Home > Seven Wonders of the World

The originator of the list is usually given as Antipater of Sidon, who listed the structures in a poem (around 140 BC):

"I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, 'Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand.'" (Antipater, Greek Anthology IX.58)

The historian Herodotus, the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305– 240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, and the engineer Philon of Byzantium had made earlier lists but the writings have not survived, except as references. The Greek category was not "Wonders" but "theamata"— closer to "must-sees".

1 Wonders of the World list

The Wonders of the Ancient World list, with the Pharos of Alexandria, is medieval in origin. Antipater's list had the walls of Babylon rather than the lighthouse. In chronological order, they are:

1. The Pyramids of Giza - serving as tombs for the Egyptian pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, in present EgyptJumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah ( In Detail) Official language Arabic Capital Cairo Largest City Cairo President Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif Area Total % water Ranked 29th 1,001,450 km² 0. 6% Population Total (2003) Density Ranked 15th 74,718,797. Built during Egypt's 4th dynasty (ca 2575–ca 2465 BC)
2. The Hanging Gardens of BabylonThe Hanging Gardens of Babylon (also known as the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis and the walls of Babylon were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. They were both supposedly built by Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BC (present Iraq). However, there i - built by Nebuchadnezzar II, ca 8th9th century BC 8th century BC 7th century BC other centuries) ( 800s BC 790s BC 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC 750s BC 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC other decades) ( 2nd millennium BC 1st millennium BC 1st millennium AD) Events Golden age in Armenia As– 6th century BC7th century BC 6th century BC 5th century BC other centuries) ( 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC 570s BC 560s BC 550s BC 540s BC 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC other decades) ( 2nd millennium BC 1st millennium BC 1st millennium AD) Events Cyrus the Great conquere, in present IraqThe Republic of Iraq is a Middle Eastern country in southwestern Asia encompassing the ancient region of Mesopotamia. It shares borders with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south, Turkey to the north, Syria to the north-west, Jordan to the west and Iran to.
3. The Statue of Zeus - at Olympia, carved by the Greek sculptor Phidias, ca 430 BC in present Greece.
4. The Temple of Artemis - 356 BC, at Ephesus, present Turkey.
5. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus - tomb of Mausolus, the Persian satrap of Caria, built between ca 353 and 351 BC, at Halicarnassus, present Bodrum, Turkey.
6. The Colossus of Rhodes - a huge statue of Helios, built ca 292– 280 BC, in present Greece.
7. The Pharos of Alexandria - lighthouse built ca 280 BC on the island of Pharos off Alexandria, by Sostratus of Cnidus, in present Egypt.

Two of each of the wonders were within the territories of today's Egypt, Greece, and Turkey, and one in Iraq. The only surviving wonder is the first built, the Pyramids of Giza. The wonder with the shortest life span was the Colossus of Rhodes, which kept its erect posture for only 56 years before being brought down by an earthquake. There is some controversy as to whether the Hanging Gardens of Babylon ever in fact existed.