THE 7 WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - HISTORY - 2024

The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World are seven monuments and sculptures dating back to the Ancient Age. Its importance lies in its design, architecture and in the advanced techniques used by man for the construction of large monuments. In other words, they are a recognition of the human ingenuity present at that time.

The enumeration of the wonders is attributed to the Greek poet Antipater of Sidon, who detailed the monuments and constructions worthy of being admired made in the Ancient Age and chose the number seven for being important for the Greeks.

The 7 wonders of the ancient world were known in the Middle and Modern Ages through stories and legends that were found in writings of Greek historians and archaeologists, since most do not currently exist.

However, the historical texts that mention them and the findings made in the places where it is estimated that they were found, have provided enough information to consider them imposing structures that had great relevance at the time in which they were standing.

Great Pyramid of Giza

The pyramids of Gizah are one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Source: pixabay.com

This pyramid is presumed to have been built around 2570 BC. It is located in Giza, a city in Egypt located west of the Nile River. It is a funerary monument built to deposit the remains of the famous Pharaoh Cheops, second pharaoh of Egypt's fourth dynasty.

It was the largest building in the world until the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, and in 1979 it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.

This pyramid is one of the three most iconic pyramids in Egypt. The other two are Khafre and Menkaure, names given in honor of the pharaohs who are buried in them. Of this set of pyramids, the one in the best state of conservation is the Pyramid of Cheops.

Structure

The pyramid of Cheops has a height of 146 meters and 52 square meters in length. Construction is believed to have taken 30 years, of which the first 20 years were for the preparation of the blocks and the other 10 for placing them.

It is estimated that 2,300,000 limestone and granite blocks of at least 2 tons each were used; however, there are blocks that weigh 60 tons.

Cameras

The pyramid inside contains 3 chambers: the king's chamber, the queen's chamber, and the underground chamber. It also has ventilation channels and a sector called the Great Gallery.

King's chamber

The king's chamber is rectangular in shape. In it is the sarcophagus of the pharaoh, which is made of granite. The walls of this chamber are made of granite slabs.

Queen's chamber

The queen's chamber is also rectangular in shape. It is located in the center of the pyramid, its walls are smooth and it does not have any decoration. It is presumed that no queen was ever buried there.

Underground chamber

The underground chamber, also called the chaos chamber, was originally built in order to bury the remains of the pharaoh there. It was later decided that it would not have that function.

Other data

The set of pyramids was built by the architect Hemiunu, who was a cousin of the pharaoh. The surprising thing about the construction of these pyramids was the ingenuity, technical knowledge and organization of those who participated in their construction at that time.

Another peculiar fact has to do with the size of the stone and granite blocks that were used. The implausible thing about the construction of this pyramid is the weight of each block, since there is no exact data on how they did to move them.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

This hand-drawn engraving, probably made in the 19th century after the first excavations in Assyrian capitals, depicts the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were located in the ancient city of Babylon. They were a set of gardens distributed in an area of ​​37.16 m2, rising in terraces one above the other with a height of up to 107 meters.

It is estimated that there were 3 meter wide stairs that reached the top, through which the place could be traversed.

The terraces were covered with layers of asphalt, bricks with cement and lead sheets, which prevented the water from seeping out. Shrubs, vines, trees, flowers, and hanging plants were planted on these terraces; therefore, when viewed from a distance it was similar to a flowered field.

Origin

These gardens are believed to have been built around 600 BC by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife Amyhia, who missed the green landscape of Persia, where she was originally from.

However, there are those who doubt that its construction was carried out by Nebuchadnezzar II due to the fact that a large number of writings from that time have been found, even from the king himself, and there is no reference to a garden in any. Furthermore, no conclusive evidence has been obtained from the excavations carried out at the site.

The information that exists on the construction and location of these gardens is scarce and comes from ancient Greek and Roman historians. That is, there are no data from reliable sources that have directly appreciated the process. Because of this, these gardens are considered by many to be a legend.

New study

A recent study by researcher Stephanie Dalley (University of Oxford, England) led to the conclusion that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon existed in what is now Iraq. This study shows that they were located near a city called Hilla.

The city of Hilla is located in central Iraq, on the banks of the Euphrates River, in what was previously known as ancient Mesopotamia.

In this study, Dalley determined that the gardens had been adjudicated to an incorrect location. Likewise, it indicated that both its builder and the time attributed were wrong.

Dalley decoded an ancient script that made reference to the life of Sennacherib, who was a king of Assyria, present-day southern part of Turkey and Israel, which existed 100 years before Nebuchadnezzar II.

In this writing a palace and a garden are described that was built to amaze all people. This description is believed to refer to the well-known Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Artistic representation of the statue of Zeus at Olympia, but it is inaccurate in many details: according to (V, 11, 1f), Zeus carried a statuette of Victoria in his right hand and a scepter with a sitting bird in his left hand. Four victories were at each foot of the throne and two at the base of each foot.

The statue of Zeus was inside a temple built in his honor in the Greek city of Olympia. This extraordinarily large statue was made by the sculptor Phidias in approximately 460 BC.

It is a marvel due to both the materials that were used and its large size. It was 12 meters high and sat on an ivory and gold base, atop a wooden pedestal.

The statue's robes were ivory and his beard was carved in gold. In front of the sculpture there was a well with olive oil, with which it was smeared to protect the ivory from moisture.

Sitting on a throne, with a cloak that covered his legs, a crown of olives, holding Nike (Greek goddess who represents victory) with his right hand and with his left a scepter headed by an eagle; this is how Zeus looked, according to the description of Greek historians of that time.

Destruction

With the advent of Christianity, which condemned the worship of Greek gods, the temples in which these ancient deities were worshiped were closed. The temple of Zeus, where this wonder was found, was burned by Christian fanatics.

There are other theories about the destruction of this statue. One of these explains that, after the temple of Zeus was closed by the Christians, the statue was transferred by Greek collectors to what is known today as the city of Istanbul, in Turkey, and there it caught fire and was completely destroyed.

Others say that Emperor Theodosius II ordered the destruction of the temple and the statue of Zeus, and that the remains were completely lost in the earthquakes of 522 and 551 BC.

Temple of Artemis in Ephesus

Model of the Temple of Artemis, Park of Miniatures, Istanbul, Turkey.

The Temple of Artemis was built around 550 BC in Ephesus, Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey. This temple was built in honor of the goddess Artemis, goddess of forests, hunting, animals and protector of virginity.

Building

Its construction was ordered by Croesus, king of Lydia, and was carried out by the architects Chersifrón and Metagenes.

It was approximately 115 meters long and 55 meters wide. Its columns were made of marble; in total it was 127 and each one was 18 meters high. Finely crafted bronze statues could be seen inside the temple.

It is important to note that this temple of Artemis was the second built in this location, and that it was raised on the remains of that first temple, which was destroyed in a battle in 550 BC.

Destruction

On July 21, 356 BC a great fire engulfed the temple. It was provoked for no apparent reason by a man named Erostrato; It is estimated that the reason was mere vanity, to achieve fame and immortalize himself in history. The authorities of that time prohibited his name from being used, so that he would not achieve his objective.

Today you can see the ruins of the temple thanks to the excavations carried out by archaeologists in the 19th century.

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, depicted in this 16th century hand engraving by Martin Heemskerck. From in:. Over 100 years old, hence the public domain.

The word that today we know as "mausoleum" has its origin in the name of this king called Mausolo, for whom the funerary temple that became part of the 7 wonders of the ancient world was built.

It was built in the ancient Greek city of Halicarnassus, located in the Aegean Sea (southeast of Turkey). It is not certain whether its construction was ordered by King Mausolus himself or by his wife after his death, but Greek historians presume that, due to its size, its construction could not last less than 10 years.

Structure

It had a rectangular structure approximately 30 meters wide by 40 meters long and had 117 Ionic-style columns, distributed in two rows that supported the roof.

It was a stepped pyramid that housed statues of the king and queen at its top, at a height of approximately 10 meters. Inside the mausoleum were the gold coffins of the king and queen, decorated with figures and reliefs.

The earthquakes that occurred in the 13th century doomed the structure, destroying it almost entirely. Later, in the 16th century, its stones were used to repair the Castle of San Pedro de Halicarnaso.

Colossus of rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes over the port. Painting by Ferdinand Knab, 1886.

The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue dedicated to the Greek god Helio, god of the Sun, made by the sculptor Cares de Lidos and located on Rhodes, an island found in Greece.

Today we have knowledge of this statue thanks to the writings of the Greek historians Strabo, Polybius and Pliny. They indicate that the people of Rhodes erected the statue after defeating the enemy forces of King Demetrius of Macedonia, who harassed the island for a year with a significant number of soldiers.

To finance its construction, the Rhodes sold the armament of Demetrius' forces and asked Cares of Lido - who had built a 22-meter bronze sculpture of Zeus - to make one of the god Helio of an incredible size.

Cares undertook to make the statue but did not foresee the cost of the materials to be used and the quantity of them, since it required a lot of bronze and iron given its large size. This investment led to Cares bankruptcy.

Location

Much has been argued about the exact location of this huge sculpture. At first it was believed that it was in the Port of Rhodes and that it appeared imposing, with one foot on each side of the pier, which made the ships pass under it. However, it is believed that this would prevent the easy transit of the vessels.

Other historians support the theory that the Colossus was on a hill near the Bay of Rhodes, since the statue required a large rock base to support itself due to its large size and weight.

Structure

The statue was made of bronze and iron, and it was 32 meters high and weighed 70 tons.

With one hand he held a torch and with the other a spear. In her hair she had a crown similar to the one that the famous Statue of Liberty has in the United States today.

Destruction

An earthquake that took place on the island in 226 BC was the cause of the destruction of the statue. According to the beliefs of the people of Rhodes, it was the god Apollo who ordered the earthquake; For this reason, and in order not to challenge Apollo, said people decided not to rebuild the statue.

For 900 years the remains of this wonder were in the same place where they fell. In about AD 654, Muslims stole the remaining materials from the statue and sold them to merchants in the Mediterranean.

Lighthouse of Alejandria

Drawing of the Lighthouse of Alexandria by the German archaeologist Prof. H. Thiersch (1909).

It was built in the 3rd century BC and was located on the Isle of Lighthouses in Alexandria, present-day Egypt, an area of ​​great commerce. It was a large lighthouse that guided the ships in their berth in the port of this island.

Ptolemy was the one who ordered its construction. This ruler considered that access to the port was difficult, since a large number of ships and ships had sunk in that area.

The person in charge of carrying out its construction was Stratus of Cnido, an important architect and engineer of the Hellenistic era who also designed the Hanging Gardens of Aphrodite, similar to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Stratum of Cnido required 12 years for the construction of the lighthouse. This was inaugurated in 283 BC by Ptolemy's son, Ptolemy Philadelphus.

Structure

It had a height of 134 meters and was made of limestone and granite. This last type of stone was used for the parts where greater support was needed, as it is more resistant.

It had 3 floors: the first quadrangular, the second octagonal and the third cylindrical. The first floor was accessed through a 60 meter high ramp, which was increasing until it reached the middle part.

The second floor or center of the lighthouse had in its internal part a staircase that led to the third and last floor, a tower 20 meters high that had an oven at its top. This oven served to illuminate the ships that arrived at the port.

Its name derives from the island Pharo, where it was. This name was used since then as a term for similar constructions, most of them smaller but with the same objective: to serve as a guide for sailors.

Destruction

This marvel lasted in time until in 1301 and 1374 BC two earthquakes occurred that caused the lighthouse to fall and be destroyed. Later, in 1480 BC an Egyptian sultan ordered that his remains be used for the construction of a fortress.

References

1. "The Hanging Gardens of Babylon" (S / F) in Wonders of the World. Retrieved on April 27, 2019 from Wonders of the World: maravillas-del-mundo.com
2. "Identify the true Gardens of Babylon" (November 2013) on ABC. Retrieved on April 27, 2019 at ABC: abc.es
3. Willmington, H. "Spokesperson Biblical Auxiliary" (S / F) on Google books. Retrieved on April 28, 2019 from Google books: books.google.cl
4. "Wonders of the Ancient World: Temple of Artemis in Ephesus" (2016) in On History. Retrieved on April 28, 2019 from On History: sobrehistoria.com
5. "Temple of Artemis, what you still do not know about this wonder of the ancient world" (S / F) in Sculptures and Monuments. Retrieved on April 28, 2019 from Sculptures and Monuments: sculpturasymonumentos.com
6. García, S. «The Mausoleum of Hanicanarso» (S / F) in General History. Retrieved on April 28, 2019 from General History: historiageneral.com
7. "Colossus of Rhodes" (S / F) in Definition ABC. Retrieved from ABC Definition on April 28, 2019: definicionabc.com
8. "The Lighthouse of Alexandria" (S / F) in Mundo Antiguo. Retrieved on April 28, 2019 from Mundo Antiguo: mundoantiguo.net
9. Ash Sullivan, E. "The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" (S / F) on Google books. Retrieved on April 28, 2019 from: books.google.cl
10. "Sevens Wonders of the Ancient World" (2018) in History. Retrieved on April 28, 2019 from History: history.com
11. "The Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World" (S / F) in World Atlas. Retrieved on April 28, 2019 from World Atlas: worldatlas.com