Seven Wonders of the World

Seven Wonders of the World, in ancient classifications, were the Great Pyramid of Khufu (see pyramid) or all the pyramids with or without the sphinx; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, with or without the walls; the mausoleum at Halicarnassus; the Artemision at Ephesus; the Colossus of Rhodes; the Olympian Zeus, statue by Phidias; and the lighthouse at Pharos, Alexandria, or, instead, the walls of Babylon.

Bibliography

See L. Cottrell, Wonders of the World (1959).

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Seven Wonders of the World

Preeminent architectural and sculptural achievements of antiquity, as listed by various Greco-Roman observers. Included on the best-known list were the Pyramids of Giza (the oldest of the wonders and the only one substantially in existence today), the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (thought to be a series of landscaped terraces, ascribed to King Nebuchadrezzar II, the semilegendary Queen Sammu-ramat, or the Assyrian king Sennacherib), the Statue of Zeus at Olympia (a large gold-and-ivory figure of the god on his throne by Phidias), the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (a temple, built in 356 BC, famous for its imposing size and the works of art that adorned it), the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Pharos of Alexandria (a lighthouse built c. 280 BC on the island of Pharos off Alexandria, said to have been more than 350 ft, or 110 m, high). These wonders inspired the compilation of many other lists of seven attractions, or “wonders,” by later generations.

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Seven Wonders of the World

The seven most remarkable structures of ancient times: pyramids at El Gizeh, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Colossus at Rhodes, statue of Zeus at Olympia, and the lighthouse at Alexandria; of these, only the pyramids at El Gizeh remain.

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Seven Wonders of the World 

from the point of view of antiquity, the most famous sights of the ancient world. Of the seven diverse monuments, the pyramids of Egypt alone are almost intact. Some monuments are known from fragments, for example, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (built 356 B.C. after a fire destroyed an earlier, smaller structure; destroyed by Goths A.D. 262) and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (built after 353 B.C.). Others are known from the writings of ancient authors, for example, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (sixth century B.C.), the Statue of Zeus at Olympia (gold and ivory, c. 430 B.C., sculptor Phidias), the Colossus of Rhodes (a statue of the god Helios; bronze, c. 292–280 B.C., sculptor Chares of Lin-dus), and the Pharos of Alexandria (c. 280 B.C., architect Sostra-tus of Cnidus).