The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World There are several lists that were drawn up by the ancient Greeks listing the seven wonders of the ancient world. The two most famous are by Ntipater of Sidon, and Philon of Byzantium. They agree on six of the seven wonders listed below. The seven wonders of the ancient world listed, are the ones that most people accept today. This is the list of Philon of Byzantium. There was said to be seven wonders in the ancient world. Although most of them are no longer visible, we still have one of them available today. The seven wonders of the ancient world were: The Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza - The biggest monument on earth and is located in Egypt and is still being explored today. No one is sure how it was built since the blocks of stone used were of such enormous weight. Tiny robots are being used to explore air passages in the pyramid along with other modern devices such as radar. A hidden room below the Sphinx is now believed to exist but it cannot be explored without the permission of the Egyptian Government which has not given it to date. There is an old Arab proverb “Man fears time, yet time fears the pyramids". The Great Pyramid was the tallest manmade structure on earth for over 40 centuries or maybe longer, depending when it was really built. Edgar Cayce, The Sleeping Prophet, stated the Great Pyramid was over 10,000 years old. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Ancient Babylon was a city noted for its splendor. All indications are it was surrounded with a wall which rose about eighty feet high. It had both an outer wall and inner wall. The famous gardens seem to be terraces that hang over the walls. Documents were found where Diodorus, the famous Greek historian, stated the gardens were 400 feet long, 400 feet wide and in excess of 80 feet high. Eighty feet high happens to be the height the walls were believed to be. The foundation of the gardens was unearthed and measured only 100 X 150 feet. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia - Phidias, a Greek sculptor, was commissioned to create a magnificent statue of the god Zeus to be put into a new temple that was designed to be seen by all the Olympians that came for the games. Phidias had already created a forty-foot-high statue of Athena. To make sure that the Olympians could travel safely to the games a truce would be called and all fighting stopped. It is believed that the statue of Zeus was 40 feet high and sat on a wondrous throne almost touching the ceiling of the temple. I haven't verified this, but I was told that amazingly, Phidias's workshop still exists today in Olympia. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus - During a war the original temple at Ephesus was destroyed. King Croesus, the conqueror of the city, commissioned a Greek architect, to rebuild the temple. Rebuild the temple he did and to such perfection, it became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was said to be the most beautiful temple in existence. Some say the temple was actually built by an architect named Chersiphron and his son, Metagenes, while others say they merely conceived it. A 40-foot-high statue of Diana was constructed in this temple. It is said other statues and art adorned the temple and it was a sight to behold. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus - This is the tomb of King Mausollos of Caria. It was completed 3 years after the king's death. This magnificent structure was believed to be about 100 feet by 120 feet, although only the foundation survives today since the Knights of Malta used the blocks to build their castle. Here is a quotation taken from Lucian's "Dialogues of the Dead", "I have lying, over me in Halicarnassus, a gigantic monument such as no other dead person has, adorned in the finest way with statues of horses and men carved most realistically from the best quality marble." Some of the fragments now rest in the London Museum. In 353 BC the king died and Queen Artemisia, decided to build him the most magnificent tomb ever built to preserve his memory. The queen decided she had to have the best craftsmen available, so she sent messengers to Greece and she imported such men as Scopas, the supervisor of the building of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, along with Bryaxis, Timotheus and Leochars. According to historical accounts the tomb had 32 columns on top and great battles were pictured on it, including one where the Greeks fought the Amazons. The Colossus of Rhodes - This mammoth statue was said to straddle the entrance to the harbor at the island of Rhodes. The search for its remains has been going on for many years, but is yet to bear fruit. Some say the statue really didn't straddle anything but was mounted on a pedestal much as the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Interestingly it is believed that both structures, the Statue of Liberty and the Colossus of Rhodes were about the same height, if you measure to the top of the head not to the top of the torch on the Statue of Liberty. The colossus had fallen from an earthquake 56 years after construction and was cut up and carted away by Arab conquerors in the 7th century AD. The Lighthouse of Alexandria – It was known as The Pharos. The great lighthouse is said to have existed from approximately 270 BC to 1326 AD. It was described as being anywhere from 450 feet to 600 feet high. It had become a tourist attraction in the ancient world with food being sold inside. Statues and blocks of stone were found in the harbor by a team searching for the remains of the lighthouse in the mid 1990's. While inconclusive, it is believed these materials may have come from the lighthouse. No one can say for sure what happened to it, but it is believed that an earthquake brought it down. It is said the lighthouse contained a large mirror. While many stories were made up about its use, it was probably used to reflect the fire, allowing ships to see the flames further out at sea.
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