Sunday, October 11, 2009

Sundays Art:The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Great Pyramid of Giza
Egyptians built as the tomb of fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu. Still standing

Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Babylonians Diodorus Siculus described multi-levelled gardens reaching 22 metres (75 feet) high, complete with machinery for circulating water. Large trees grew on the roof. Built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Amytis of Media.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Greeks Occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple that was built to house it, and was 12 metres (40 feet) tall.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis, it took 120 years to build. Herostratus burned it down to achieve lasting fame. Rebuilt by Alexander the Great only to be destroyed again by the Goths. It was rebuilt once again after, only to be closed in 391 and destroyed by a mob led by St John Chrysostom in 401.

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Carians, Persians, Greeks Stood approximately 45 metres (135 feet) tall with each of the four sides adorned with sculptural reliefs. Origin of the word mausoleum, a tomb built for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire

Colossus of Rhodes

Greeks A giant statue of the Greek god Helios, c. 35m (110 ft) tall.

Lighthouse of Alexandria
Hellenistic Egypt Between 115 and 135 metres (383 - 440 ft) it was among the tallest structures on Earth for many centuries. The island that it was built on, Pharaohs, eventually spawned the Latin word for lighthouse, again Pharaohs.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for this - I have always been interested in the 7 wonders - my favorite being the great pyramid.

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  2. I first learned about the seven wonders in grade school and I think that is what started my whole obsession with the ancient world.

    My favorite is the temple of Artemis. Could you just imagine what it would have been like to stand before any of these wonders? A memorizing sight to behold.

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  3. I love that you posted this! Back in sixth, our history books had these gorgeous images of the wonders and I was always so fascinated by them. Thanks for the lovely reminders!

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  4. I think that is where I saw these too! That is too funny.

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  5. Very cool post. I think my favorite is The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. You've inspired me to look up more information on the Seven Wonders, as I am not familiar with all of them.

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  6. My top favorite is the temple then the hanging gardens. An oasis in the middle of the desert, had some kind of insane watering system to maintain it.

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