7 Wonders of Ancient World | 7 Wonders of Medieval World |
Hanging Garden of Babylon | Colosseum of Rome |
Temple of Diana al Elephant (Rome) | Great wall of China |
Statue of Jupiter at Olympia | Porcelain Tower of Nanking (China) |
Mausoleum of Mausolus (Ruler of Halicarnassus) | Stone henge of England |
Pyramids of Egypt | Mosque at St. Sophia (Constantinople) |
Light House at Alexandria | Catacombs of Alexandria |
Colossus of Rhodes | Leaning Tower of Pisa Taj Mahal (India) |
The gardens were destroyed by several earthquakes after the 2nd century BC. The Hanging Gardens probably did not really "hang" in the sense of being suspended from cables or ropes. The name comes from an inexact translation of the Greek word kremastos or the Latin word pensilis, which mean not just "hanging", but "overhanging" as in the case of a terrace or balcony.
Statue of Jupiter at Olympia: In ancient Greece, however, it was staged in honour the king of the gods, Zeus (called Jupiter by the Romans). A special temple, the Olympieium, was built at Olympia. It was the home of a huge statue of Zeus. Ancient writers commented that the temple was too small for the statue, or the statue was too large for the temple. Either way, poor old Zeus looked a bit cramped. The base of the statue was approximately 6.5 metres by 10 metres. It was probably over a metre high.The statue was 13 metres high — that's about the height of a three-storey house in modern times. The statue was not made of stone. It was made of gold and ivory. Wow! Imagine how magnificent it must have looked. It would have cost a lot, too. The temple and statue were built around 460 BC. The statue was destroyed by the Romans in about 40 AD.
Mausoleum of Mausolus (Ruler of Halicarnassus): The Tomb of Mausolus, Mausoleum of Mausolus or Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire, and Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister. The structure was designed by the Greek architects Satyrus and Pythius. It stood approximately 45 metres (135 ft) in height, and each of the four sides was adorned with sculptural reliefs created by each one of four Greek sculptors — Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas of Paros and Timotheus. The finished structure was considered to be such an aesthetic triumph that Antipater of Sidon identified it as one of his Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 377 B.C., the city of Halicarnassus was the capitol of a small kingdom along the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor. It was in that year the ruler of this land, Hecatomnus of Mylasa, died and left control of the kingdom to his son, Mausolus. Hecatomnus, a local satrap to the Persians, had been ambitious and had taken control of several of the neighbouring cities and districts. Mausolus in his time, extended the territory even further so that it finally included most of southwestern Asia Minor.
Pyramids of Egypt : The Egyptian pyramids are pyramid shaped structures located in Egypt. There are over 100 Egyptian pyramids, most of which were built during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. The first Egyptian pyramid was the Pyramid of Djozer which was built during the third dynasty under King Djozer. The pyramid was designed by Imhotep as a tomb for the King. The best known egyptian pyramids are the Giza pyramids which are recognized among the largest structures ever built and are the only remaining monuments of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. During Egypt's Old Kingdom (time line), the pharaohs established a stable central government in the fertile Nile Valley. Perhaps the greatest testaments to their power were the pyramids and other tombs built to shelter them in the afterlife.
Light House at Alexandria : The lighthouse of Alexandria was a tower built in the 3rd century BC (between 285 and 247 BC) on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to serve as that port's landmark, and later, its lighthouse. The lighthouse's designer was Sostrates of Knidos. The Lighthouse of Alexandria is one of the greatest architectural feats of antiquity. It was at least as tall as a 40 story modern building and stood for over 16 centuries. Proud of his work, Sostrates, desired to have his name carved into the foundation. Ptolemy II, the son who ruled Egypt after his father, refused this request wanting his own name to be the only one on the building.
Colossus of Rhodes: The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek god Helios, erected on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos between 292 and 280 BC. It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Before its destruction, the Colossus of Rhodes stood over 30 meters (107 ft) high, making it one of the tallest statues of the ancient world. It was roughly the same size as the Statue of Liberty in New York, although it stood on a lower platform. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Colosseum of Rome: The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering. The Colosseum was designed to hold 50,000 spectators, and it had approximately eighty entrances so crowds could arrive and leave easily and quickly. The plan is a vast ellipse, measuring externally 188 m x 156 m (615 ft x 510 ft), with the base of the building covering about 6 acres. Vaults span between eighty radial walls to support tiers of seating and for passageways and stairs. The facade of three tiers of arches and an attic story is about 48.5 m (158 ft) tall — roughly equivalent to a 12-15 story building.
Great Wall of China: The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. The most famous is the wall built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty. The Great Wall is the world's longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. At its peak the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.
Taj Mahal of India - "the epitome of love", "a monument of immeasurable beauty". The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words. The thoughts that come into the mind while watching the Taj Mahal of Agra is not just its phenomenal beauty, but the immense love which was the reason behind its construction. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan got this monument constructed in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, with whom he fell in love at the first sight. The very first sight of the Taj Mahal, the epitome of love and romance leaves one mesmerized. Taj Mahal stands on the bank of River Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide moat defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. She died while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a rebellion after giving birth to their 14th child.
Other Seven Wonders of the World:
- The Sphinx, near Gizeh (Ghiza) in Egypt
- The Catacombs at Rome
- The Circus Maximus at Rome
- The Taj Mahal at Agra (India)
- Angkor vat temple in combodia
- The Alhambra at Granada in S.Spain
- Shew Dragon Pagoda or the Golden Pagoda at Yangon in Myanmar
(as declared on July 7, 2007 by New Seven Wonders foundation of Switzerland,
At a grand ceremony organised in 'Stadia da Lutz' Benefica stadium in Lisban (Portugal)
- The Taj Mahal (Agra, India)
- The Great Wall of China (China)
- The Pink Ruins of Petra (Jordan)
- The Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Ris de Janerio (Brazil)
- Incan Ruins of Machu Pichu (Peru)
- The ancient Mayan City of Chichen ltza (Mexico)
- The Colosseum of Rome (Italy)
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