The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

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The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The seven wonders of the ancient world is an amazing art and architecture work which works like a testament to imagination and ingenuity work that the humans are capable. They are reminders of the human’s capacity of destruction, disagreement and also embellishment. Ancient Greeks liked so much to compile different lists of marvelous structures mostly in their world. There were other different lists which were compiled by other different Greek writers apart from the single list known today. But the Greeks believed that the number had a mystical significance. It is not all the seven wonders of the ancient world existed at the same time. Even if one lived during the ancient times, they needed time machine so that they can see the seven. The seven are still celebrated and they remain to be an inspiration since they are remarkable products consisting of a lot of skill and creativity of the early creativity of the earth.
One of the seven wonders of the ancient world is the hanging gardens of Babylon. This was a garden in Babylon which was planted so high in the air; around 75 feet high. Aldean and Ismaiel (102) said that it was built by king Nebuchadnezzar II who was a king in Babylon (20). It was built near Euphrates River which in the modern day is Iraq around six hundred B.C. It was built on a very big squared brick terrace which was made to lie out in many steps which were like a theater. Its outer wall measured 56 miles length, the thickness was 80 feet and the height was 320 feet. Also, the city had other inner walls which were still strong although not as thick as the first one. Inside the double walls, there were temples and fortresses which contained very immense statues made of solid gold. It is said that king Nebuchadnezzar II built the garden for his homesick wife. According to Clayton (63), the hanging garden did not probably hang like most of people understand it as to be suspended maybe from ropes or cables (38). The name simply came from a translation of a word in Greek which is kremastos meaning overhanging as it is in balcony or terrace. One could reach the highest story by using the stairs. The most interesting and amazing thing about the garden was the watering. Babylon did not receive rain regularly. Due to the lack of water, water from Euphrates River was used for irrigation. This was done by having water lifted in the air so that it could be easy for it to flow down the terraces and ensuring sufficient water to each level. The hanging garden of Babylon was destroyed by earthquakes during the 2nd century BC.
Another wonder of the ancient world is Statue of Zeus at Olympia. It was made by an Athenian sculptor called Phidias and placed it Zeus’s temple at Olympia which is ancient Olympics site found in Peloponnesus which is now Greece. According to McWilliam (135) was made during 432 BC and was about 40 ft height (155). It was considered to be a wonder due to the sculpting of the statue which was just wonderful. The Greeks considered Olympic Games one of the most treasured important festivals. The games were held every 4 years so as to honor king of the gods. This statue was made to be a shrine which would be used to honor god Zeus. It was made by people by making use of the available tools during that time like plates which were gold-plated on frames made of wood and ivory. It was destroyed by fire during the fifth century A.D. its remains were found during the 1950 excavation.
The temple of Artemis at Ephesus is another wonder of the world. This was a temple built in honor of Artemis who was a goddess in Greek. It was constructed during mid 6th century BC. It was in Ephesus which is the modern Turkey. Cherisiphron who was the designer and also the one, who build it, was assisted by his son in the construction. The temple measured 377ft by 180ft. It was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World because it was big and the location too. It was located at commercial roads which made it attract so many people. Its design was different from the other temples of Greek at those times which were mostly rectangular. It had a classical near-Eastern mixed with Greek executions and designs. On July 21,356 BC, Herostratus set the temple to a blaze just so as he could gain personal fame. It was reconstructed again but again it was destroyed in 262 by Goths. Its remains we well kept and used in constructing other buildings.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus is also another wonder of the world. It was in Halicarnassus, the modern Bodrum in Turkey. This was a tomb built by Artemisia II of Caria after the death of her husband Mausolus in 353 BC. The two had ruled Halicarnassus for twenty four years. After the death of her husband who was also her brother, Artemisia was so heartbroken and so she got the best artists to make a magnificent tomb that will stand out. The major reason as to why it was considered a wonder was its big size and the magnificence decorations. The tomb was considered a testament to Greek artistic and architectural tradition. It was built on a hill that helped it to keep watch over the beloved city which was surrounded by a courtyard. The courtyard was surrounded by several statutes of the gods of Greek. The tomb had a platform which was square at the center and it helped in narrowing the block raising to the air. Its roof was stepped pyramid on which there were four horses which were pulling Artemisia and Maussollos on a chariot. There was staircase which was built leading to the platform by which Mausoleum stood. Two years after its construction began, Artemisia died even before its construction was over. There were other artists from Greek who helped in the construction of the tomb. They were Bryaxis, Leochares, Timotheus and Scopas of Paros. The tomb stayed intact for a long time without any damage. In 334 BC, Alexander took over the leardership and the tomb still stayed untouched. The city was attacked by pirates in 58 and also 62 BC but the tomb was also left upright. It was until 13th century AD whereby earthquake damaged the upper part. St. Johns knights used its reminder so as to fortify a castle at bodrum. There was some remnant of the tomb which were discovered in 1800s by an archeologist named Charles Newton.

Works Cited
Aldean, Ismaiel. The hanging gardens of Babylon. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified, 2011. Print.
Clayton. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2013. Print.
McWilliam, Janette. Statue of Zeus at olympia new approaches. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Pub, 2011. Print.