Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

By Lukyanova Vlada

The Great Pyramid of Giza also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops.  It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one still standing. The ancient Egyptians buried King Khufu in it.  The original height of the Pyramid was 146 m., but today it is only 137m high.

Pyramid of Giza

For a period of 4300 years, the Pyramid was the tallest building on earth, until the French built the Eiffel Tower in 1889.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. King Nebuchadnezzar II has constructed the gardens to please his wife Amytis of Media because she missed the plants of her homeland. Hanging Gardens were destroyed by floods in the 1st century BC.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Temple of Artemis was devoted to the goddess Artemis. It was located in Ephesus and was completely rebuilt three times. At first it was damaged by flood. In 356 BC the temple was destroyed by Herostratus, who set fire to the wooden roof-beams. He wanted to achieve fame at any cost. Next time it was destroyed in a raid by the Goths.

Temple of Artemis

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece was designed by Phidias about 432 BC. The statue was housed in the Temple of Zeus. With the base, its height is about 12 meters. The face, arms, and feet were made of ivory. The robe, sandals, the beard and hair were made of gold. There is a silver olive wreath on his head. The throne was made of gold, bronze, ebony, ivory, and gems. It was decorated with scenes from mythology. The statue does not survive. It was probably shipped to Constantinople about 393 AD and destroyed in a fire.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

The Mausoleum of Maussollos, was a tomb built between 353 BC and 350 BC. It was built at Halicarnassus for Mausolus by Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister. It was designed by the Greek architects Satyrs and Pythons. The Mausoleum is about 45 meters tall. Each of the four sides was decorated with sculptural reliefs. The word mausoleum has come to be used generically for any grand tomb, though "Mausol – eion" originally meant "building dedicated to Mausolus".

The Mausoleum of Maussollos

The Colossus of Rhodes was a huge statue of the Greek god Helios. It was built by Chares of Lindos, a student of Lysippos on the Greek island of Rhodes . Statue was built between 292 and 280 BC. Before being destroyed, the Colossus of Rhodes was over 30 metres, making it the tallest statue of the ancient world.

The Colossus of Rhodes

The Lighthouse of Alexandria, or the Pharos, was a tall tower built between 285 and 247 BCE. It was built on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to serve as a lighthouse for sailors. The top of the tower had a mirror that reflected sunlight during the day; a fire was lit at night.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria