Example of Wonders Of The Ancient World

It is known as the Seven Wonders of the ancient world to a series of Particularly beautiful and spectacular monuments, which made a demonstration of the human capacity to generate works that transcended, and served as representation of the power, religion, science and arts of the World in that remote time.

These seven constructions were selected and listed around the 2nd century BC, and its splendor continued to be recognized even in modern times, when the list of Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

The Pyramids of Gizeh

The Pyramids of Gizeh are an Egyptian Funerary Monument, used as a burial ground for the pharaohs. The most recognized pyramids are: that of Cheops, that of Khafren and that of Menkaure, in Gizeh. The great pyramid of Cheops dates from the 26th century BC. Made up of 2.5 million stone blocks weighing 2.5 tons each, it measures 146 meters high and 234 meters wide. It is a tourist attraction still in force. Gizeh is the only one of the Wonders that still stands, despite its age.

The pyramids were built between 2900 and 2800 BC, managing to be one of the most formidable archaeological works in the world. Three consecutive pharaohs erected the largest group of monuments on the same site, the Pyramids of Giza.

Approximately more than 100 men were employed over 20 years to build the largest of the pyramids, that of Pharaoh Kufu, at Giza.

Pharaoh Cheops or Kufu of the fourth dynasty, built the great pyramid to serve as a tomb when he died. The pyramid of Cheops is about 147 meters wide and 230 meters wide. It was the tallest building in the world for several millennia until the Eiffel Tower in Paris was finished in 1887.

Many authors have named the Pyramids as "The mountains of the Pharaoh."

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built by order of King Nebuchadnezzar, approximately 600 years before Christ, to ease his wife's longing for her distant, mountainous land.

They were a series of artificial structures full of vegetation arranged on the roof of his 100-meter-high palace, with flower beds, flowers and even trees. The heights between the terraces were used to build palatial halls.

There is no trace of this architectural wonder. The gardens were planted on a brick terrace 400 square feet and 75 feet above the ground. The gardens were made up of a series of wide stepped terraces, supported by stone columns and arches, in which much of the trees and flowers were grown. On the upper terrace, the water from the Euphrates River was stored and distributed to the other floors.

The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis was a Greek-style temple, huge and delicate at the same time. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times. It was set on fire by a fanatic who wanted to go down in history for this fact.

It was a large building covered in metallic ornaments and surrounded by a forest of columns almost 20 meters high. Now only one of them and some fragments of the decoration remain.

The construction of the Temple of Artemis in the Greek city of Ephesus was around 550 BC. Such a city today is Turkey. The order of its construction was given by King Lidio Croesus and it was designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron.

The temple consisted of 127 marble columns 18 meters high and contained the best works of Greek art, such as the statues of Phidias and Praxiteles, and decorations by Apelles and Parrasio. The temple served as a marketplace and religious institution for many years.

The temple was frequently visited by merchants, artisans, and kings from as far afield as Persia and India, to pay tribute to the Gods.

On the same Day of the birth of Alexander the Great, in the year 356, Herostratus burned the temple of Artemis. For more than twenty years, the temple was repaired, and when Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor, he helped repair it.

The Statue of Zeus

The Ancient Olympic Games were held in honor of this statue in Olympia. At 12 meters high, it was made of marble, gold and ivory. It was created by Phidias, who has been considered the most outstanding sculptor of all time. The statue made such a visual impression that those who looked at it said that it seemed to breathe.

The Temple of Zeus was built around 450 BC, and designed by architect Libon. During the great power and magnificence of Ancient Greece, the Doric style of temples seemed too earthy for the time and needed to be modified. The solution was this majestic statue contributed by the hands of Phidias.

In the statue, Zeus appears seated on a throne of ivory and gold, with a small statue of the Goddess of Victory on the top. right hand and a scepter on the left and around it other representative sculptures of various mythological heroes.

For a long time, the temple attracted many visitors and sculptors from all over the world, as it was considered the most beautiful sculptural expression of the time. The statue is believed to have disappeared in the 6th century, due to an earthquake.

the Halicarnaso Mausoleum

Halicarnassus is an ancient city in Asia Minor, in which Queen Artemis had a spectacular tomb erected in honor of her husband, King Mausolus.

It is from that time that every sumptuous tomb has been called a Mausoleum. During the 4th century BC it was 42 meters high and the sculptural groups that adorned it stood out.

The project was organized by King Mausole's wife and daughter Artemisia. It was composed of a quadrangular base on which 36 white marble columns rose that supported a pyramid of 24 steps crowned by a quadriga with the statue of the Mausoleum. The Mausoleum was completed around 353 BC, three years after Mausolo's death.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria

Alexandria was the capital of the country in the time of Ptolemy, who made it a cultural and scientific center. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a 180-meter high tower that dominated the entrance to the port of Alexandria. It was built on a rocky promontory on the island of Faros.

The Lighthouse was a fundamental reference for sailors for more than a thousand years, until it was destroyed by an earthquake.

This lighthouse was designed by the Greek architect Sostratos, during the reign of the Egyptian King Ptolemy II, around 270 BC. It was rectangular in shape, and it was in its 180-meter tower that the fire made of wood or oil residues was constantly maintained. The fire was reflected by metal mirrors that made it visible from about 50 kilometers away.

The Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes was built around 300 BC. Is a statue of the Greek god Apollo, in 35 meters of bronze, which was erected at the entrance to the port of Rhodes and destroyed by an earthquake.

It was a gigantic bronze statue, which stood at the entrance to the port of Rhodes, the capital of a Greek island that bears the same name. According to the story, the statue was so large that boats passed between its legs.

The reason for the construction of this statue was to celebrate the unity between Rhodes and the alliance with the Egyptian Ptolemies. It took twelve years to rise, and it lasted 56 years on its feet, until an earthquake irreparably damaged it. His remains were sold to a Jewish junk dealer.

The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World are:

The Pyramids of Gizeh

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Statue of Zeus

the Halicarnaso Mausoleum

The Lighthouse of Alexandria

The Colossus of Rhodes

Click to know the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.