Review of Four of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World
There have been many lists assembled from ancient times to present day noting the spectacular natural wonders and manmade structures in the World. The first known list of remarkable structures is referred to as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Ancient Greek and Roman scholars wrote about these wonders of architecture beauty. Located around the Mediterranean and Middle East, the seven wonders were: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. This paper will review four of these wonders.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are thought to be series huge and magnificent gardens, towering over the city of Babylon. According to legend, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were created by King Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 B.C. ("12 Key Facts”). The king built these beautiful gardens to cheer up his wife, Amytis who was homesick for her homeland. There is no physical evidence these gardens actually existed, only the descriptions provided through ancient writings.
The Greek geographer Strabo, who described the gardens in first century B.C., wrote, “It consists of vaulted terraces raised one above another, and resting upon cube-shaped pillars. These are hollow and filled with earth to allow trees of the largest size to be planted. The pillars, the vaults, and terraces are constructed of baked brick and asphalt” ("12 Key Facts”).
King Nebuchadnezzar II had the gardens placed all over the city. Although there is not a clear consensus on the actual design of the city’s famous gardens, they are reported to have been about 400 feet wide by 400 feet long and more than 80 feet high (Krystek, "Hanging Gardens"). The gardens were likely built on elevated terraces or stone columns. They were believed to be built in ziggurats, a type of tower in the form of a terraced pyramid. It has been theorized, an irrigation system was used to provide water from the nearby river Euphrates River to deliver water to the ziggurats and the elevated levels. An ancient hydraulic system like pump drawing water from a river was uncovered by a German architect and archaeologist, Robert Koldewey, which may have been used to support the irrigation theory (“12 Key Facts”). However, some modern archaeologists call his discovery into question, arguing that this location is too far from the river to have been irrigated with the amount of water that would have been required (Krystek, "Hanging Gardens").
The Hanging Gardens are believed to have survived 600-700 years. One theory reported an earthquake destroyed the gardens. However, archeologists and some historians believe that this may not be the case. The gardens may have been destroyed by natural causes and damages during war. Over the years, weather would have deteriorated and eroded the gardens, as well as mass destruction caused by wars on the city. With the exception of the accounts written in Greek literature, there is little physical evidence to prove the gardens actual existence. However the Hanging Gardens are still considered one of the ancient wonders of the world.
The temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Greece served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. It was also completely rebuilt several times before its eventual destruction in 401AD. The two most referenced temples were built in 550 B.C. and 350 B.C. (Krystek, "Temple of Artemis").
The city of Ephesus, located on the western coast of modern-day Turkey, was one of the richest city-states in the Greek Empire. It was an important religious and trade center because it was near the Mediterranean Sea. In 560 B.C. Ephesus was conquered by King Croesus of Lydia. Croesus admired Greek art, and decided to build the new temple in the world for the Greek goddess Artemis (Krystek, "Temple of Artemis").
An architect named Theodorus was hired to design the temple. It was built out of marble, supposedly the first Greek temple built of marble. It was the largest temple at 300 feet in length and 150 feet wide, an area four times the size of the previous temple (Krystek, "Temple of Artemis"). Unfortunately, the temple was destroyed in 356 B.C.. A man named Herostratus wanted to be famous and burned the temple down.
About 6 years later (350 B.C.) construction on a new temple was begun. This time the architect was a man named Scopas of Paros. His design was more magnificent than its predecessor. The sight of the temple had brought many travelers to visit it. According to Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian, the new temple was a "wonderful monument of Grecian magnificence, and one that merits our genuine admiration." (Krystek, "Temple of Artemis").Pliny recorded the length of this new temple 425 feet long and 225 feet wide. It was composed with about 127 columns that stood 60 feet tall (Krystek, "Temple of Artemis"). Another prominent feature added to the temple was four bronze statues of Amazon women. The temple is believed to be the first one completely made of marble. These are just a few reasons as to why the temple became a wonder to the ancient world.
Goths destroyed the temple in 2682 A.D. during a raid (Krystek, "Temple of Artemis"). Another temple was rebuilt again in the same location. This would be the last temple to be built. The roman emperor Theodosius the Great closed down the temple in 391 A.D. after Christianity became the state religion (Krystek, "Temple of Artemis"). The temple was eventually destroyed in a fire by a Christian mob in 401 A.D.
The ruins were discovered in 1860 by an archaeologist named John Turtle Wood. The few remains recovered are now housed in a British Museum. Today, all that remains at the Ephesus site is a single column, reconstructed to show where the greatest temple in the world once stood.
The Olympic Games were a Greek festival held every four years, and began in 776 B.C. The Olympics honored the god Zeus, who was the king of all the gods. The Greeks built a temple to honor Zeus in Olympia. Although the temple was beautiful, it was not grand enough for Zeus. The Greeks hired a sculptor named Phidias to build a status of Zeus for the temple.
Phidias completed his work around 450 B.C. The statue of Zeus was 22 feet wide and around 40 feet tall (“The Statue of Zeus at Olympia”). It was so tall that it nearly grazed the top of the temple. Zeus was comprised of both gold and ivory. His skin was made of ivory and his beard, hair, and robe were made of gold. The work on the statue took Phidias twelve years to compete.
The magnitude of the statue and detail that went into the statue of Zeus has been described as unbelievable. What is even more amazing is the emotion that people felt when viewing the statue. Written accounts described temple visitors shuddered under the shadow of the might Zeus statute. In 97 A.D. one visitor named Dio Crysostomos declared the image was so powerful that, "If a man, with a heavy heart from grief and sorrow in life, will stand in front of the statue, he will forget all these" (Krystek, "Zeus"). This is why it became a wonder of the ancient world.
The statue no longer stands today. There are several theories regarding the demise of the Statue of Zeus. An earthquake may have caused damage to the statue in 170 B.C. Then in the early 4th century the statue, it was believe the statue was stripped of its gold by Emperor Constantine after converting to Christianity. After his conversion he also had the temple shut down. Eventually a wealthy Greek named Lausus moved the statue in 475 A.D. to Constantinople, where the statue was destroyed in a fire (Krystek, "Zeus"). There is also another theory that the statue was never moved and was destroyed when the temple burned down in 425 A.D.
It was, while it lasted, a wonder that drew travelers and worshipers from many directions. Today visitors can review the remains of the temple, but the great statue of Zeus is gone. Researchers know what the statue looked like because of written reports, and because pictures were stamped on coins, which was a tradition at that time.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria was located on a small island called Pharos near the city of Alexandria in Egypt. The ancient city of Alexandria was named after Alexander the Great. Alexandria was an important port, and attracted a variety of people and cultures. The lighthouse was commissioned by Ptolemy Soter and designed by the Greek architect Sostratos of Knidos. It took approximately 20 years to complete, around 270 B.C. during the reign of Ptolemy II. The lighthouse is said to be the only ancient wonder that served a practical purpose: it helped to guide Nile River ships in and out of the city’s busy harbor. (Krystek, "Lighthouse").
The lighthouse is reported to have stood for almost 1,500 years. Estimates of the light house have ranged from 200-600 feet; most scholars believe it was about 380 feet tall (“Seven Ancient Wonders”). Based on ancient writers’ descriptions and coins discovered by Archeologists, it was deduced that the structure had three stories. The lighthouse had a square level at the bottom, an octagonal level in the middle and a cylindrical top. Above that the third story stood a 16-foot statue. Conflicting reports indicate the statue was either Zeus or Poseidon, the god of the sea (Krystek, "Lighthouse"); or possibly Ptolemy II or Alexander the Great, for whom the city was named (“Seven Ancient Wonders”). The building material was stone faced with white marble blocks cemented together with lead mortar (Krystek, "Lighthouse").
It is believed the Pharos Light house used a bronze mirror to direct the light from a fire that was built inside the cylindrical tower itself to guide sailors and merchants day and night into the city of Alexandria. People also saw the light house as a tourist attraction as many other things. Vendors would sell their goods at the light house because hundreds of visitors would visit the light house daily. Making the Greeks consider this as one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.
The lighthouse had survived a tsunami in 365 A.D., but was gradually destroyed during a series of earthquakes from 956 to 1323. A major earth quake in 1303 put the light house out of commission and finally collapsing in 1375 (Krystek, "Lighthouse"). Today divers are able to search for the ruins of the light house. Some of its remains have since been discovered at the bottom of the Nile. The area is now an underwater archaeological park.
Although there were remarkable sights to be seen all over the world, the original list did not include places unknown to ancient Greek geography. This list originated as a sort of early travel guide based on places visited by Greek authors. All seven wonders existed together for a brief period spanning approximately fifty years, with only the Great Pyramid of Giza still in existence today. The appearance and the history of these Ancient wonders can only be appreciated through tales and literary works. Still, all seven continue to inspire and be celebrated as the remarkable products of the creativity and skill of Earth’s early civilizations

Works Cited
“12 Key Facts and Legends about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.” Ancient World Wonders.com. WordPress, 01 Oct 2010. Web. 31 Aug. 2012.
Krystek, Lee. “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.” Unmuseum.org. The Museum of Unnatural History n.d.1998. Web. 31 Aug. 2012.
Krystek, Lee. “The Temple of Artemis.” Unmuseum.org. The Museum of Unnatural History n.d.1998. Web. 31 Aug. 2012.
Krystek, Lee. “The statue of Zeus at Olympia.” Unmuseum.org. The Museum of Unnatural History n.d.1998. Web. 31 Aug. 2012.
Krystek, Lee. “The Light House of Alexandria.” Unmuseum.org. The Museum of Unnatural History n.d.1998. Web. 31 Aug. 2012.
“Pharos of Alexandria (Light House of Alexandria).” Ancient World Wonders.com. Wordpress. 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 31 Aug. 2012. “Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Web. 31 Aug. 2012. “Temple of Artemis.” Ancient World Wonders.com. Wordpress. 11 Nov 2011. Web. 01 Sep. 2012. “The Statue of Zeus at Olympia.” Ancient World Wonders.com. Wordpress. 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 01 Sep. 2012.