~ Wonders of the World ~

                                       

                                                                    
                                                           
                    
                                 >>>  The Original 7 Wonders  <<<

1- The hanging gardens of babylon

Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest character of Babylonian history, built the hanging gardens of Babylon to please his wife who had disliked the bareness of her new home.  It is certain that he was a great builder; he restored many temples, put up bridges, and lined rivers with embankments.  The walls he built around the city of Babylon were the longest, widest, and highest in the ancient world. The hanging gardens of Babylon - dedicated to the planet Venus rose above them in five tiers each 50 feet above the next, each tier planted with fabulous trees and flowers.

2- Giza

At Giza, Egypt, stands the Sphinx, and three famous pyramids, the oldest and largest of which was built by King Khufu (or Cheops) about 3000 B.C.  This enormous monument - a tomb built to protect the king's body and the treasures buried with him -  is the most expensive monument a man has ever built to himself.  The Great Pyramid was dedicated to the planet Mercury.

3- The Temple of Artemis (Diana)

The Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus, in what is now Turkey, was built in the fifth century B.C.  Once burned down, it was rebuilt even grander, it measured 342 feet by 164 feet and had 127 columns over 60 feet high.  It was in this temple that Paul the Apostle preached against pagan worship and aroused angry crowds.  The temple was destroyed by the Goths in 262 A.D.  The Temple of Diana was dedicated to the Moon

4- Mausoleum of Harlicarnassus 

When Mausolus, king of Caria (in Asia Minor), died in 353 B.C. his widow built a great marble tomb at Harlicarnassus.   A fine pyramid with steps of marble surmounted the rectangular base and on top of the pyramid was a mighty sculpture of Mausolus driving an eight horse chariot group.  Eventually destroyed by an earthquake, the Mausoleum of Harlicarnassus was dedicated to the planet Mars.

5 - Statue of Zeus 

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia in the Peloponnesus, was made of marble and decorated with ivory and beaten gold.   It was make by Phidias, the most famous sculptor of antiquity, who also made the statue of Athena which crowned the Acropolis.   The statue of Zeus was dedicated to the planet Jupiter.

6 - Lighthouse of Alexandria 

The Pharos at Alexandria was a lighthouse at the port of the Egyptian city named for Alexander the Great.   It was completed around 200 B.C., a skyscraper of the ancient world standing 600 feet high.  The summit was an open place, surrounded by bronze columns, where a fire burned at night, fed by wood raised thru the central shaft.  The most legendary feature of the Lighthouse of Alexandria was a gigantic mirror which either reflected the sun's rays or the fire by night - up to 150 miles out at sea.   The magnificent edifice was destroyed more than amillennium later by a series of earthquakes.  It was dedicated to the planet Saturn.

7 - Colossus of Rhodes 

The Colossus of Rhodes was a bronze statue of Apollo, 100 feet high.  Erected around 275 B.C. and standing high on an embankment facing the port (not straddling the entrance to the port as was often thought).  The legs of the statue were filled with masonry to keep the statue from being top heavy.  This and other precautions were unable to save yet another of the ancient wonders from the fury of earthquakes.  It lay broken on the rocks for 800 years until Arab conquerors sold it as scrap metal. The Colossus of Rhodes was dedicated to the Sun.