 550 BC, under the Cretan architect Chersiphron
and his son Metagenes,
at the expense of Croesus of Lydia: the project took 10 years to complete, only
to be destroyed in an act of arson by Herostratus.
It was later rebuilt.
Antipater of Sidon, who compiled the list of the
Seven Wonders, describes the finished temple:
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 labour 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 so
grand"
2) : - Christ Redeemer, Brazil - Large Statue
3) : - The Great Wall, China
4) : - Machu Picchu, Peru
5) : - Petra, Jordan - Ancient City
6) : - The Roman Colosseum, Italy
7) : -The Taj Mahal, India
2) - The Great Barrier Reef
3) - The Harbor at Rio de Janeiro
4) - Mt. Everest
5) - Northern Lights
6) - Paricutin Volcano
7) - Victoria Falls
July 7, 2007 (7-7-07)
an organization announced a "new" set of the Seven Wonders of the World based on online voting from
around the world...
1) : - Chichen Itza, Mexico - Mayan City2) : - Christ Redeemer, Brazil - Large Statue
3) : - The Great Wall, China
4) : - Machu Picchu, Peru
5) : - Petra, Jordan - Ancient City
6) : - The Roman Colosseum, Italy
7) : -The Taj Mahal, India
The Seven Wonders of the Modern World
1) - Channel
Tunnel
2) - CN Tower
3) - Empire State Building
4) - Golden Gate Bridge
5) - Itaipu Dam
6) - Netherlands North Sea Protection Works
7) - Panama Canal
2) - CN Tower
3) - Empire State Building
4) - Golden Gate Bridge
5) - Itaipu Dam
6) - Netherlands North Sea Protection Works
7) - Panama Canal
Natural Wonders of the World
In 1997, CNN announced a listing of the Seven Natural
Wonders of the World are : -
1) - Grand Canyon2) - The Great Barrier Reef
3) - The Harbor at Rio de Janeiro
4) - Mt. Everest
5) - Northern Lights
6) - Paricutin Volcano
7) - Victoria Falls
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