Many
magnificent buildings of the past are called wonders of the ancient world,
thereby referring them to the famous seven. Nevertheless, many of them are
called so by mistake, while original ones are often difficult to remember, or
we actually have not heard about them. So let’s remember (or learn about) the
true Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, 'Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand.'
Antipater
of Sidon - the main suspect in the compiling of the list
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Great Pyramid of Giza
The most
ancient, but the only surviving wonder of the world. The pyramid
is the achievement of social technologies that made it possible to mobilize at
the end of agricultural work about a third of the working people of the entire
state (in total - for the extraction of material, for the building, for
transportation, etc.) for the construction of this stone crap. In Egypt,
there are a lot of pyramids, and there are also very specific ones, but for
some reason, the Giza buildings were important to the Greeks. The reason for
the preservation is quite simple: there are a LOT of pyramids and they are
HUGE. However, it didn’t save some objects from dematerialization - for
example, the thrifty Romans almost dismantled the Djedefre pyramid. In
addition, many pyramids are located far enough from the cities, so people
forgot about them, they were covered with sand, and no one was going to dig
them out for a long time.
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The temple
of the ancient Greek goddess of hunting is located in Turkey, in the city of
Ephesus (in what remains of it). The building, which inspired fear and
admiration, had 127 columns. The temple did not belong to the authorities of
the city and was a separate quarter with all the goodies. In general, there were a
lot of temples in that place, but the world remembered this one. Once it was
burned by one strange guy on the night of the birthday of Alexander the Great.
Then Alexander restored the building, at the same time lifting it from the
swamps in which it was drowning. Then Ephesus fell under the rule of Rome, and
when the empire collapsed, the Goths destroyed the temple. Soon paganism was
forbidden, and no one was going to restore the wonder.
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Lighthouse of Alexandria
The first
lighthouse in the history of mankind. Rather, the first building, which
priority was constantly to serve as a lighthouse. Typically, Greek sailors
preferred at night to either anchor the ships, because they mostly tried not to
go far from the shore, or to sail, guided by the stars, which was very risky
and depended not so much on the skills of the navigator-astrologer as on the
will of Zeus, which is a good weather with a clear sky. To compare the scale, one
can imagine the difference between a tiny airport, which can take only three
aircraft per day, and a transport hub with a hundred or two flights at the same
time. By the descriptions, the lighthouse was noticeable at a distance of more than fifty kilometers. Often, even the entire daily trip of the ship was a
shorter distance. The lighthouse brought the city an incredible amount of
pathos and even more - profit. Its fate, however, is sad - by the XIV century,
it had been destroyed as a result of an earthquake.
Colossus of Rhodes
Colossus of Rhodes
Eiffel
Tower of antiquity. The largest metal sculpture at the time of construction in
the entire ancient world. Its destiny is just as sad as the previous on the
list: the statue was struck by another earthquake. Moreover, all subsequent
monumental statues in the world were compared with the Colossus of Rhodes, and
the Statue of Liberty in the USA cosplays the image of the Colossus, illuminating
the world with its torch. In fact, the colossus did not hold any torches in the
original (the prevalence of such an image is a result of European engravings of
the 15th-16th centuries).
There is a
story that the Rhodes initially ordered the statue half as low, and when the
price was negotiated, they asked to double the height. Master Hares quickly
doubled the price, although expenses increased eight times (two in a cube: all
three dimensions doubled). After completing the order, the master committed
suicide because of going bankrupt. Importance of math.
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
A huge
twenty-meter statue in the huge temple of Zeus. It was created in 430 BC by the
famous sculptor Phidias of Athens. It was made of wood, covered with gold and
ivory. The temple had no windows, and light entered only from the entrance and
was reflected from a huge pool with oil. A materialized sample of concentrated
show-offs, which made it significant, is like a gilded gun (wooden), only on a
city and state scale.
After the
advent of Romans in Greece, the statue was slowly degrading - first from
earthquakes, then from the ignorance of the new Christian-oriented government,
which, of course, did not approve the statues of pagan gods. Then the
masterpiece was completely dismantled and taken to Constantinople (aka
Istanbul), where it was burned as a result of some fire.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
They were
built by the order of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II because his bride,
the daughter of the Medes king Amatis, missed their native places and the
greenery. They represented a huge flowerbed of a pyramidal design, pretending
to be a separate building. From the point of view of technology, this was the
limit of perfection of the irrigation system: gardens bloomed almost in the
middle of the desert, and slaves pumped water all day long from the nearby
Euphrates River. However, they did not bloom for long - until the bride moved
to the land of the gods, and nobody continued to care about them. As a result,
all the vegetation disappeared, and the structure itself was washed away by
floods after several centuries. Only terraces left.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Named in
honor of King Mausolus buried in it. The reason why it became fashionable to
call most of the tombs mausoleums. Opinions about the time of construction of
the structure diverge. The construction of the mausoleum was begun during the
life of the Mausolus, not by him, but by his wife, who, however, did not see
the completion of the idea. But this, in general, is a typical story for too
big burials.
It was
destroyed half by an earthquake, half by the crusaders in the 16th century, who
took bricks to build another boring castle.
1. Have you known the whole list of the Seven Wonders? Have there been any mistakes?
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
Source: Seven_Wonders_of_the_Ancient_World and related pages
Comments
2. To be honest, I visited all these Wonders while I was playing computer games. Interestingly, in some games, I was even a designer of these buildings :) The lighthouse in Alexandria made the biggest impression on me. The building was huge, very high. I had the opportunity to visit this place when I played Assassins Creed Origins. I recommend it to everyone, this game perfectly reflects the splendor of this building and I would like to visit this building today, of course if it still existed.
3. Although I'm not a fan of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai, I must admit that Burj Khalifa should be on such a list. I think we all know - it's the most spectacular, tallest building in the world - it has over 820 meters in height. It is impressive, in addition, its construction was carried out at an express pace using the latest technologies. It is certainly some kind of symbol of the present time.
I haven't heard about Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and Statue of Zeus at Olympia. The other ones are common in pop culture so I had some contact with depictions of those.
2.
I think it would be a hard choice for me between the lighthouse of Alexandria and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The first one would be awesome to visit the top and see the beautiful city of Alexandria from above. The Hanging Gardens would be a great place to get lost in the extensive garden that's like no other on earth.
3.
There is already a 7 wonders of the modern world list, but if I had to pick myself, I would go for the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
2. I think I would love to visit all of them. But most attractive for me is the Garden of Babylon. I like the history of this architecture and it looks pretty amazing.
3. For nowadays everything is developed so high: technology, architecture on high level and it seems so usual for us. I don't think that we have something that we can consider as wonder of the world.
2. It would be a hard choice between Hanging Gardens and Lighthouse of Alexandria. I'd probably settle on Hanging Gardens though. I think it could be the hardest to make and I'm quite sure it was the hardest to maintain, because of all those flower beds and greenery. Moreover other wonders are strictly architectural wonders while in case of Hanging Gardens we have flowers part to be considered as well.
3. None. I think whole idea of seven wonders was fact that they were constructions which people seen as hard / impossible to built, hence 'wonder'. With modern technology, building became much easier to complete, so I don't see a need to call any of them as such.
The earliest known version of the list was created in the second century BC by Antipatra of Sydon . The list we know today was compiled in the Middle Ages, when many of the places on it no longer existed. As the list comes mainly from ancient Greek stories, only places that were known and visited by the ancient Greeks were included in it. The original Antipatra list replaced the Alexandria Lighthouse with the Ishtar Gate.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
I'd love to see the Rhodian Colossus. It was made of bronze and placed at the entrance to the port of Rhodes to commemorate the failure of Demetrius Poliorketes. I wonder if it was so monumental. 20 tons of metal was used to build this dowry. In my opinion, it is impossible that it weighed so little. Sources say it was 32 meters high. Due to the high density of the metal from which this statue was made, this statue would have to be very thin.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
In 2007, a new list of the world's wonders was created: Great Wall of China, Monument to Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Colosseum in Rome, Taj Mahal, Petra, Chichén Itzá, Machu Picchu. In my opinion, however, this list should be supplemented by the Japanese channels under Tokyo. In 2007, a new list of the world's wonders was created: Great Wall of China, Monument to Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Colosseum in Rome, Taj Mahal, Petra, Chichén Itzá, Machu Picchu. In my opinion, however, this list should be supplemented by the Japanese channels under Tokyo. Japanese people have built a giant sewerage system under Tokyo (specifically in the town of Kasukabe, north of the agglomeration), capable of absorbing and throwing out unimaginably large masses of water in a safe place. The giant installation consists of more than 6 kilometres of tunnels, connecting underground reservoirs, each 65 metres high. The pumping unit is able to throw water out of it with a capacity of 200 tons per second.
I only know a few of them, I guess the pyramid should be known to most people. It has been said on the Internet that the Pyramid is a power plant, although the authenticity is unknown, this building is still very great. Also, there is an eternal clue inside the pyramid, which makes me think that the civilization at that time might be really high. it is about the number "142857" carved on the wall inside the pyramid, you could read it together with Tesla's "369" discovery if you haven't heard about them yet.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
I think the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, because it looks very wonderful even in the picture in your presentation, and I also like place with flowers and plants.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
I am not so sure, maybe the Colosseum? An era of killing for entertainment.
This is an old list. The seven new wonders of the world were developed by the Swiss company New Open World Corporation (NOWC). The list was announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon at the Estádio da Luz stadium. The final voting lasted from January 1, 2006 to July 6, 2007, during which over 90 million votes were cast.
Seven winners were selected in a vote that took place over the internet and by phone, and are:
1. The Great Wall of China;
2. Petra;
3. Statue of Christ the Savior in Rio de Janeiro;
4. Machu Picchu;
5. Chichén Itzá;
6. The Colosseum;
7. Taj Mahal.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
Some time ago I visited Babylon in Iraq. There were really no hanging gardens. What is left of this city is a pile of ruins. Ishtar gate still holds and is still cool blue.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
Above, I wrote a new list of miracles. What else would I enter the WTC for sure.
2. I can’t decide which one because I would love to visit the Hanging Gardens of Babylon just because it must have look absolutely amazing, but also I would like to see the Colossus of Rhodes knowing that it was build ages before to simply admire hard work that must have ben put into building such a big statue.
3. I would add to this list The Colosseum and The Great Wall of China as a buildings from a history and also maybe Burj Khalifa as something from history which we are now making.
I didn't, I think I knew only about the pyramid and the colossus. At least they were on the list. But if I would try to mention all seven, I would make a mistake for sure.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
If there wouldn't be destroyed I would like to visit all of them. Sadly it's impossible now.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
I think that:
Great Wall of China
Chichén Itzá
Machu Picchu
Christ the Redeemer in Rio
Colosseum
Taj Mahal
and of course
Palace of Culture and Science in Warasw
I used to be interested in this topic and it may sound comical but I learned a lot from these games
e.g. Civ.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
The hip beat to see the colossus of Rhodes, he had to really do a big wow. I once heard that they wanted to rebuild this colossus of Rhodes
but ultimately the plan failed
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
In total, it may sound strange, but the apple complex is very impressive and I'd like to write it to this list.
2. Gardens, because I love green places and Zeus statue.
3. Most places were mentioned from new seven wonders list and I an agree with it.
P.S. If to go deeper than front page of search engine, there is information that in NOWC list are in fact 8 wonders.
I haven't heard only about Mausoleum at Halicarnassus but the rest are known by me pretty well.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
I have seen them on a lot of photos, videos and VR stuff but I don't know which particular I would pick. I liked pyramids the most and I have seen them. Perhaps Garden of Babyllons would be great to see and spent some time just chilling.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
I think that every of our nowadays big cities are in some way "wonders". They are so unique and vibrant to me.
1. Yup, I've known the whole list of the Seven Wonders and I don't think I was mistaken. I love history and I also play the "Civilization" games where you can build the World Wonders for your civilizations, so I actually got to remember all of them well by playing games.
2. I would absolutely love to see the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. That was a technological miracle even by today's standards and we could learn a lot about architecture from their creators. Sadly I won't be able to ever see them in their full glory.
3. There are many, many buildings that can be viewed as wonders. I'm in awe of some of the skyscrapers from Dubai, for example. I also love POLIN Museum's architecture. And there are countless other buildings that are very impressive and would be considered to be "created by gods" by the ancient people.
I knew it for sure as it was taught in a primary school, but today I do not know if i would have indicated at least 3 of them if I had't seen this article.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
I think it would be Hanging Gardens in Babylon. All of the others seem impressive as well, and I even had an opportunity to visit Gisa and observe one of the wonders from the list. Nevertheless, the gardens are still my candidate here.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
From the top of my head - the highest building in the world should be there. A building with a height of 828 meters is surely something worth mentioning on such list.
Yes I have learned about them in the past. I don't think there is any mistake in their listing.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
I would have loved to visit the Colossus of Rhodes.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
I have a long list but I would say the man made island Palm Jumeirah in Dubai would be top of the list
I have heard about the list and I have read about all of those wonders but if anyone asked me to name all of them without looking it up online I wouldn't be able to list them. Pyramids and this statue of Rhodes would be my first guesses but later it would only get harder.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
I would try to see all of them. It is a shame that I would have to pick only one. Hanging Gardens would probably be might first pick but I would at least try to see the rest of them just as soon as I got back from Babylon.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
The only building that I can think of right now is of course Burj Khalifa. Despite its controversies (low workers payments and heavy conditions) this building is something to be amazed by. If people were able to create a building which is nearly one kilometer high and makes people how are on top of it have additional 3 minutes of daylight then it makes me think that everything is possible.
I knew them all perfectly since I was 10. People may make mistakes because of another list which includes e.g. the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, etc.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
Hanging Gardens of Babylon. They may be interesting, how Babylonians got the water on the top using ancient technology. Whole of Babylon was probably astounded by this. It would've been awesome to see.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
Sagrada Familia from Barcelona, it concludes European stylistics from our history using modern technology.
2. Surely the hanging gardens of Babylon--that is what I would like most, I have always liked to admire nature, and it seems to me that such a place would make a great impression on me. Building this without access to today's technology and maintenance had to be done in a brilliant way, surely it would be very interesting.
3. There would probably be many better proposals, but one of the most beautiful cities I saw was Dubrovnik and I think it could be on such a list. I was charmed by its climate and breathtaking views. The Croats are also a super nice and friendly nation, making visiting this city even more enjoyable.
1. Have you known the whole list of the Seven Wonders? Have there been any mistakes?
I spent way too many hours playing Civilizations games to not know all of them. That's my point of honour to remember them even if someone wakes me in the middle of the night and ask to give him/her the list.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It fascinates me the most as it is very complex structure itself and served the real purposes to the society (it was real game changer!)
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
Following the trend in ancient list of wonder, i.e. anything that seem to be impossible to be built, I would put Burj Khalifa as the representative for current ages wonders
2. I would choose Colossus of Rhodes, it looks really impressive and I would like to see it live.
3. I don't know much about architecture and the past, but I think maybe some temple from China or Japan? Or something aztec from mexico
In middle school we had to memorize all of the Seven Wonders, so now it still resides in my memory.
2. Which one of the six (except the pyramids) wonders would you visit if it wasn't destroyed?
Probably Colossus of Rhodes, as I really like Rhodes, and I wouldn't mind visiting it again.
3. Which of nowadays buildings do you think should be in a new wonders list? You can compile the whole list if you want.
Probably Burj Khalifa, because it's the tallest building in the world.