THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD were triumphs of art and architecture and grand achievements of the human spirit. Today, efforts are being made to replace the six Wonders not with us any more. This would be a travesty of education and enduring knowledge for they did exist in magnificent splendor. Borne in the cradle of modern civilization, they are the holy grail of ancient art and architecture.
The Great Pyramid of Giza
Location
At the city of Giza, a necropolis of ancient Memphis, and today part of Greater Cairo, Egypt.
History
A great Ancient Egyptian civilization located off the west bank of the Nile built the great pyramids. They were tombs for their magnificent kings. The great pyramid of Giza is believed to have been built over a 20 year period around the year 2550 BC. The monument was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the fourth dynasty, to serve as his tomb where he could start his majestic journey to the afterlife.
Large blocks of stone were cut, transported and placed. The outer casing was made up of dense, smooth white limestone giving the monument the appearance of a huge ceramic monolith. The outer stones were quarried at a location much further than the under-stones. Through the eons of time, the outer stones were removed by conquering armies for their own use.
Throughout their history, the pyramids of Giza have stimulated human imagination. They were referred to as “The Granaries of Joseph” and “The Mountains of Pharaoh”. When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his pride was expressed through his famous quote: “Soldats! Du haut de ces Pyramides, 40 siécles nous contemplent” (Soldiers! From the top of these Pyramids, 40 centuries are looking at us).
Description
When it was built, the Great Pyramid was 145.75m (481 ft) high. Over the years, it lost 10 m (30 ft) off its top. It ranked as the tallest structure on Earth for more than 43centuries, only to be surpassed in height in the nineteenth century AD. The sloping angle of its sides is 51 degrees and 51 minutes. Each side is carefully oriented with one of the cardinal points of the compass, that is, north, south, east, and west. The horizontal cross section of the pyramid is square at any level. with each side measuring 229 m (751 ft) in length. The maximum error between side lengths is astonishingly less than 0.1%.
The structure consists of approximately 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing more than two tons. It has been suggested that there are enough blocks in the three pyramids to build a 3 m (10 ft) high, 0.3 m (1 ft) thick wall around France. The base area covered by the Great pyramid can accommodate St. Peter’s in Rome, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, and Westminster and St. Paul’s in London combined.
On the north face, is the pyramid’s entrance. A number of corridors, galleries, and escape shafts either led to the King’s burial chamber, or were intended to serve other functions. The King’s chamber is located at the heart of the pyramid, only accessible through the Great Gallery and an ascending corridor. The King’s sarcophagus is made of red granite, as are the interior walls of the King’s Chamber. Most impressive is the sharp-edged stone over the doorway, which is over 3 m (10 ft) long, 2.4 m (8 ft) high and 1.3 m (4 ft) thick. The entire interior stones fit so well, a playing card won’t fit between them. The sarcophagus is only about 1cm smaller in dimensions than the chamber entrance.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Location
On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50km south of Baghdad, Iraq.
History
The Babylonian kingdom flourished. It was not until the reign of Naboplashar (625-605 BC) of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty that the Mesopotamian civilization reached its ultimate glory. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens. It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife who had been brought up in Media and had a passion for lush mountain surroundings.
It wasn’t until the twentieth century that some of the mysteries surrounding the Hanging Gardens were revealed. Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence before reaching the final conclusions about the location of the Gardens, their irrigation systems, and their true appearance. One of Saddam Hussein’s pet projects was the reconstruction of this ancient wonder on the banks of the Euphrates.
Description
Detailed descriptions of the Gardens come from ancient Greek sources, including the writings of Strabo and Philo of Byzantium. Here are some excerpts from their accounts:“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…”
“The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns… Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels… These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of the plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches… This is a work of art of Royal luxury”.
Most recent archaeological excavations at the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq uncovered the foundation of the palace. Other findings include the Vaulted Building with thick walls and an irrigation well near the southern palace. A group of archaeologists surveyed the area of the southern palace and reconstructed the Vaulted Building as the Hanging Gardens. However, the Greek historian Strabo has stated that the gardens were situated by the River Euphrates. So others argue that the site is too far from the Euphrates to support the theory since the Vaulted Building is several hundreds of meters away. They reconstructed the site of the palace and located the Gardens in the area stretching from the River to the Palace. On the river banks, recently discovered massive walls 25 m thick might have been stepped to form terraces… the ones described in Greek reference.
Statue of Zeus
Location
At the ancient town of Olympia, on the west coast of Greece, about 150 km west of Athens.
History
This is the statue of the god in whose honor the Ancient Olympic games were held. It was located on the land that gave its very name to the Olympics. At the time of the games, wars stopped, and athletes came from Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and Sicily to celebrate the Olympics and to worship their king of gods: Zeus.
The ancient Greek calendar starts in 776 BC, for the Olympic games are believed to have started that year. The magnificent temple of Zeus was designed by the architect Libon and was built around 450 BC. Under the growing power of ancient Greece, the simple Doric-style temple seemed too mundane, and modifications were needed. The solution: A majestic statue. The Athenian sculptor Pheidias was assigned for the “sacred” task, reminiscent of Michelangelo’s paintings at the Sistine Chapel.
For many years, the temple attracted visitors and worshippers from all over the world. In the second century BC repairs were skillfully made to the aging statue. In the first century AD, the Roman emperor Caligula attempted to transport the statue to Rome, however, his attempt failed. After the emperor Theodosius I banned the Olympic games as a pagan practice in 391 AD, the temple of Zeus was ordered closed.
Description
Pheidias began working on the statue around 440 BC. Years earlier, he had developed a technique to build enormous gold and ivory statues. This was done by erecting a wooden frame on which sheets of metal and ivory were placed to provide the outer covering. Pheidias’ workshop in Olympia still exists, and is coincidentally – or may be not – identical in size and orientation to the temple of Zeus. There, he sculpted and carved the different pieces of the statue before they were assembled in the temple. The statue was so high that visitors described the throne more than Zeus body and features. The legs of the throne were decorated with sphinxes and winged figures of Victory. Greek gods and mythical figures also adorned the scene: Apollo, Artemis, and Niobe’s children.
The Greek Pausanias wrote:“On his head is a sculpted wreath of olive sprays. In his right hand he holds a figure of Victory made from ivory and gold… In his left hand, he holds a scepter inlaid with every kind of metal, with an eagle perched on the scepter. His sandals are made of gold, as is his robe. His garments are carved with animals and with lilies. The throne is decorated with gold, precious stones, ebony, and ivory”.
This wonder is said to be the greatest work in Greek sculpture.
Temple of Artemis
Location
The ancient city of Ephesus near the modern town of Selcuk, about 50 km south of Izmir (Smyma) in Turkey.
History
Although the foundation of the temple dates back to the seventh century BC, the structure that earned a spot in the list of Wonders was built around 550 BC. Referred to as the great marble temple, it was sponsored by the Lydian king Croesus and was designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron. The Temple was decorated with bronze statues sculpted by the most skilled artists of their time: Pheidias, Polycleitus, Kresilas and Phradmon.
The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. For years, the sanctuary was visited by merchants, tourists, artisan and kings who paid homage to the goddess by sharing their profits with her. Recent archeological excavations at the site revealed gifts from pilgrims including statuettes of Artemis made of gold and ivory… earrings, bracelets and necklaces… artifacts from as far as Persia and India.
On the night of 21 July 356 BC a man named Herostratus burned the temple to ground in an attempt to immortalize his name, which he did indeed. Oddly enough, Alexander the Great was born the same night. The historian Plutarch later wrote that the goddess was “too busy taking care of the birth of Alexander to send help to her threatened temple”. When Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor, he helped rebuild the destroyed temple, but the temple was not restored until after his death in 323 BC.
Description
The foundation of the temple was rectangular in form, similar to most temples at the time. Unlike other sanctuaries, however, the building was made of marble, with a decorated façade overlooking a spacious courtyard. Marble steps surrounding the building platform led to the high terrace which was approximately 80 m (260 ft) by 130 m (430 ft) in plan. The columns were 20 m (60 ft) high with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides. There were 127 columns in total, aligned orthogonally over the whole platform area, except for the central cella or house of the goddess.The temple housed many works of art, including four ancient bronze statues of Amazons sculpted by the finest artists at the time. When St. Paul visited the city, the temple was adorned with golden pillars and silver statuettes, and was decorated with paintings. There is no evidence that a statue of the goddess herself was placed at the center of the sanctuary, but there is no reason not to believe so.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Location
In the city of Bodrum (f.k.a. Halicarnassus) on the Aegean Sea, in southwest Turkey.
History
When the Persians expanded their ancient kingdom to include Mesopotamia, Northern India, Syria, Egypt and Asia Minor, the king could not control his vast empire without the help of the local governors or rulers – the Satraps. Like many other provinces, the kingdom of Caria in the western part of Asia Minor (Turkey) was so far from the Persian capital that it was practically autonomous. From 377 to 353 BC, king Maussollos of Caria reigned and moved his capital to Halicarnassus. Nothing is exciting about Maussollos’ life except the construction of his tomb. The project was conceived by his wife and sister Artemisia, and the construction might have started during the king’s lifetime. The Mausoleum was completed around 350 BC, three years after Maussollos’ death, and one year after Artemisia’s. For 16 centuries, the Mausoleum remained in good condition until an earthquake caused some damage to the roof and colonnade. In the early fifteenth century, the Knights of St. John of Malta invaded the region and built a massive crusader castle. When they decided to fortify it in 1494, they used the stones from the Mausoleum. By 1522, almost every block from the Mausoleum had been disassembled and used for construction.
Today, the massive castle still stands in Bodrum, and the polished stone and marble blocks of the Mausoleum can be spotted within the walls of the structure. Some of the sculptures survived and are today on display at the British Museum in London. These include fragment of statues and many slabs of the frieze showing the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. At the site of the Mausoleum itself, only the foundation remains of the once magnificent Wonder.
Description
The structure was rectangular in plan, with base dimensions of about 40 m (120 ft) by 30 m (100 ft). Overlying the foundation was a stepped podium which sides were decorated with statues. The burial chamber and the sarcophagus of white alabaster decorated with gold were located on the podium and surrounded by Ionic columns. The colonnade supported a pyramid roof, which was in turn decorated with statues. A statue of a chariot pulled by four horses adorned the top of the tomb.
The total height of the Mausoleum was 45 m (140 ft) consisting of a stepped podium, colonnade, pyramid and a chariot statue at the top. 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. These were tens of life-size as well as under and over life-size free-standing statues of people, lions, horses and other animals. The statues were carved by four Greek sculptors: Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas and Timotheus, each responsible for one side. Because the statues were of people and animals, the Mausoleum holds a special place in history as it was not dedicated to the gods of Ancient Greece.
The Colossus of Rhodes
Location
At the entrance of the harbor of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes in Greece.
History
Throughout most of its history, ancient Greece was comprised of city-states which had limited power beyond their boundary. On the small island of Rhodes were three of the these: Ialysos, Kimiros and Lindos. In 408 BC, the cities united to form one territory, with a unified capital, Rhodes. The city thrived commercially and had strong economic ties with their main ally, Ptolemy I Soter of Egypt. In 305 BC, the Antigonids of Macedonia who were also rivals of the Ptolemies, besieged Rhodes in an attempt to break the Rhode-Egyptian alliance. They could never penetrate the city. When a peace agreement was reached in 304 BC, the Antagonids lifted the siege, leaving a wealth of military equipment behind. To celebrate their unity, the Rhodians sold the equipment and used the money to erect an enormous statue of their sun god, Helios.
The construction of the Colossus took 12 years and was finished in 282 BC. For years, the statue stood at the harbor entrance, until a strong earthquake hit Rhodes about 226 BC. The city was badly damaged, and the Colossus was broken at its weakest point – the knee. The Rhodians received an immediate offer from Ptolemy III Eurgetes of Egypt to cover all restoration costs for the toppled monument. However, an oracle was consulted and forbade the re-erection. Ptolemy’s offer was declined.
For almost a millennium, the statue lay broken in ruins. In 654 AD, the Arabs invaded Rhodes. They disassembled the remains of the broken Colossus and sold them to a Jew from Syria. It is said that the fragments had to be transported to Syria on the backs of 900 camels.
Description
The project was commissioned by the Rhodian sculptor Chares of Lindos. To build the statue, his workers cast the outer bronze skin parts. The base was made of white marble, and the feet and ankle of the statue were first fixed. The structure was gradually erected as the bronze form was fortified with an iron and stone framework. When the colossus was finished, it stood about 33 m (110 ft) high.
Legend has it, based on numerous accounts and sketches, the Colossus straddled a body of water thought to be the entrance to the harbor. Knowing the size of the statue, even on top of its marble pedestal, this would be impossible. It is more probable the Colossus straddled the entrance of a pool or tributary adjacent to the main harbor. This could explain the accounts of (small) boats sailing under the Colossus.
LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA
Location
On the ancient island of Pharos, now a promontory within the city of Alexandria in Egypt.
History
Shortly after the death of Alexander the Great, his commander Ptolemy Soter assumed power in Egypt. He had witnessed the founding of Alexandria, and established his capital there. Due to dangerous sailing conditions and flat coastline in the region, the construction of a lighthouse was necessary.
The project was conceived and initiated by Ptolemy Soter around 290 BC, but was completed after his death, during the reign of his son Ptolemy Philadelphus. The monument was dedicated to the Savior Gods: Ptolemy Soter (lit. savior) and his wife Berenice. For centuries, the Lighthouse of Alexandria (occasionally referred to as the Pharos Lighthouse) was used to mark the harbor, using fire at night and reflecting sun rays during the day. It was even shown on Roman coins, just as famous monuments are depicted on currency today.
Description
Of the six vanished Wonders, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was the last to disappear. Therefore we have adequately accurate knowledge of its location and appearance. Ancient accounts such as those by Strabo and Pliny the Elder give us a brief description of the “tower” and the magnificent white marble cover. They tell us how the mysterious mirror could reflect the light tens of kilometers away.
In 1166, an Arab traveler, Abou-Haggag Al-Andaloussi visited the Lighthouse. He documented a wealth of information and gave an accurate description of the structure which helped modern archeologists reconstruct the monument. The total height of the building including the foundation base was about 117 m (384 ft), equivalent to a 40-story modern building. The internal core was used as a shaft to lift the fuel needed for the fire. At the top stage, the mirror reflected sunlight during the day while fire was used during the night. In ancient times, a statue of Poseidon adorned the summit of the building.
Although the Lighthouse of Alexandria did not survive to the present day, it left its influence in various respects. From an architectural standpoint, the monument has been used as a model for many prototypes along the Mediterranean, as far away as Spain. And from a linguistic standpoint, it gave its name – Pharos – to all the lighthouses in the world… Just look up in the dictionary for the French, Italian or Spanish word for lighthouse.
