The document discusses the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, beginning with a brief overview. It then provides 1-2 paragraph descriptions of each wonder, including the 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 Lighthouse of Alexandria. It notes that of the original seven wonders, only the Great Pyramid still stands today.

1. University of zakho
College of engineering
Mechanical department
Fahry Mohemmedsalih Ahmo
The seven wonders
Mrs . Marwa
December 2018

2. List of content :
GREAT PYRAMID AT GIZA 2
HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON 2
STATUE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA 3
TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS AT EPHESUS 3
MAUSOLEUM AT HALICARNASSUS 4
COLOSSUS OF RHODES 4
LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA 5
OTHER WONDERS 5

3. were first defined as themata (Greek for 'things to be seen’ which, in today’s
common English, we would phrase as 'must sees’) by Philo of Byzantium in 225
BCE, in his work On The Seven Wonders. Other writers on the Seven Wonders
include Herodotus, Callimachus of Cyrene and Antipater of Sidon. Of the original
seven, only the Great Pyramid exists today.
GREAT PYRAMID AT GIZA
The Great Pyramid at Giza was constructed between 2584 and 2561 BCE for the
Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (known in Greek as `Cheops') and was the tallest man-
made structure in the world for almost 4,000 years. Excavations of the interior ofthe
pyramid were only initiated in earnest in the late 18th and early 19th centuries CE
and so the intricacies of the interior which so intrigue modern people were unknown
to the ancient writers. It was the structure itself with its perfect symmetry and
imposing height which impressed ancient visitors.
HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, if they existed as described, were built by
Nebuchadnezzar II between 605-562 BCE as a gift to his wife. They are described
by the ancient writer Diodorus Siculus as being self-watering planes of exotic flora
and fauna reaching a height of over 75 feet (23 metres) through a series of climbing
terraces. Diodorus wrote that Nebuchadnezzar's wife, Amtis of Media, missed the
mountains and flowers of her homeland and so the king commanded that a mountain
be created for her in Babylon. The controversy over whether the gardens existed
comes from the fact that they are nowhere mentioned in Babylonian history and that
Herodotus, `the Father of History', makes no mention of them in his descriptions of
Babylon. There are many other ancient facts, figures, and places Herodotus fails to
mention, however, or has been shown to be wrong about. Diodorus, Philo, and the
historian Strabo all claim the gardens existed. They were destroyed byan earthquake
sometime after the 1st century CE.
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4. STATUE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was created by the great Greek sculptor Phidias
(known as the finest sculptor of the ancient world in the 5th century BCE, he also
worked on the Parthenon and the statue of Athena there in Athens). The statue
depicted the god Zeus seated on his throne, his skin of ivory and robes of hammered
gold, and was 40 feet (12 m) tall, designed to inspire awe in the worshippers who
came to the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. Not everyone was awestruck by the statue,
however. Strabo reports, “Although the temple itself is very large, the sculptor is
criticized for not having appreciated the correct proportions. He has shown Zeus
seated, but with the head almost touching the ceiling, so that we have the impression
that if Zeus moved to stand up he would unroof the temple” (Seven Wonders). The
Temple at Olympia fell into ruin after the rise of Christianity and the ban on the
Olympic Games as `pagan rites’. The statue was carried off to Constantinople where
it was later destroyed, sometime in either the 5th or 6th centuries CE, by an
earthquake.
TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS AT EPHESUS
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Ephesos), a Greek colony in Asia Minor, took
over 120 years to build and only one night to destroy. Completed in 550 BCE, the
temple was 425 feet (about 129 m) high, 225 feet (almost 69 m) wide, supported by
127 60 foot (about 18 m) high columns. Sponsored bythe wealthy King Croesus of
Lydia, who spared no expense in anything he did (according to Herodotus, among
others) the temple was so magnificent that every account of it is written with the
same tone of awe and each agrees with the other that this was among the most
amazing structures ever raised by humans. On July 21, 356 BCE a man named
Herostratus set fire to the temple in order, as he said, to achieve lasting fame by
forever being associated with the destruction of something so beautiful. The
Ephesians decreed that his name should never be recorded nor remembered but
Strabo set it down as a point of interest in the history of the temple. On the same
night the temple burned, Alexander the Great was born and, later, offered to rebuild
the ruined temple but the Ephesians refused his generosity. It was rebuilt on a less
grand scale after Alexander’s death but was destroyed by the invasion of the Goths.
Rebuilt again, it was finally destroyed utterly by a Christian mob lead by Saint John
Chrysostom in 401 CE.
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5. MAUSOLEUM AT HALICARNASSUS
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was the tomb of the Persian Satrap Mausolus, built
in c. 351 BCE. Mausolus chose Halicarnassus as his capital city, and he and his
beloved wife Artemisia went to great lengths to create a city whose beauty would be
unmatched in the world. Mausolus died in 353 BCE and Artemisia wished to create
a final resting place worthy of such a great king. Artemisia died two years after
Mausolus and her ashes were entombed with his in the mausoleum (Pliny the Elder
records that the craftsmen continued work on the structure after her death, both as a
tribute to their patroness and knowing the work would bring them lasting fame). The
tomb was 135 feet (41 m) tall and ornately decorated with fine sculpture. It was
destroyed by a series of earthquakes and lay in ruin for hundreds of years until, in
1494 CE, it was completely dismantled and used bythe Knights ofSt. John of Malta
in the building of their castle at Bodrum (where the ancient stones can still be seen
today). It is from the tomb of Mausolus that the English word `mausoleum’ is
derived.
COLOSSUS OF RHODES
The Colossus ofRhodes was a statue of the god Helios (the patron god of the
island of Rhodes)constructed between 292 and 280 BCE. It stood over 110 feet
(just over 33 m) high overlooking the harbor of Rhodes and, despite fanciful
depictions to the contrary, stood with its legs together on a base (much like the
Statue of Liberty in the harbor off New York City in the United States of America,
which is modeled on the Colossus)and did not straddle the harbour. The statue was
commissioned after the defeat of the invading army of Demetrius in 304 BCE.
Demetrius left behind much of his siege equipment and weaponry and this was
sold by the Rhodians for 300 talents (approximately 360 million U.S. dollars)
which money they used to build the Colossus. The statue stood for only 56 years
before it was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BCE. It lay in impressive ruin for
over 800 years, according to Strabo, and was still a tourist attraction. Pliny the
Elder claims that the fingers of the Colossus were larger than most statues of his
day. According to the historian Theophanes the bronze ruins were eventually sold
to “a Jewish merchant of Edessa” around 654 CE who carried them away on 900
camels to be melted down.
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6. LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA
The Lighthouse at Alexandria, built on the island of Pharos, stood close to 440 feet
(134 m) in height and was commissioned by Ptolemy I Soter. Construction was
completed sometime around 280 BCE. The lighthouse was the third tallest human-
made structure in the world (after the pyramids) and its light (a mirror which
reflected the sun’s rays by day and a fire by night) could be seen as far as 35 miles
out to sea. The structure rosefrom a square base to a middle octagonal section up to
a circular top and those who saw it in its glory reported that words were inadequate
to describe its beauty. The lighthouse was badly damaged in an earthquake in 956
CE, again in 1303 CE and 1323 CE and, by the year 1480 CE, it was gone. The
Egyptian fort Quaitbey now stands on the site of the Pharos, built with some of the
stones from the ruins of the lighthouse.
OTHER WONDERS
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were, by no means, a comprehensive
agreed-upon list of the most impressive structures of the day. Rather, the list was
very much like a modern-day tourist pamphlet informing travelers on what to see on
their trip. Those masterpieces listed above are the traditionally accepted 'wonders’
as first set down by Philo of Byzantium but there were many writers who followed
him who disagreed on what was a 'wonder’ and what was only of passing interest.
Herodotus, for example, cites the Egyptian Labyrinth as being far more impressive
than even the pyramids of Giza, stating,
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7. The Reference
https://www.ancient.eu/The_Seven_Wonders/
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