The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World

The Seven
Wonders has always been the subject of much debate throughout the ages. They
were symbols of man’s creativity, skill, and vision. Their greatness and wonder
have echoed down through the ages and the mind still boggles at how ancient man
was able to design and build these great structures. The list of wonders was
originally complied by Philo of Byzantium in 225 B.C. It is clear to see that
each one of these wonders merit their place on the list!

The Great
Pyramid of Giza

The only one of
the Wonder’s to survive the ages. It is the largest of the three pyramids
located outside Cairo. It was built sometime between 2700 B.C and 2500 B.C. The
Great Pyramid is known as Khufu and it took 2 million blocks to build. The Pyramids has not only
influenced history and the modern world. it has also brought its splendour online, through many online games like Lara Croft: Temples and
Tombs the game is playable at Aspers
Casino Online. It is just one example of how the Egyptians still influence culture
today.

The Hanging
Gardens of Babylon

Build by Nebuchadnezzar
II for his wife – because she missed her homeland. It was believed to have
stood at 75ft tall and contained a collection of exotic plants and trees. There
remains a lot of debate as to whether it existed or not. Many records of the
time do not mention it being part of ancient Babylon.

Lighthouse at
Alexandria

Ptolemy I order
the great lighthouse at Alexandria to be built to aid ships that entered the
busy port. It became known as one of the largest structures in the ancient
world. It could be seen far out to sea. There was a fire at the top, which was
used during the night, and during the day there was a mirrors that reflected
the sun it could be seen for great distances. 

Colossus of
Rhodes

This was a huge
statue of the god Helios – he was the patron god of
the island. It stood the harbor of Rhodes. The height of the statue was 110 feet
and was bigger than most statues. It was wrecked by an earthquake in 226 BCE
and lay in ruins for many years. The Bronze statue was then taken away and
melted down in the East.

Mausoleum at
Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum
was built after the death of Satrap Mausolus around 351 BCE. Halicarnassus was
in what is now Bodrum, Turkey. It became one of the busiest ports in the
Eastern Mediterranean and the capital of the small kingdom. King and his wife
were both buried there, and the pair were both remembered for over seeing the
growth of the small nation.

Zeus at Olympia

Set within
Olympia’s Temple of Zeus, the statue was believed to be 40 feet tall. It is the
most famous depiction of the god known. It was built by Phidias using ivory and
gold. Zeus’ head almost touched the ceiling of the temple as he remained
seated. The temple eventually fell into disrepair and the Christians took the
statue to Constantinople where it was destroyed.

Temple of
Artemis

Finally, we
have this temple that was built in Ephesus. It measured 425 feet long, and 225
feet wide and contained 60-foot columns. By all accounts, the temple was
magnificent and was believed to be one of mankind’s greatest achievements. It
was burned down by a man called Herodotus and was rebuilt a few times before
being destroyed in 401 CE.