#1 GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA:
Location:
At the city of Giza, and today part of Greater Cairo, Egypt.
History:
Built over a 20 year period by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC to serve as a tomb when he dies. Although it is not known how the blocks were put in place, several theories have been proposed. Today, the Great Pyramid is enclosed in the touristic region of the Giza Plateau.
Description:
When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75m high. Over the years, it lost 10m off its top. It ranked as the tallest structure on Earth for more than 43 centuries. The angle of its sides is 54 degrees 54 minutes. Each side is carefully oriented with one of the cardinal points of the compass. Each side measuring 229m in length (error 0.2m).
#2 HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON:
Location:
On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq.
History:
Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens. Most descriptive accounts of the Gardens come from Greek historians such as Berossus, Babylonian records stay silent on the matter.
Description:
"The Garden is quadrangular, and each side is four plethra long. It consists of arched vaults which are located on checkered cube-like foundations.. The ascent of the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway..." More recent archaeological excavations at the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq uncovered the foundation of the palace.
#3 TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS:
Location:
About 50 km south of Izmir in Turkey
History:
It was sponsored by the Lydian king Croesus, designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron around 550 BC. The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. The final chapter came when in AD 401 the Temple of Artemis was torn down by St John Chrysostom.
Description:
Approximately 80m by 130m in plan. The columns were 20m high with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides. There were 127 columns in total.
#4 STATUE OF ZEUS:
Location:
Olympia, on the west coast of modern Greece, about 150 km west of Athens.
History:
The temple of Zeus was designed by the architect Libon and built around 450 BC. The Athenian sculptor Pheidias carved the statue. It survived until it was destroyed by a severe fire in AD 462.
Description:
6.5m wide and 1m high base. ".. 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."
#5 MAUSOLEUM OF HALICARNASSUS:
Location:
Bodrum on the Aegean Sea, in south-west Turkey.
History:
Completed around 350 BC, three years after King Maussollos of Cartia’s death. By 1522 every block had been disassembled and used for construction by The Knight’s of St. John.
Description:
Dimensions of about 40m by 30m by 45m. The beauty of the Mausoleum is not only in the structure itself, but in the decorations and statues that adorned the outside at different levels on the podium and the roof.
#6 COLOSUS OF RHODES:
Location:
Harbor of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes in Greece.
History:
Built 304 BC after a peace agreement with the macedonians. It symbolised Heros, the god of the sun. Construction took 12 years. Arabs disassembled the Colossus and sold them to a Jew from Syria.
Description:
33m high. The form is not known. It was placed near the harbor, not at the entrance.
#7 LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA:
Location:
Island of Pharos within the city of Alexandria in Egypt.
History:
Conceived and initiated by Ptolemy Soter around 290 BC. Sostratus was the architect. Dedicated to the Savior Gods: Ptolemy Soter. Mamelouk Sultan built a medieval fort on the same spot where the Lighthouse once stood, using the fallen stone and marble.
Description:
Composed of three stages. 117m high, equivalent to a 40-story modern building.