Seven wonders of the world. Ancient world. Temple. Gardens of Babylon. Rodossky. Lighthouse. Seven Wonders of the World: Pyramid of Cheops, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, Lighthouse of Alexandria Origin of the list

Nowadays, it is customary to call unique artistic and technical creations a wonder of the world, which, due to their level of performance, evoke the admiration of most specialists. But in fairness, this erroneous approach should be corrected - the wonders of the world include specific objects created by people in ancient times.

Below is a list of 7 wonders of the ancient world...

1. Pyramids of Cheops (Giza)

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu (in the Greek version of Cheops), or the Great Pyramid, is the greatest of the Egyptian pyramids, the oldest of the seven wonders of the world of antiquity and the only one of them that has survived to our time. For over four thousand years, the pyramid was the largest building in the world.

The Pyramid of Cheops is located in the far suburb of Cairo, Giza. Nearby there are two more pyramids of the pharaohs Khafre and Menkaure (Khefre and Mikerin), according to ancient historians, the sons and successors of Khufu. These are the three largest pyramids in Egypt.

Following ancient authors, most modern historians consider the pyramids to be funerary structures of ancient Egyptian monarchs. Some scientists believe that these were astronomical observatories. There is no direct evidence that pharaohs were buried in the pyramids, but other versions of their purpose are less convincing.

Based on ancient “royal lists”, it has been established that Cheops reigned around 2585-2566. BC. Construction of the "Sacred Height" lasted 20 years and ended after the death of Khufu, around 2560 BC.

Other versions of the construction dates, based on astronomical methods, give dates from 2720 to 2577. BC. Radiocarbon dating shows a scatter of 170 years, from 2850 to 2680. BC.

There are also exotic opinions expressed by supporters of theories of aliens visiting the Earth, the existence of ancient civilizations, or adherents of occult movements. They determine the age of the Cheops pyramid from 6-7 to tens of thousands of years.

2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Babylon)

The existence of one of the wonders of the world, many scientists question and argue that it is nothing more than a figment of the imagination of an ancient chronicler, whose idea was picked up by his colleagues and began to be carefully copied from chronicle to chronicle. They justify their assertion by the fact that the Gardens of Babylon are most carefully described by those who have never seen them, while historians who have visited ancient Babylon are silent about the miracle erected there.

Archaeological excavations have shown that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon still existed.

Naturally, they did not hang on ropes, but were a four-story building, built in the shape of a pyramid with a huge amount of vegetation, and were part of the palace building. This unique structure received its name due to an incorrect translation of the Greek word “kremastos”, which actually means “hanging” (for example, from a terrace).

The unique gardens were erected by order of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II, who lived in the 7th century. BC. He built them especially for his wife Amytis, daughter of Cyaxares, king of Media (it was with him that the Babylonian ruler entered into an alliance against the common enemy, Assyria, and won the final victory over this state).

Amitis, who grew up among the mountains of green and fertile Media, did not like dusty and noisy Babylon, located on a sandy plain. The Babylonian ruler was faced with a choice - to move the capital closer to his wife’s homeland or to make her stay in Babylon more comfortable. They decided to build hanging gardens that would remind the queen of her homeland. Where exactly they are located, history is silent, and therefore there are several hypotheses:

• The main version says that this wonder of the world is located near the modern city of Hilla, which is located on the Ephrat River in the center of Iraq.
• An alternative version, based on re-decipherment of cuneiform tablets, states that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are located in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria (located in the north of modern Iraq), which after its fall was transferred to the Babylonian state.

The very idea of ​​​​creating hanging gardens in the middle of a dry plain seemed simply fantastic at that time. The local architects and engineers of the ancient world were able to accomplish this task - and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which were later included in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World, were built, became part of the palace and were located on its north-eastern side.

They say that the statue of Zeus at Olympia turned out to be so majestic that when Phidias, having created it, asked his creation: “Are you satisfied, Zeus?” - thunder struck, and the black marble floor at the god’s feet cracked. The Thunderer was pleased.

Despite the fact that only memories of one of the most majestic statues of this scale have reached us, the mere description of the monument, which was in its own way a real masterpiece of jewelry, cannot but shake the imagination. Both before and after the creation of the statue of Olympian Zeus, people have not created a monument of such a scale - and it is not a fact that they ever will: this wonder of the world turned out to be too expensive in cost and huge in scale.

The uniqueness of this monument also lies in the fact that the statue of Olympian Zeus, the only one of all the wonders of the ancient world, was located on the territory of continental Europe, in the Greek city of Olympia, which is located on the Balkan Peninsula.

The statue of Zeus in Olympia took quite a long time to create: Phidias spent about ten years on it. When she appeared before the residents and guests of Olympia in 435 BC, she was a real wonder of the world.

The exact dimensions of the statue have not yet been determined, but apparently its height ranged from 12 to 17 meters. Zeus, naked to the waist, sat on a throne, his feet were on a bench supported by two lions. The pedestal on which the throne was located was quite huge: its dimensions were 9.5 by 6.5 m. Ebony, gold, ivory and jewelry were used to make it.

The throne itself was decorated with images of scenes from the life of the Greek celestials, the goddesses of victory danced on its legs, and the battles of the Greeks with the Amazons were depicted on the crossbars and, naturally, the Olympic Games were not absent (Panen did the painting). The Thunderer was made from ebony wood, and his entire body was covered with plates of ivory of the highest quality. The master selected materials for his statue extremely meticulously.

On the head of the supreme god there was a wreath, and in one hand he held the golden Nike, the goddess of Victory, in the other - a scepter decorated with an eagle, symbolizing supreme power. The god's clothes were made of gold sheets (in total, about two hundred kilograms of gold were needed to make the sculpture). The Thunderer's cloak was decorated with images of representatives of the animal and plant world.

Nowadays, a marble copy of one of the wonders of the world can be seen in the Hermitage, where it was brought from Italy in 1861. Apparently, this statue of Zeus was created by a Roman author in the first century BC, and it was found during archaeological excavations in the vicinity of Rome at the end of the 18th century. It is notable for the fact that today it is one of the largest antique sculptures that are in museums in the world - the height of the monument is 3.5 meters and weighs 16 tons.

The sculpture was acquired at the beginning of the 19th century by one of the Italian collectors, Marquis D. Campana.

He did not have it for long, because after some time he went bankrupt, his property was confiscated and sold at auction. Before the auction, the director of the Hermitage managed to persuade the Italian authorities to give him the opportunity to purchase some things before the sale, thus, the best exhibits from the collection of the bankrupt marquis, including the statue of the Thunderer, ended up in the Hermitage.

4. Temple of Artemis of Ephesus (Ephesus)

According to ancient Greek belief, Artemis was the goddess of hunting and fertility, the patroness of all life on earth. She looked after the animals in the forest, herds of domestic animals, and plants. Artemis provided a happy marriage and assistance during childbirth.

In honor of Artemis, a temple was built in Ephesus on the site of the former sanctuary of the Carian goddess, also responsible for fertility. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was so large that it was immediately included in the list of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The construction was financed by the Lydian king Croesus, and the construction work was led by the architect from Knossos, Kharsifron. During his time they managed to erect walls and columns. After his death, his son Metagenes took over the post of chief architect. The last stage of construction was led by Peonitus and Demetrius.

The Temple of Artemis of Ephesus was completed in 550 BC. A delightful sight opened before the local residents; nothing like this had ever been built here. And although it is currently impossible to recreate the former decoration of the temple, you can be sure that the best craftsmen of their time, working here, could not have made a mistake. The statue of the culprit of the construction itself was made of ivory and gold.

It was possible to recreate the image of the former majestic temple of the goddess Artemis in Ephesus only after archaeological excavations. The temple measured 105 by 51 meters. The roof of the structure was supported by 127 columns, each 18 meters high. According to legend, each column was donated by one of the 127 Greek rulers.

In addition to religious services, the temple was in full swing with financial and business life. It was the center of Ephesus, independent from the authorities, subordinate to the local college of priests.

In 356 BC, when the famous Alexander the Great was born, the temple of Artemis was burned by the Ephesian resident Herostratus. The motive of this feat is to remain in history in memory of posterity. After being caught, the arsonist faced capital punishment. In addition to this, it was also decided to eradicate the name of this person from history. But what is forbidden sits even more firmly in people’s memories, and the name of Herostratus is now a household name.

By the 3rd century BC, the wonder of the world, the Temple of Artemis in Greece, was restored on the initiative of the aforementioned Alexander the Great, but with the arrival of the Goths, it was again destroyed. Later, with the ban on pagan cults, the Byzantine authorities closed the temple. Then they begin to gradually dismantle it for building materials, as a result of which the temple fades into oblivion. A Christian church was built in its place, but it also faced the fate of destruction.

On October 31, 1869, the English archaeologist Wood manages to find the location of the former Temple of Artemis in Turkey, and excavations begin. Now in its place stands one column restored from the rubble. Despite this, the place still attracts thousands of tourists.

5. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Let's move to the ancient city of Halicarnassus. It was the capital of Caria and, as befits the capital of a state, it was famous for its beauty and grandeur. Temples, theaters, palaces, gardens, fountains, and a living harbor guaranteed the city honor and respect. But the tomb of King Mausolus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, occupied special attention here. So, the miracle of the world is the mausoleum in Halicarnassus.

King Mausolus, ruling Caria in the 4th century BC. (377-353), according to the experience of the Egyptian pharaohs, began the construction of his tomb during his lifetime. It was supposed to be a unique structure. Located in the center of the city, among palaces and temples, it symbolizes the power and wealth of the king. And to worship the late king, it must combine both a tomb and a temple. The best architects and sculptors were allocated for the construction - Pythias, Satyr, Leochares, Scopas, Briaxides, Timothy. After the death of the king, his wife, Queen Artemisia, approached the construction of an eternal monument to her great husband even more intensively.

The construction was completed in 350 BC. Its appearance combined several architectural styles of that time. The mausoleum had three levels with a total height of 46 meters. The first tier was a massive base made of brick, lined with marble. Next on it stood a temple with 36 columns. The columns supported the roof in the form of a pyramid with 24 steps. At the top of the roof there was a sculpture of King Mausolus and Artemisia in a chariot drawn by 4 horses. Around the building there were statues of horsemen and lions. The beauty of the structure was mesmerizing; it is no coincidence that the mausoleum in Halicarnassus quickly became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The tomb of Mausolus and his wife itself was located in the lower tier. An upper room with columns and a statue of Mausolus was built to worship the king. The statue has survived to this day, and fully reflects the image of the despot king. The sculptor subtly conveyed the character of Mavsol in his facial features - evil, cruel, capable of getting everything he needs. It is no coincidence that he was a very rich man. Next to the statue of Mausolus there was a statue of Queen Artemisia. The sculptor embellished it, presented it in a stately, soft image. The famous sculptor of that time, Skopas, worked on it. Both of these statues are now considered among the finest in Greek culture from the 4th century BC. Separately, it is worth mentioning the upper part of the mausoleum’s base. The sculptors decorated it with scenes from the Greek epic - the battle with the Amazons, hunting, the battle of the Lapiths with the centaurs.

Mausoleum - a word derived from the name of King Mavsol, is currently a common noun among all peoples.

After 18 centuries, the mausoleum was destroyed by an earthquake. Later, its ruins were used to build St. Peter's Castle by the Knights of St. John. When the Turks arrived, the castle became the Budrun Fortress, currently called Bodrum. Excavations here were carried out in 1857. Relief slabs, statues of Mausolus and Artemisia, and a statue of a chariot were found. They are currently on display in the British Museum.

6. Colossus of Rhodes (Rhodes)

The Colossus of Rhodes is a huge statue that has become one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The grateful inhabitants of the island of Rhodes decided to build it in honor of the sun god Helios, who helped them survive the unequal struggle with the invaders. The siege of the beautiful island lasted almost a year and the likelihood of victory was negligible, but the patron helped the islanders win. For this, Helios was immortalized in the guise of a huge statue. For the people of Rhodes, the statue represented independence and freedom, just like the Statue of Liberty in New York for the Americans.

The island of Rhodes had an advantageous geographical location; its inhabitants traded freely with many countries, which ensured the wealth of the city as a whole and each citizen individually. From its foundation until the 3rd century. BC. Rhodes was ruled in turn by the famous king Mausolus, the Persian rulers and Alexander the Great. None of them oppressed the city or prevented it from developing. However, after the death of Alexander the Great, his heirs began to divide the inherited lands in a bloody struggle.

The island of Rhodes went to Ptolemy, but the other heir (Antigonus) considered this unfair and sent his son to destroy the city. This would help to equalize the power of Ptolemy. Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, assembled a huge army that outnumbered the islanders. Only impregnable walls prevented the soldiers from immediately entering the capital and destroying it. The enemies used siege towers - huge wooden catapults that were installed on ships. The inhabitants of Rhodes managed to delay their enemies until the arrival of Ptolemy's army and defend their homeland.

Having sold the siege engines and the surviving ships of the invaders, the inhabitants of Rhodes decided to erect a huge statue of the god Helios, their patron. Until then, any statues were called colossi, but after the Colossus of Rhodes, only the largest of them began to be called this way.

Construction of the Colossus began in 302 BC. and finished only after 12 years (according to other sources after 20 years). They installed the statue on an artificial embankment that blocked the entrance to the harbor. Behind this hill, for a long time, individual parts of the sculpture were hidden from prying eyes. The mound with the statue turned into a kind of gateway to the city. Some poets described the Colossus as standing on two hills. The ships had to sail between Helios' legs. However, this version is considered doubtful. The stability of such a sculpture would be too low, and large ships would not be able to dock in the port.

The statue has not survived to this day, but numerous descriptions from contemporaries indicate that the Colossus stood on one of the banks, and not at all in the form of an arch, as artists depict it. In the giant's hand was a bowl of blazing fire. At the base there were three pillars that served as support. The builders inlaid two of them with bronze parts to disguise Helios at the feet. The third pillar was in the place where the cloak or part of the sheet of the majestic Colossus fell.

Residents wanted the statue to point its hand into the distance, but the sculptor understood that this would reduce the stability of the structure, so the statue seemed to be covering its eyes from the sun with its palm. The torso and main elements were made of sheets of iron and bronze. They were secured to support posts. The space inside was filled with large stones and clay to increase stability. The free space was covered with earth so that workers could move freely along the surface and secure the following parts. In total, the production of the Colossus required 8 tons of iron and 13 tons of bronze. The resulting statue reached a height of 34 m.

The statue of the Colossus of Rhodes was so huge that it could be seen from ships sailing in the distance. According to the descriptions of contemporaries, she was a tall young man with a radiant crown on her head. One hand of the young man covered his eyes, and the other caught his falling robe.

Another poet, Philo, described the Colossus differently. He claimed that the statue was on a marble pedestal and was striking in the size of its feet. Each of them was the size of a small statue itself. There was a working torch at arm's length. It was lit at night to illuminate the way for sailors.

Scientists are still trying to discover where the Colossus of Rhodes is located or where exactly it was installed. At the end of the 20th century, huge boulders were discovered off the coast of the island of Rhodes, which resembled the fragments of a statue in shape. However, the theory that these are elements of an ancient sculpture was not confirmed. But researcher Ursula Vedder suggested that the Colossus did not stand near the shore at all, but on Monte Smith Hill. The ruins of the Temple of Helios remain here, and its foundations have a suitable platform on which the Colossus could have stood.

7. Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos)

Only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world had a practical purpose - the Lighthouse of Alexandria. It performed several functions at once: it allowed ships to approach the harbor without any problems, and the observation post located at the top of the unique structure made it possible to monitor the expanses of water and notice the enemy in time.

Locals claimed that the light of the Alexandria lighthouse burned enemy ships even before they approached the shore, and if they managed to approach the coast, the statue of Poseidon, located on the dome of an amazing design, uttered a piercing warning cry.

The height of the ancient lighthouse was 140 meters - much higher than the surrounding buildings. In ancient times, the buildings did not exceed three floors, and against their background the Faros Lighthouse seemed huge. Moreover, at the time of completion of construction it turned out to be the tallest building of the ancient world and remained so for an extremely long time.

The Alexandria Lighthouse was built on the east coast of the small island of Pharos, located near Alexandria - the main seaport of Egypt, built by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. It is also known in history as the Faros Lighthouse.

The great commander chose the location for the construction of the city extremely carefully: he initially planned to build a port in this region, which would be an important trading center.

It was extremely important that it be located at the intersection of both water and land routes of three parts of the world - Africa, Europe and Asia. For the same reason, it was necessary to build at least two harbors here: one for ships arriving from the Mediterranean Sea, and the other for those sailing along the Nile.

Therefore, Alexandria was not built in the Nile Delta, but a little to the side, twenty miles to the south. When choosing a location for the city, Alexander took into account the location of future harbors, paying special attention to their strengthening and protection: it was very important to do everything to ensure that the waters of the Nile did not clog them with sand and silt (a dam was subsequently built specifically for this purpose, connecting the continent with an island).

After the death of Alexander the Great (who, according to legend, was born on the day of the destruction of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus), after some time the city came under the rule of Ptolemy I Soter - and as a result of skillful management it turned into a successful and prosperous port city, and the construction of one of the seven wonders of the world was significant increased his wealth.

The Alexandria lighthouse made it possible for ships to sail into the port without any problems, successfully avoiding underwater rocks, shoals and other obstacles in the bay. Thanks to this, after the construction of one of the seven wonders, the volume of light trade increased sharply.

The lighthouse also served as an additional reference point for sailors: the landscape of the Egyptian coast is quite diverse - mostly just lowlands and plains. Therefore, signal lights before entering the harbor were very useful.

A lower structure could have successfully performed this role, so the engineers assigned another important function to the Lighthouse of Alexandria - the role of an observation post: enemies usually attacked from the sea, since the country was well defended on the land side by the desert.

It was also necessary to install such an observation post at the lighthouse because there were no natural hills near the city where this could be done.

The lighthouse of Alexandria has served since 283 BC. until the 15th century, when a fortress was erected instead. Thus, he experienced more than one dynasty of Egyptian rulers and saw Roman legionnaires. This did not particularly affect its fate: no matter who ruled Alexandria, everyone made sure that the unique structure stood for as long as possible - they restored parts of the building that had been destroyed due to frequent earthquakes, and updated the facade, which was negatively affected by wind and salty sea water.

Time has done its work: the lighthouse stopped working in 365, when one of the strongest earthquakes in the Mediterranean Sea caused a tsunami that flooded part of the city, and the number of dead Egyptians, according to chroniclers, exceeded 50 thousand inhabitants.

After this event, the lighthouse significantly decreased in size, but stood for quite a long time - until the 14th century, until another strong earthquake wiped it off the face of the earth (a hundred years later, Sultan Qait Bey built a fortress on its foundation, which can be seen Nowadays). After this, the pyramids at Giza remained the only ancient wonder of the world that has survived to this day.

In the mid-90s. the remains of the Alexandria lighthouse were discovered at the bottom of the bay with the help of a satellite, and after some time, scientists, using computer modeling, were able to more or less restore the image of the unique structure.

The ancient kings knew how to live beautifully. Huge palaces with fountains, majestic temples, marble sculptures in honor of themselves. But most of all, the rulers loved to create beautiful gardens, where birds of paradise delighted their ears with their singing, and delicate greenery caressed their eyes. The most famous of these gardens belonged, according to legend, to the Assyrian queen Semiramis, and was one of the 7 wonders of the world. Ekaterina Astafieva will tell you where the Hanging Gardens of Babylon really were, who built them, and what was so wonderful about them.

Whose gardens are they anyway?

Let's start with the main thing - the Hanging Gardens of Babylon never belonged to Babylon. The name of this legendary queen is often found in Akkadian and ancient Armenian mythologies. Under the guise of Semiramis hides the Assyrian queen Shammuramat. She became famous due to the fact that for some time she ruled alone, which rarely happened to women in those days. She lived at the beginning of the 9th century BC, that is, according to scientists, two centuries before the creation of the famous wonder of the world.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were actually built by Nebuchadnezzar II

The second, more correct name for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is the gardens of Amitis or Amanis. This was the name of the wife of Nebuchadnezzar II, who created the wonder of the world as a gift to his beloved. This gift has a beautiful story that could give a head start to many romantic ballads. In the 6th century BC, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II entered into an alliance with the king of Media, Cyaxares. They united against a common enemy - powerful Assyria. The allies managed to win, and they divided the territory of the defeated among themselves. In honor of the successful union, Nebuchadnezzar married the Median princess Amytis. But the girl, who grew up in fertile Media, was bored in dusty and deserted Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar ordered hanging gardens to be built for his young wife, which would brighten up her homesickness. And so the second wonder of the world appeared.

The Mystery of Babylon

The place where the Hanging Gardens were supposed to be located was excavated in 1899 by the German archaeologist Robert Koldewey. He discovered some unusual structure on the territory of ancient Babylon. He suggested that it was used as a special water lift for a continuous supply of water. In addition, the structure was lined with stone, not brick. Ancient sources reported two places where stone was used in construction. One of them has already been discovered, and the second, legendary, turned out to be the hanging gardens of Amytis.

The correct name for the hanging gardens is Amitis Gardens

True, there is another version where it is worth looking for the wonder of the world. Some scholars agree that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were located in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, which after the war went to Babylon.

It is interesting that there are almost no direct indications of the existence of the Hanging Gardens of Amytis among those who could directly visit the palace of Babylon. Herodotus, for example, in his descriptions mentions a part of the palace that can be correlated with a wonder of the world. But he already considered the creation of the gardens to be the work of Queen Shammuramat.

The Hanging Gardens were excavated by German archaeologist Robert Koldewey

Did the gardens hang?

What did the famous gardens look like? Were they really hanging? The Hanging Gardens were built in the form of a large stepped pyramid, with four floors rising above each other. The platforms were connected by stairs made of white and pink slabs. Each platform was installed on columns 25 meters high. This distance allowed the plants to receive the right amount of sunlight.

The surface of each tier, as scientists suggest, consisted of several layers. First, a layer of reed mixed with resin was laid on the platform, then two layers of brick held together with gypsum mortar. Lead slabs were laid on top of all this, and a layer of fertile soil was poured on them, sufficient for tall trees to take root. Flowers and herbs were also planted nearby.

For some time, the Gardens of Babylon belonged to Alexander the Great

Irrigation of hanging gardens deserves special attention. In the middle of one of the columns there was a pipe through which water entered the garden. Every day the slaves turned the wheel, along the perimeter of which buckets hung. They scooped up water from the river or, as some researchers believe, from underground wells. The water first entered the upper tier of the pyramid, from where it flowed through channels to the lower floors. Of course, such a complex system required careful care and continuous work of slaves. That is why the Hanging Gardens of Babylon fell into disrepair soon after the death of Nebuchadnezzar II. After Alexander the Great captured Babylon, made the king’s palace his own residence and died here directly, the artificial irrigation system stopped functioning and the beautiful plants died. Soon, due to floods from a nearby river, the foundation was washed away, the slabs fell, and only memories remained of the hanging gardens.

Masterpieces created by the hands of ancient masters still amaze the human imagination - with their beauty, grace, ideal proportions, and precision of calculation. But even among these impeccably made works of art, works periodically appeared that were so magnificently and competently made both technically and artistically that they simply could not help but delight both local residents and world-famous traders, sailors, and travelers.

Usually they caused such a strong reaction that they were almost immediately and unconditionally included in the list of “Seven Wonders of the World”, after which they almost never left it, except for the only case when the Lighthouse of Alexandria confidently displaced the famous Babylonian walls from there.

The fact that the list included precisely the seven wonders of the ancient world is not an accident. This number belonged to Apollo and symbolized completeness, completeness and perfection, and therefore was especially revered by the ancient Greeks.

People have always loved to compile lists in which they included all the best, beautiful and original, and the residents of Greece, as true admirers of everything beautiful, were no exception. Therefore, among the classical genres of poetry of this people there were movements glorifying both the most eminent cultural figures (poets, philosophers, rulers) and the most beautiful architectural monuments of the ancient world.

First list of wonders of the world

The first list of wonders of the ancient world was compiled by Herodotus in the 5th century BC. All of them were in Greece, on the island of Samos, the homeland of Pythagoras, Epicurus, Aristarchus and other eminent figures of Hellas. True, it was short and consisted of only three points:

1. Aqueduct - was a one-kilometer-long canal that supplied local residents with water;
2. Temple of Hera - was built back in the 8th century BC. The vault of this graceful structure was supported by about a hundred tall columns, the base of which was processed by a machine specially invented for this purpose;
3. Damba-mol.

Over time, more and more interesting wonders and amazing structures began to appear in Greece and neighboring countries, which easily eclipsed Herodotus's list, expanded it and completely modified it.

Second list of miracles

Walls of Babylon

In his list of the seven wonders of the world, Antipater first of all mentioned the walls of ancient Babylon, which was located on the territory of modern Iraq (they were later displaced from there by the Lighthouse of Alexandria).

The old walls of Babylon were created by Nebuchadnezzar in the 7th century BC. - and were absolutely impregnable, since in order to penetrate the city, the enemy had to overcome not only them, but also a moat, cedar gates covered with metal plates, a defensive rampart, bastions and water obstacles. Since the city itself was planned in the shape of a square, the walls with which it was surrounded had the same shape.

Moreover, the length of each wall was 23 km, width – 24 meters, height – from 60 to 100 m, and they went underground for another ten meters. It was discovered that Old Babylon was surrounded not by one belt of walls, but by three, and their length exceeded 90 km.

A century after their construction, the ancient city was nevertheless captured - despite the fact that the walls of Babylon continued to faithfully serve the city, its inhabitants themselves opened the gates to the king of Persia, Cyrus.

Zeus statue in Olympia

Naturally, in his list of “Seven Wonders of the World,” Antipater could not help but mention the one built in Greece in 435 BC. a statue of the most important god of Olympus - Zeus. People, seeing her for the first time, always came to inexpressible admiration: the head and shoulders of the god emitted divine light, and his eyes shone so brightly that it seemed as if they were throwing lightning. Moreover, the height of the statue ranged from 12 to 17 meters, the clothes of the Thunderer were made of gold, and the body was made of ebony and covered with ivory plates.

The statue was so majestic that after Greece officially adopted Christianity, even ardent fanatics did not dare to destroy it. The statue was sent to Constantinople, where it was in the palace of the local ruler and burned down during a major fire.

The idea to create a flowering garden (7th century BC) in the middle of a dry plain belonged to Nebuchadnezzar, who wanted to console his young wife, who felt extremely uncomfortable in Babylon, since she grew up among mountains covered with abundant vegetation.

Despite the complexity of the idea, the engineers and architects of Ancient Babylon (located on the territory of modern Iraq) coped with this task and erected a four-tiered structure, externally extremely similar to a green hill - not only grass and flowers grew on each floor, but also shrubs and even trees. They were able to grow, bloom and bear fruit thanks to a specially designed complex irrigation system.

After the collapse of Babylon, the city fell into decay, and with it the gardens perished - without artificial watering and care they could not exist for long.

Helios, the sun god, was revered throughout Greece, but he was especially worshiped by the inhabitants of the island of Rhodes. Therefore, when after a long siege the enemy retreated, the inhabitants of the island, grateful to Helios for this, dedicated the victory to their main deity and decided to create a statue of an unprecedented scale at that time and install it at the entrance to the port.

It should be noted that they succeeded: it took about 10 years to make the statue - and the world saw it somewhere between 292 and 280. BC. Despite the fact that there is no exact data on what exactly the sculpture looked like, the height of the monument was definitely at least thirty meters. Three huge stone pillars were used as a frame for the statue, fastened together with hoops, which the craftsmen lined with bronze sheets, after which clay was poured into the prepared mold.

The clay statue could not survive for long and was destroyed by the first major earthquake: Helios’s legs buckled and the statue collapsed, falling apart.

The Pyramid of Cheops

The only architectural monument from the list of “Seven Wonders of the World” that has survived to this day is the ancient Egyptian pyramid of Cheops, whose age exceeds 4.5 thousand years. Its height immediately after construction was completed was 147 m, then it became somewhat lower - 138 m (the top of the tomb was destroyed over time). Until the 14th century, the pyramid was the tallest structure of the ancient world.

To build a pyramid of such a scale, the ancient Egyptians needed to use 2.5 million blocks weighing about 2.5 tons. Moreover, in order to fasten them together, the ancient architects did not use absolutely any solutions; the blocks were connected using a special technology, so the distance there was no more than half a millimeter between them.

Antipater, speaking about the “Seven Wonders of the World,” could not fail to mention the world’s first mausoleum, built in 353 BC. It was located in Caria (the territory of modern Turkey), and the ruler Mavsol began to build it.

The height of the tomb was 46 meters; 36 columns were installed along the walls, between which the sculptors placed statues of mythical animals. The roof had a triangular shape, and on its top there was a six-meter sculpture - a chariot. Its drivers were a married couple, Mavsol and his wife Artemisia, who were subsequently cremated and buried here (the construction was completed by the wife, since Mavsol died before the work was completed).

The mausoleum existed for about nineteen centuries and suffered more than one earthquake. The tomb could not resist the crusaders - they dismantled the tomb and built St. Peter's Castle in its place.

Temple of Artemis

But what most captivated Antipater with its beauty was the Temple of Artemis, built in 550 BC. on the territory of modern Ephesus (Turkey) - despite the fact that in his list of “Seven Wonders of the World” this building was in last place, he dedicated the largest number of lines to it. The building was made entirely of marble and was supported by 127 columns, each about 18 meters high.

The structure itself was approximately 131 m long and 79 m wide. In the middle was a fifteen-meter statue of Artemis, made of gold and ivory, decorated with precious stones. The most famous sculptors of ancient Greece were involved in decorating the temple, thanks to which the goddess’s house surpassed all the world’s famous temples in beauty.

Third final list

Who knows, maybe Antipater’s list of “Seven Wonders of the World” would have remained unchanged, if not for the Lighthouse of Alexandria, which managed to displace the walls of old Babylon from the list (the first memories of it as a wonder of the world are found in Pliny the Elder).

The huge lighthouse, whose height was about 120 meters, was erected in the 4th century. BC. on the island of Pharos near Alexandria (Egypt). It turned out to be the only miracle of the ancient world that had a practical purpose - it was supposed to not only illuminate the path for ships and show them the way to the harbor (the signal lights of the lighthouse were visible even at a distance exceeding 60 km), but also served as an observation post from which the surroundings were visible and the enemy could be seen from afar.

This building stood for almost a millennium, until the 14th century, and survived several serious earthquakes, until one of them completely wiped out the man-made miracle from the face of the earth.

More than 2,000 years ago, writers began compiling lists of amazing buildings and structures they had seen or heard about. Around 120 BC a Greek poet named Antipar of Sidon described seven such places. All of them can be found in a small area in the eastern Mediterranean - an area that ancient Greek writers knew well. Few have been outside of it. Perhaps this list was a kind of tourist guide. The list of wonders has survived to this day, although only one of the listed buildings remains standing. They are known as the Seven Wonders of Antiquity.

Great Pyramid of Giza

This graceful Egyptian pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of Antiquity. In addition, this is the only miracle that has survived to this day. At the time of its creation, the Great Pyramid was the tallest structure in the world. And she held this record, apparently, for almost 4000 years.

The Great Pyramid was built as the tomb of Khufu, known to the Greeks as Cheops. He was one of the pharaohs, or kings, of ancient Egypt, and his tomb was completed in 2580 BC. Later, two more pyramids were built at Giza, for Khufu's son and grandson, as well as smaller pyramids for their queens. The pyramid of Khufu is the largest.

The pyramids stand in an ancient cemetery in Giza, on the opposite bank of the Nile River from Cairo, the capital of modern Egypt. Some archaeologists believe that it may have taken 100,000 people 20 years to build the great pyramid. It was created from more than 2 million stone blocks, each of which weighed at least 2.5 tons. Workers pulled them into place using ramps, pulleys and levers, and then pushed them together without mortar.

When the main structure was completed, it resembled a series of steps. They were then covered with blocks of white limestone with a polished, shiny surface. The blocks were so tightly fitted to each other that it was impossible to insert even a knife blade between them from the outside. Upon completion of the work, the Great Pyramid rose 147 meters. Now its top has collapsed, in addition, at present, only the pyramid of Khufu’s son has retained its limestone cladding at its very top. The base side of the Great Pyramid reaches 230 meters. It occupies more area than nine football fields.

The ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died, their body should be preserved so that the spirit could continue to live after death. They removed the internal organs, filled the body with salts and wrapped it in linen shrouds. So the body turned into a mummy. The mummy was then buried along with clothing, food, jewelry and other items useful for the afterlife. Khufu's mummified body was placed in a burial chamber at the heart of his pyramid.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens were one of the most famous wonders of the ancient city of Babylon. However, although archaeologists have found the supposed ruins of the gardens, it is impossible to prove that these are exactly them. All we know is that the gardens really existed because people saw and described them.

Greek and Roman writers say that the gardens were built around 600 BC. by order of Nebuchadnezzar II, ruler of Babylon. This city lay on the banks of the Euphrates River, south of today's Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The legend tells that the king ordered the construction of gardens for the sake of his young wife Amytis, who was homesick, hoping that they would remind her of her native Persian mountains.

The Hanging Gardens were probably built next to the river and overlooked the city walls of Babylon. They were arranged in the form of terraces, the highest of which may have risen 40 meters above the ground. Nebuchadnezzar ordered every imaginable species of trees and flowers to be planted in the garden. They were transported from all over the empire on oxcarts and river boats. The success of gardeners must have depended on a good irrigation system, for which water from the Euphrates was used. Water could be raised to the upper terrace using a chain of buckets attached to a wheel that was turned by slaves. And then it must have flowed through the gardens in streams and waterfalls, so that the ground always remained wet.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Croesus was the last king of Lydia, an ancient region in Asia Minor that is part of modern Turkey. He was famous for his enormous wealth and in 560 BC. built a magnificent temple in Ephesus. The city itself was founded 1000 years earlier. According to legend, its founders were the Amazons.

Croesus decided to build a temple in honor of the moon goddess, the patroness of animals and young girls. The Greeks called her Artemis, and the Romans called her Diana. The temple was built from limestone and marble quarried by workers in the nearby mountains. The supporting structures of the temple consisted of about 120 marble columns. The giant columns reached a height of 20 meters. The huge blocks from which they were made had to be pushed into place using blocks, after which they were fastened with metal pins. When the building was covered with a roof, the artists gave it a finished look, decorating it with sculptures and ornaments. In the center of the temple stood a statue of Artemis. It was one of the largest classical temples, much larger than the Parthenon, built later in Athens. The platform he stood on. reached 131 meters in length and 79 meters in width.

Two hundred years later, in 356 BC, the temple was burned to the ground. It was set on fire by a man named Herostat, who just wanted to become famous. By a strange coincidence, the temple was destroyed on the day that Alexander the Great was born. Years later, Alexander visited Ephesus and ordered the temple to be restored to its original location.

The Temple of Alexander existed until the 3rd century AD. Gradually, the bay in Ephesus was covered with silt and the city lost its importance. The temple was plundered by the Goths and later flooded. Today, only a few foundation blocks and one restored column remain from the temple at Ephesus.

Zeus statue in Olympia

Almost 3,000 years ago, Olympia was an important religious center in Southwestern Greece. The ancient Greeks worshiped Zeus, the king of the gods, and held regular festivals there in his honor, which included athletic competitions. The first Olympic Games, as they came to be called, were probably held in 776 BC. After this, the games were held every four years for 1,100 years. They were of great importance; During the games, all wars stopped so as not to interfere with the participants and spectators getting to the place.

In the 5th century BC. The citizens of Olympia decided to build a temple of Zeus. The majestic building was erected between 466 and 456. BC. It was built from huge stone blocks and was surrounded by massive columns. For several years after construction was completed, the temple did not have a worthy statue of Zeus, although it was soon decided that one was necessary. The famous Athenian sculptor was chosen as the creator of the statue.

The sculptor's name was Phidias, and he had already created two majestic statues of the goddess Athena. At Olympia, Phidias and his assistants created, first of all, a wooden frame, which was supposed to serve as the backbone of the statue of Zeus. After this, they covered the frame with ivory plates, representing the skin of the god, and gold sheets, representing his robe. Workers hid the joints so that the completed statue looked like a monolithic figure.

Zeus sat on a throne inlaid with ebony and precious stones. The finished statue reached 13 m in height and almost touched the ceiling of the temple. It seemed that if Zeus stood up, he would blow the roof off. Platforms for spectators were built along the walls so that people, having climbed onto them, could see the face of God. After its completion in 435 BC. The statue remained one of the greatest wonders of the world for 800 years.

Around 40 AD Roman Emperor Caligula wanted to move the statue to Rome. Workers were sent after it, but, according to legend, the statue burst into a burst of laughter and the workers fled. Then, in 391 AD, after adopting Christianity, the Romans banned the Olympic Games and closed the Greek temples. A few years later, the statue of Zeus was transported to Constantinople. In 462 A.D. the palace in which the statue stood was destroyed by fire. An earthquake occurred in the Olympic region in the 4th century. The temple and stadium were destroyed by floods, their remains covered with silt. This helped the fragments of Olympia survive for more than 1000 years.

mausoleum in Halicarnassus

Mausolus was the ruler of Caria, part of the Persian Empire, from 377 to 353. BC. The capital of the region was Halicarnassus, which became a tourist center in modern Turkey under the name Bodrum. Mausolus succeeded his father as lord of the city and satrap of the province.

Mausolus married his sister Artemisia. Gaining more and more power, he began to think about a tomb for himself and his queen. This must have been an extraordinary tomb. Mausolus dreamed of a magnificent monument that would remind the world of his wealth and power long after his death. Mausolus died before the tomb was completed, but his widow continued to supervise the construction until its completion, around 350 BC. The tomb was called Mausoleum, after the king, and this word came to mean any impressive and majestic tomb.

The ashes of the royal couple were kept in golden urns in the tomb located at the base of the building. A row of stone lions guarded this room. A structure reminiscent of a Greek temple, surrounded by columns and statues, rose above a massive stone base. At the top of the building was a step pyramid. It was crowned, at a height of 43 meters above the ground, by a sculpture of a chariot drawn by horses. There were probably statues of the king and queen on it.

Eighteen centuries later, an earthquake destroyed the Mausoleum to the ground. In 1489, Christian knights - St. John began to use its ruins for a castle, which they built nearby. They built part of the fortress walls from green stone blocks, characteristic of the main part of the Mausoleum. A few years later, the knights discovered the tomb of Mausolus and Artemisia. But they left the burial unguarded overnight, and it was plundered by looters who were attracted by gold and jewelry.

Another 300 years passed before archaeologists began excavations here. They discovered parts of the Mausoleum's foundation, as well as statues and reliefs that had not been broken or stolen. Among them were huge statues that archaeologists believe depicted the king and queen. In 1857, these finds were transported to the British Museum in London. In recent years, new excavations have been carried out, and now only a handful of stones remain at this site in Bodrum.

The Colossus of Rhodes

A colossus was a giant statue that stood in the port city of Rhodes, an island in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of modern Turkey. In ancient times, the people of Rhodes wanted to be independent traders. They tried not to interfere in other people's wars, and yet they themselves were repeatedly conquered.

At the end of the 4th century BC. the people of Rhodes celebrated the victory. They just successfully defended their city, which was kept under siege by Greek soldiers for a whole year. The Greeks, realizing that they could not win, even abandoned part of the siege works. The people of Rhodes decided to sell these buildings and build a statue of Helios, revered by them as the sun god, in order to thank him for his intercession.

We don't know exactly what the statue looked like or where it stood. But we know that it was made of bronze and reached a height of about 33 meters. It was created by sculptor Haret and took 12 years to build.

The bronze shell was attached to an iron frame. The hollow statue began to be built from the bottom, and as it grew, it was filled with stones to make it more stable. The Colossus was completed around 280 BC. For many centuries, people believed that the Colossus towered over the entrance to the Rhodian harbor. But this could not be. The width of the mouth of the harbor was approximately 400 meters, but the statue was still not that colossal. Descriptions suggest that it stood in the center of the city and looked out over the sea and harbor.

Approximately 50 years after completion of construction, the Colossus collapsed. During the earthquake it broke at the level of the knees. The oracle ordered not to restore the statue, and it remained lying where it fell. So it lay there for more than 900 years, and they went to Rhodes only to look at the wreckage of the defeated god. In 654 AD. The Syrian prince captured Rhodes and removed the bronze plates from the statue. They said that he took them to Syria on 900 camels.

Alexandrian lighthouse

In the 3rd century BC. a lighthouse was built so that ships could safely pass the reefs on their way to Alexandria Bay. At night they were helped in this by the reflection of flames, and during the day by a column of smoke. It was the world's first lighthouse, and it stood for 1,500 years.

The lighthouse was built on the small island of Pharos in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Alexandria. This busy port was founded by Alexander the Great during his visit to Egypt. The building was named after the island. It must have taken 20 years to build and was completed around 280 BC, during the reign of Ptolemy II, king of Egypt.
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The Pyramids of Giza were built during the 4th Dynasty of Pharaohs (around 2550 BC) presumably as tombs for kings and queens. The architecture of Ancient Egypt is represented by 90 pyramids, the main of which are the Pyramids of Giza, which are located on the edge of the capital Cairo. The largest in the world, the Pyramid of Cheops, towering above the plateau, is one of the most ancient historical and cultural monuments untouched by time. For 4,300 years, the Pyramid of Cheops was the tallest building on Earth. In 1889, its place was taken by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The pyramid is built entirely of limestone. Scientists have still not been able to find out by what mechanisms this grandiose pyramidal complex was built. During its construction, 1,300,000 stone blocks weighing from 2.5 to 15 tons were used. The length of its base is 230 meters. The four sides of the Cheops Pyramid face the four cardinal directions at an angle of 52 degrees. The original height of the Pyramid was 146.5 m, but today it is only 137 meters. The pyramid lost 9 meters in height due to the fact that the limestone covering and facing stones that were on the top were removed from the pyramid and used by the Turks in power in Egypt and used in the construction of houses and mosques in Cairo. The Cheops pyramid has two exits. Both of them are located in its northern part: one is the main one and the second is 17 meters above ground level.

In the 11th century e. The treasure seeker Caliph el-Mamun suggested that there were countless treasures inside the pyramid and sent masons to open the entrance to it. They dug a tunnel into the pyramid, which deviates from the original entrance and connects with it after 35 meters. They found nothing inside the pyramid: the tombs of the pharaohs had been plundered in ancient times.

From the main entrance to the Pyramid, a long narrow corridor with a low ceiling leads to the place where the sarcophagus was located. It descends to a depth of more than 100 meters and leads to a chamber located approximately 24 meters below ground level.

20 meters from the descending corridor there is another tunnel that leads to the very heart of the pyramid. It ends at the largest part of the pyramid - the Great Gallery. And it is a rectangular hall 49 square meters in length and 15 meters in height. From the Grand Gallery, a long tunnel leads to the second chamber, which is known as the Tomb of the Queens.

Rising from the Great Gallery, you can find the entrance to the third chamber; a sarcophagus is installed here, which was made from a single block of granite stone. The premises of this chamber are an amazing archaeological find: it was built from granite blocks that were brought from the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, located 1000 km from the Giza plateau! The roof of the chamber consists of 9 granite slabs, the weight of each of which is estimated at approximately 50 tons. The burial chamber has small rectangular exits from the pyramid. Scientists suggest that these depressions in the pyramid served to provide ventilation, or, according to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, they ensured contact between the pharaoh and the stars.

The Great Pyramid in Egypt belonged to the Egyptian king Khufu. The name "Cheops" was given to it by the Greeks. Both names are common. The same applies to the nearby Pyramid of Khafre (Greek "Khefre") and the Pyramid of Menkaure (Greek "Mykerina") located nearby on the Giza plateau.

Pyramid of Khafre, the second in order and largest pyramid on the Giza Plateau of Egypt. The main difference of this pyramid is the layer of facing white stone remaining on the top. When viewing the Pyramids of Giza, it seems that it is the largest. In fact, this is just an optical illusion, since it stands on a hill. The height of the Pyramid of Khafre is only 136 m, the width of the base is 214.5 m. Initially, the Pyramid of Khafre was 143.5 m in height.

No corridors leading to its center or burial chambers underground were found in the pyramid. The pyramid has a single entrance 15 meters above the ground, and a descent along a narrow corridor at an angle of 25 degrees into a burial chamber with an area of ​​14.2 by 6.9 m. This chamber contains a large black sarcophagus.

The smallest of the three pyramids on the Giza plateau was built for Khafre's son, Mikerinus: 65.5 m high (currently 62 m), with a base of 105 m and an angle of 51.3 degrees. This pyramid, like the other two on the Giza plateau, has a northern entrance. Besides its size, the Pyramid of Mikerin differed from the other two in that its cladding was made of pink granite, which was brought from Aswan. King Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt used it to build a residence in Alexandria.