The
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
See the famous Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World: Walk through the lush Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Climb
the great Lighthouse at Alexandria. Stand before the immense
statue of Zeus at Olympia. Marvel at the beauty of the Temple
of Artemis in Ephesus...
The ancient Greeks loved to compile lists of the
marvelous structures in their world. Though we think of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as a single list today, there
were actually a number of lists compiled by different Greek
writers. Antipater of Sidon, and Philon of Byzantium, drew up
two of the most well-known lists.
Why seven? The Greeks thought that the number
had mystical significance. Perhaps because it was the total
of the known planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn)
along with the Sun and Moon.
Many of the lists agreed on six of the seven items.
The final place on some lists was awarded to the Walls of
the City of Babylon. On others, the Palace of Cyrus,
king of Persia took the seventh position. Finally, toward the
6th century A.D., the final item became the Lighthouse at
Alexandria.
Since the it was Greeks who made the lists it
is not unusal that many of the items on them were examples of
Greek culture. The writers might have listed the Stonehenge
if they'd seen it, but this placs was beyond the limits of their
world.
It is a surprise to most people to learn that
not all the Seven Wonders existed at the same time. Even if
you lived in ancient times you would have still needed a time
machine to see all seven. While the Great Pyramid of Egypt
was built centuries before the rest and is still around today
(it is the only "wonder" still intact) most of the others only
survived a few hundred years or less. The Colossus of Rhodes
stood only a little more than half a century before an earthquake
toppled it.
Take
Our Tour
So pack your bags and start this impossible tour
through time and space. Some of the pages have 3D images, so
if you're not familiar with how to view them, click
here to visit our 3D page before you start.
Other
Lists
Over time other groups have created lists using
the magical number seven. Though none of these lists are as
old as the ancient wonders list, they are a starting point for
exploring the marvels of our world:
Wonders of the
Modern World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World isn't the only
list of marvels people have created. In 1994 the American Society
of Civil Engineers (ASCE) decided to put together a list of
the most remarkable civil engineering feats of the 20th century.
This list is often referred to as The Seven Wonders of the
Modern World and you can visit them by going to our Modern
World Wonders
page.
Wonders
of the Natural World
In 1997 the Cable News Network (CNN) put togeather
a list of ecological wonders. To visit these locations go to
our Seven Wonders of
the Natural World page.
Bon voyage!
Book: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Copyright
Lee Krystek,1998-2011. All Rights Reserved
