The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World

   The Seven Wonders of the World were put together around the 2nd century B.C. The first of the Seven Wonders of the World built was The Pyramids of Giza. Were the next of the seven built  (The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.) The Greeks  built the next two first The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, then The Statue of Zeus at Olympia. Next, was a temple for barring called The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The last two are the The Colossus of Rhodes then the last of the seven built, would be an ancient lighthouse called The Pharos of Alexandria.

The Great Pyramids of Giza

The pyramids were the first of the seven wonders to be built. To build this great structure (it would of take 20 years for 100,000 men) . It was made from more than 2 million stone blocks, that would each weigh around 2.75 tons or more. The men probably  got the stones up using ramps and placing logs under the blocks to roll them. The pyramids were built for a pharaoh named Khufu, for the time of his death and other pharaohs.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon 

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were constructed around 600 B.C. which would make it the 2nd of the seven wonders of the world to be built. It was built by the Euphrates River south of present day Baghdad, Iraq. It was called a garden for the fact that it had about every tree that existed in the Middle East and further. It wasn't just trees it had many different rocks, flowers, bushes, trees, and some crops planted. They transported water from the Euphrates River to the gardens to keep plants fresh and alive.

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia

The structure was built and finished between the years of 466 and 456. The statue of Zeus was surrounded by magnificent columns. For years after the temple was finished they still had no statue of Zeus. Finally a famous sculptor of Athens was chosen to make the statue.  The sculpture went by the name of Phidias.  the statue stands 43 ft. high and almost touches the ceiling sitting in a throne. This way when he stood up the people believed he would lift the roof. An emperor of Rome in 40 AD told people to move the statue to Rome but the people ran because they say the statue screamed. In 391 A.D. with the rise Christianity  the Olympic  games were banned and then  Greek temples closed. Later the statue was shipped to Constantinople. The place containing the statue was burned, leaving nothing behind. In the sixth century B.C. most of Greece was destroyed by earthquakes.      

The Temple of Artemis at Euphrates

 The ancient Greek temple was made mostly from marble. The main structure of the Greek temple was supported by about 120 marble columns. Each column was about 66 feet high, but the over all structure was about 90-100 feet tall. The temple was finished around 560 B.C. The temple was burned down by a man named Herosratas. That was the same year Alexandria the Great was born when he visited Ephesus he ordered to rebiuld the temple. That temple survived until the 3rd century A.D.  

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

 The only reason this monument was built, was because a powerful King named Mausolus.  Mausolus ruled around  modern day Turkey (Bodrum). Mouselus wanted to do something to be remembered by.  He died before his monument was finished around 350 B.C.  Golden looking lions surround the top edge of the building.  The very top was like four sided pyramid that had steps to the top.  The building was 141 feet tall.  Eighteen years later an earthquake made Mausoleum fall to the ground.  Later knights found a burial chamber of Mausolus and Artemis.  That night pirates and thieves stole the gold from it.

 The Colossus of Rhodes

 The Colossus was a giant statue that stood at the city port of Rhodes , in the Aegean Sea , of present day Turkey .  The people of Rhodes wanted to celebrate a victory against the people of Greece so they sold their equipment to pay for the construction of the statue of Helios, their son God, for protecting them.  It was bronze and stood about 108 ft.  It is not known what it looked like or where it stood exactly.  It took about twelve years to build, and was designed by an architect, named Chares.  The structure was finished around 280 B.C.  About fifty years later.  If fell during an earthquake and was snapped off, by its knees. The people of Rhodes didn’t rebuild it on an oracles order.  It laid there for over 900 years. Around 654 A.D., a Syrian prince dominated Rhodes and stripped the bronze stature.  The sirens then used it for money and trade after taking it. 

The Pharos of Alexandria

The worlds first lighthouse was built to guide ships to safety past reefs into the harbor of Alexandria. It worked by reflecting the flames of fire at night, and with smoke by day. The lighthouse was built on a small island called Pharos, in the Mediterranean Sea. It took about 20 years to build ,and was finished around 280 B.C. The lighthouse was made of three marble towers.  People of the island lived and worked in the tower since it had bedrooms. There was a spiral ramp leading to the top of the tower. The overall height of Pharos was about 389ft. tall. Enormous amount of fuel were needed to keep the fire lit.  Ships up to 31 miles away could see the beacon. In about the 12th century A.D. the harbor of Alexandria would no longer be used by ships. In the 14th century A.D. it was destroyed by an earthquake.

 Links:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sunken/wonders/

http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/index.html

http://www.fp32.com/

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761568384

Brought to you by Gil T. & Goat M.

May 6th, 2003

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