Wonderful!
by Rob Cottignies
The “seven wonders of the ancient world” were
originally described in 225 BCE by a writer named Philo in
Byzantium, which was eventually renamed Constantinople and is now called
Istanbul, Turkey.
Philo listed seven architectural achievements which particularly
fascinated travelers. (Think of it as an early ‘bucket list’.)
These fantastic pieces of architecture continue to make
humans… wonder… how they were built to this day, especially because they
were erected without anything close to our modern equipment. (And many would be
difficult even with it.)
Six of the wonders have been destroyed by various causes
but they all continue to awe and bring us back to important times in the
history of humanity.
THE
SEVEN WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
WHERE WAS IT?
Rhodes,
the fourth-largest Greek island and capital of its group, the Dodecanese
islands.
WHAT WAS IT?
A
hundred-foot-tall bronze sculpture of the sun god Helios.
Designed by the sculptor Chares, it was completed
around 280 BCE after 12 years of work.
Romanticized images of the Colossus have it straddling
a waterway but modern scholars believe its legs must have been close together
in order to support the enormous weight.
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?
After
standing for almost 60 years, an earthquake devastated the statue and it was
not rebuilt. Arab invaders sold the pieces for scrap metal, consequently giving
us no knowledge of its exact looks or location.
WHERE IS IT?
The
western bank of the Nile River in northern Egypt.
WHAT IS IT?
An
elaborate tomb designed by the architect Hemiunu for the pharaoh
Khufu (a.k.a. Cheops)
Made of more than two million multi-ton stone blocks,
it and two other pyramids were completed around the year 2,500 BCE after
about 60 years of construction.
Without any official records, scientists can only
speculate how the structure was built. It seems an intricate system of ropes
and logs was used to move and stack the massive rocks. There was also a series
of traps and hidden rooms designed to thwart grave robbers. It has been
suggested slaves who worked on the pyramid’s interior were killed after
completion to keep its secrets concealed.
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?
The
Great Pyramid is the only Wonder which is still standing. It was the world’s
tallest human-made structure for over 3,800 years, until England’s Lincoln
Cathedral overtook that title.
WHERE WAS IT?
Near
the Euphrates River in what is now Iraq.
WHAT WAS IT?
Despite
its name, the gardens were not actually ‘hanging’. Instead, they were laid out
on a stepped terrace held up by towers, which people could easily walk under.
Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II installed the
gardens in the city around 600 BCE to appease homesickness felt by
his lover Amytis.
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?
There
are no ruins of the gardens, leading some to believe they never existed. Teamed
with no firsthand mention of them in ancient texts and the difficulty of
irrigation to keep them flourishing, it would appear the skeptics are correct.
But there is also a theory the gardens were decimated by an earthquake.
WHERE WAS IT?
An
island called Pharos near the city of Alexandria, Egypt.
WHAT WAS IT?
The
purpose of any lighthouse is to alert boats that there is land nearby. This one
helped guide vessels in and out of the Nile River.
An architect named Sostratos designed the
three-leveled structure with a statue of Pharaoh Ptolemy II or Alexander The Great
(namesake of Alexandria) on top. It was completed around 270 BCE.
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?
A
series of earthquakes over hundreds of years (ending in 1323 CE)
gradually destroyed it.
WHERE WAS IT?
What
is now southeastern Turkey.
WHAT WAS IT?
A
giant tomb ordered to be built in 353 BCE by a woman named Artemisia
to honor her husband/brother Mausolus, ruler of a region of Asia Minor called
Carnia and where we got the word ‘mausoleum’ from.
The massive marble structure had a complicated design
because the architects incorporated elements from Lycian, Greek, and Egyptian
styles.
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?
A
13th-century earthquake destroyed the foundation but some pieces can
be seen at the British Museum in London, England.
STATUE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA
WHERE WAS IT?
In
a temple dedicated to the ruler of the Greek gods on the site of the first
Olympic Games.
WHAT WAS IT?
A
40-foot-tall bronze statue framed by wood and decorated with gold, ivory, and
ebony. It depicted Zeus sitting on a throne and was sculpted by a man named
Phidias around 450 BCE.
A story goes that Phidias asked Zeus for a sign he was
pleased with the statue and the temple was struck by lightning shortly after.
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?
The
statue stood for over 800 years until worship of Zeus was banned and the temple
closed by Roman Emperor Theodosius II. It was then moved to Constantinople (now
Istanbul), where it was likely destroyed in a fire.
WHERE WAS IT?
Ephesus,
an important port city along the west coast of what is now Turkey.
WHAT WAS IT?
A
large marble temple honoring Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting and
fertility.
Several temples to Artemis were built in the same spot.
The original was developed by the architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes.
It was completed after 120 years and decorated by many famous artists of the
time.
WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?
The
three most celebrated temples were destroyed by an arsonist who wanted his name
to go down in history, the Ostrogoths (an eastern Germanic tribe), and a mob of
Christians.
…
THE
NEW SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
The year 2,000 CE saw the birth of a
campaign to form a new list honoring some architectural marvels which have been
constructed since the ones described above.
Over 100 million people worldwide voted for their picks,
the top seven of which were announced in 2007.
Unlike the ancient wonders, the new ones are mostly still
standing in some form.
WHERE IS IT?
Mexico’s
Yucatan Peninsula, also famous for being where the asteroid which supposedly killed
the dinosaurs struck.
WHAT IS IT?
The
ruins of a Mayan city which reached its height of productivity in the 9th
and 10th centuries CE.
There are many intricate carvings and works- such as a
structure with exactly 365 steps- which show how knowledgeable the Maya were in
the fields of Astronomy and Mathematics.
The main highlights of the city are the pyramid El
Castillo (Spanish for The Castle) and an early observatory called El
Carocal (The Snail).
WHERE IS IT?
Mount
Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
WHAT IS IT?
A
concrete statue of Jesus Christ measuring 125 feet (38 meters) in height (including
the base) with a 92-foot (28-meter) arm span.
It was proposed shortly after World War One, when the
people of Rio feared the country would become godless. Erected in 1931 after
five years of planning and construction, it is the largest Art Deco sculpture
in the world.
The Colossus of Rhodes would have been slightly taller
than Christ the Redeemer.
WHERE IS IT?
In
the Andes Mountains near the city of Cuzco, Peru.
WHAT IS IT?
A
site featuring many structures from the Incan culture.
The purpose of Machu Picchu is not officially known.
It has been argued that the location was a convent for virgin women, a pilgrimage
site, a retreat for royalty, or something else entirely. Also unclear is its
time frame, but that is believed to be during the 1400s CE.
The site also had a complex social and agricultural
system, especially for being so isolated in high mountains.
WHERE IS IT?
The
southwestern part in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan.
WHAT IS IT?
An
ancient city with Biblical connections which was important to an Arab tribe
called the Nabataeans. It served as their capital and an important trading
center.
The site is known for its well-detailed structures carved
into the sandstone cliffs and for having a complicated watering system.
Petra is thought to have been abandoned shortly after
an earthquake in 551 CE.
WHERE IS IT?
Agra,
northern India.
WHAT IS IT?
A
white marble mausoleum adorned with jewels in various patterns. The building is
surrounded by tall towers and a vast garden which includes a reflecting pool.
The Mughal emperor Shah Jahān ordered the tomb to be
built, which took around 22 years, in honor of his wife who died giving birth
to their 14th child.
Loosely translated from Persian, ‘taj mahal’ means ‘crown
palace’.
WHERE IS IT?
Rome,
Italy.
WHAT IS IT?
An
entertainment complex built in the 1st century CE by
order of Emperor Vespasian.
Up to 50,000 spectators watched many events in the
Colosseum, notably gladiator fights, military reenactments, and prisoners/slaves
doing battle with large animals.
The exact number may never be known, but it has been
estimated that over 500,000 people died within the building’s walls.
WHERE IS IT?
It
runs through several provinces in northern China.
WHAT IS IT?
A
massive wall extending 13,170 miles (21,196 kilometers) in total, though it has
many off-shoots, making the east-west length of it *only* 5,500 miles (8,850 kilometers).
The barrier was completed around the 5th
century BCE and was intended to keep invaders from entering the
heart of China. It was not very effective but serves as a monumental
engineering achievement and tourist attraction.
And no, the Great Wall cannot be seen from space
without a visual aid like binoculars.
…
If I could add to these lists (which I can since this
is my article), I would include the statues on Easter Island as my own ‘wonder’.
WHERE IS IT?
Easter
Island (called Rapa Nui in its native language of the same name), about
2,200 miles (3,540 kilometers) west of Chile in far-eastern Polynesia.
WHAT IS IT?
A
group of around 900 multi-ton heads and bodies carved into compressed volcanic
ash which stand up to 32 feet (10 meters) tall.
The statues were built by tribes all over the island
to honor important people who had died.
The transportation of such massive pieces to various
parts of Easter Island is not officially known but theories include rolling
them on logs, “walking” them with ropes via a rocking motion, and even involvement
from advanced extraterrestrials. (Rolling is the most-accepted idea.)
…
I hope you have enjoyed this list!
Thanks to these websites for assisting my research:
google.com, history.com, mentalfloss.com, ancient.eu, britannica.com, travelchannel.com,
easterisland.travel
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