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Cultures & Landmarks 3, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Two thousand years ago, an Ancient Greek historian named Callimachus compiled a list of things that he thought were the most amazing and wondrous in the world. He called it "A Collection of Wonders Around the World." Not surprisingly, it contained a list of projects undertaken within the Greek Empire, because this was the only world that Callimachus knew. If Callimachus had traveled the world, perhaps he would have included the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, or Machu Picchu.
     After the fall of the Greek and Roman empires, people forgot about their treasures for hundreds of years. But as the Middle Ages came to an end, people in Europe rediscovered the literature, art, and philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome. This revival became known as the Renaissance, which means "rebirth." During this period, the ancient Greek list of wonders was republished and became famous. It comprised seven buildings and statues built between 2700 and 270 BC. Sadly, only one of these has survived, but enough evidence remains for us to take a tour of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
     The first Wonder of the Ancient World is the oldest, and ironically, the only ancient wonder still standing today: the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Ancient Egypt was a highly sophisticated civilization ruled by kings who were called pharaohs. The Great Pyramid was built between approximately 2560 and 2580 BC by the pharaoh Khufu, and, like all pyramids, it was both a monument to, and a tomb for, the pharaoh. When it was completed, the Great Pyramid was 145 meters high, and for four thousand years it was the world’s tallest building. It consists of two million stone blocks, each weighing more than two tons, and was covered in a layer of white limestone so that it shone in the desert sun. Today, the mummy and treasure of Pharaoh Khufu are long gone, but the pyramid remains for modern visitors to enjoyㅡfive thousand years later!
     The origin of the next Wonder of the Ancient World is a lonely queen’s homesickness for the familiar landscape of her native land. Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, which was located in modern-day Iraq, was married to a woman from Medea, now part of northwest Iran. The king’s wife could not get used to her new home in the flat and barren plains of ancient Iraq. She longed for the lush, mountainous meadows of ancient Iran. To please his wife, the king built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Situated on the Euphrates River about fifty kilometers from Baghdad, the gardens took over forty years to build, from 604 to 562 BC. The Hanging Gardens were a series of terraces where exotic trees, shrubs, and flowers grew, and where even some rare animals lived. Since it rarely rains in Iraq, the gardens required an elaborate system of irrigation that pumped water from the river. While the gardens must have been an oasis in the desert, nothing remains of them today.
     The next Wonder of the Ancient World has the dual honor of being one of the largest temples in ancient times and of being built twice. The Temple of Artemis was located near modern-day Izmir in Turkey. It was constructed to honor the Greek goddess Artemis, the goddess of hunting, nature, and fertility. The temple was deemed a wonder of the world because of its size and beauty. It was designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron in 550 BC and was larger than the Parthenon, the famous Greek temple that still stands in Athens. With its shining white marble, 127 columns, and magnificent art and sculpture, the Temple of Artemis became a popular tourist attraction for local royalty, merchants, and sightseers. In 356 BC, the temple was destroyed by fire when a man named Herostratus wanted to immortalize himself by ruining this great edifice. The temple was rebuilt, but was later destroyed by fire once again.
     The fourth Wonder of the Ancient World is associated with the Olympic Games. Did you know that the first Olympic Games were held in ancient Greece more than two thousand years ago? The ancient Olympic Games were a celebration of both sport and religion, so a temple was included at the site of the games in Olympia, Greece. As the games grew more popular, a statue to honor the Greek god Zeus was commissioned. The sculptor Pheidias built a four-story-high statue of Zeus, using wood for the god’s body, and pieces of ivory placed on top for his skin. The sandals and robe were made of solid gold, and the throne was decorated with precious gems and ivory. It was said to be the greatest Greek sculpture ever made. After standing for over eight hundred years at Olympia, it was taken to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), where it was later destroyed by fire.
     The next Wonder of the Ancient World is the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and like the Great Pyramid at Giza, it was a royal tomb. This enormous white marble tomb was built to hold the remains of Mausolus and his wife, Artemisia. Mausolus was a provincial king in the Persian Empire. The tomb was built in 350 BC on a hill that now overlooks the city of Bodrum in modern-day Turkey. Greek architects designed the forty-meter-high tomb, and four famous Greek sculptors decorated its walls. On top were massive, carved stone figures of four horses pulling a chariot in which statues of the king and queen rode. The tomb was so enormous that everyone who saw it was amazed by its grandeur, and the word "mausoleum" became the Greek, and later the English, word for a large tomb.
     The next Wonder of the Ancient World was a statue with great political, as well as artistic, significance. The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue built at the harbor of the city of Rhodes, on the island of Rhodes in ancient Greece. "Colossus" in Greek means "gigantic statue," and from this word comes the English word "colossal," meaning "enormous." The huge statue was erected after the city of Rhodes fought off a siege from the nearby country of Macedonia. The Greek sculptor Chares and the people in his workshop worked twelve years to build a bronze statue in honor of the sun god Helios. At approximately 36 meters high, it stood almost as high as the Statue of Liberty in the United States. Helios was posed in a traditional Greek manner: nude and wearing a spiky crown. Just 56 years after it was built, a strong earthquake shook Rhodes and the colossus broke at its weakest pointㅡthe kneesㅡand collapsed.
     The most recent Wonder of the Ancient World is the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the first lighthouse in the world and perhaps the most innovative. It is the only ancient wonder that also had a practical purpose! The lighthouse was situated on the island of Pharos in the harbor of the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Ancient Alexandria was a busy port with dangerous sailing conditions, and so a lighthouse was constructed there in 270 BC. Modern lighthouses use a massive beam of light powered by electricity. This ancient lighthouse used curved mirrors to reflect the sun’s rays during the day, and the light of a fire during the night. Its light could be seen more than fifty kilometers out to sea. The lighthouse stood for 1,500 years, but after years of earthquakes, it collapsed in 1326 AD.
     Where are the Wonders of the Ancient World today? The unpredictable and powerful forces of nature, as well as the actions of humans, have destroyed all the ancient wonders except for the Great Pyramid of Giza, which still stands today. However, there is some good news! The British Museum has parts of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus on display. The ruins of the Temple of Artemis and the temple which held the statue of Zeus still lie in the grass and rubble where they once stood in Greece. Archaeologists are investigating whether the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were fact or myth, and while the Colossus of Rhodes was completely destroyed, it was the inspiration for the United States’ most famous attraction, the Statue of Liberty. Finally, to compensate for the disappearance of the Wonders of the Ancient World, a list of modern wonders was compiled, and you guessed itㅡall of them are standing!
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