Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Many lists have been compiled listing the seven wonders of the world, however, the difference is in its date and time. The seven wonders of the ancient world no longer stand as history describes, however, they are works of art. There are natural wonders, however, in this list, are man made wonders. Defying architectural laws, these structures were built with the sweat and skills of sculpters, labourers and possibly, slaves.

Here are the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek sun-god, Helios. It was erected in the city of Rhodes on the Greek island of Rhodes. The statue was done by Chares of Lindos in 280 BC and is undoubtedly one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The amazing structure was constructed to celebrate Rhodes’ victory over the ruler of Cyprus, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, whose son Demetrius I of Macedon unsuccessfully besieged Rhodes in 305 BC. According to most contemporary records, the Colossus of Rhodes stood at approximately 70 cubits, or 33 metres (108 feet) high—the approximate height of the modern Statue of Liberty from the ground, up. This fact makes it the tallest statue of the ancient world. Unfortunately, the statue collapsed during the earthquake of 226 BC. Parts of the Colossus were preserved but it was never rebuilt.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis or Artemision is also known as the Temple of Dianna. This temple is a Greek temple that was built and dedicated to the ancient and local form of the goddess Artemis. Located in Ephesus, near the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey, the temple was completely rebuilt three times, and in its final form is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The earliest version of the temple preceded the Ionic immigration by many years and dates all the way back to the Bronze Age. In the 7th century BC, the Temple of Artemis was destroyed by a flood and was reconstructed in a grander form. The reconstruction began around 550 BC, under the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Metagenes. Funded by Croesus of Lydia, it took 10 years to complete. This version of the temple was destroyed in 356 BC by Herostratus in an act of arson. The last version of the temple was funded by the Ephesians and was ruined in 401 AD. Only foundations and fragments of the last temple remain at the site

Lighthouse of Alexandria

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom, during the reign Ptolemy II Philadelphus from 280–247 BC after the death of Alexander the Great. The structure has been estimated to be 100 metres (330 ft) in overall height. It is also called the Pharos of Alexandria. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, for many centuries it was one of the tallest man-made structures in the world. The lighthouse was severely damaged by three earthquakes between 956 and 1323 AD and it became an abandoned ruin. It was the third longest surviving ancient wonder, surviving in part until 1480 when the last of its remnant stones were used to build the Citadel of Qaitbay on the site.

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnassus which is present-day Bodrum, Turkey for Mausolus. Mausolus was a satrap in the Persian Empire, and his sister-wife Artemisia II of Caria. Designed by the Greek architects Satyros and Pythius of Priene, the Mausoleum was approximately 45 m (148 ft) in height, and the four sides were adorned with sculptural reliefs, each created by one of four Greek sculptors—Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas of Paros and Timotheus. The finished structure of the mausoleum was considered to be such an aesthetic triumph that Antipater of Sidon identified it as one of his Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. However, it was destroyed by earthquakes from the 12th to the 15th century, the last surviving of the six destroyed wonders.

Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is also the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. Due to certain facts and finding Egyptologists believe that the pyramid was built as a tomb over a 10- to 20-year period concluding around 2560 BC. Initially, at 146.5 metres (481 feet), the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years. Originally, the Great Pyramid was covered by limestone casing stones and what is seen today is the underlying core structure. Some of the casing stones that once covered the structure can still be seen around the base. There have been many theories about the Great Pyramid’s construction techniques. Most accepted construction hypotheses are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place. According to records, there are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished. The so-called Queen’s Chamber and King’s Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure. The main part of the Giza complex is a set of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honour of Khufu, three smaller pyramids for Khufu’s wives, an even smaller “satellite” pyramid, a raised causeway connecting the two temples, and small mastaba tombs surrounding the pyramid for nobles.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. So beautiful, it was described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and vines, resembling a large green mountain constructed of mud bricks, and said to have been built in the ancient city of Babylon, near present-day Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq. The Hanging Gardens are the only one of the Seven Wonders with its location not definitely established. There is no concrete evidence of the gardens existed, legend simply has it. There are theories surrounding the existence and disappearance of the garden, however, it remains one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Statue of Zeus, Olympia

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant seated figure recorded to be about 13 m (43 ft) tall. It was made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia, Greece, and erected in the Temple of Zeus. According to Wikipedia records, it is a sculpture of ivory plates and gold panels over a wooden framework, it represented the god Zeus sitting on an elaborate cedar wood throne ornamented with ebony, ivory, gold and precious stones. The statue was lost and destroyed during the 5th century AD with no copy ever being found, and details of its form are known only from ancient Greek descriptions and representations on coins.