Ancient Wonders of the World

The anicent wonders of the world included The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, which is no longer standing. It was built around 433 BC by the Greek sculptor, Phidias, he created an ivory Zeus seated on a throne, draped in a gold robe. Zeus had a wreath around his head and held a figure of his messenger Nike in his right hand, and a scepter in his left. The statue was part of a great temple that was designed specifically for the statue. It was a place of pilgrimage for Greeks.

The Temple of Artemis was built by King Croesus after conquering the Greek city of Ephesus around 550 BC. It contained a beautiful statue of the goddess, Artemis. The temple burned in 356 BC but was later rebuilt by Alexander the Great after he conquered Ephesus. Over time, the temple deteriorated and disappeared. The ruins of the temple were not discovered until 1869 by an English engineer named J.T. Wood. The British Museum in London counts some of the second temple's sculptures among its treasures.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were a series of vaulted terraces built in the shape of a pyramid. The terraces contained trees, exotic plants, and flowers. The garden was built by Semiramis in the 9th century BC under the direction of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylonia. King Nebuchadrezzar supposedly had the gardens built for his wife because she missed the garden-like landscape of her homeland of Persia. According to the writings of a Babylonian priest, they were approximately 400 feet square and 75 feet above the ground. His account says slaves working in shifts turned screws to lift water from the nearby Euphrates River to irrigate the trees, shrubs and flowers.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus King Mausolus lived and ruled Caria in the 4th century BC. Towards the end of his life, King Mausolus had his own tomb built as a monument to his power and conquests. This enormous tomb of King Mausolus became known as a mausoleum. Greek architects Satyrus and Pythius designed the approximately 135-foot-high tomb, and four famous Grecian sculptors added an ornamental frieze (decorated band) around its exterior.

The Colossus of Rhodes was located on the islands of Rhodes. The island was dedicated to Helios, the sun god. The people of Rhodes built an enormous statue of Helios near their main harbor. At approximately 120 feet, the bronze Colossus stood almost as high as the Statue of Liberty in the United States. Interior stone blocks and iron bars supported the hollow statue. Just 56 years after it was built, a strong earthquake destroyed it.

The Pharos of Alexandria was a structure that was actually a huge lighthouse built on the island of Pharos near the harbor of Alexandria. A fire was kept burning in it and could be seen from as far away as 35 miles. It