Seven World Wonders

9 Pages 2335 Words

, acted as the tomb and the Egyptians would fill this with gold and other treasures. Smaller pyramids were built alongside the larger structures to house the bodies of Egyptian queens.

The Great Pyramid was originally about 147 m (482 ft) high while the base covers around 5 hectares (12 acres) of land. Each of its sides extends to about 230 m (755 ft) in length. Built from almost 2.5 million blocks of stone, each weighing over 2 tonnes, it was constructed over a period of up to 20 years for King Khufu, an Egyptian pharaoh. The sarcophagus and chamber for the king’s body are made from red granite. The second pyramid, built by King Khafre, son of Khufu, to the south of his father’s pyramid, appears larger than this pyramid as it lies on higher ground. However, it is slightly smaller than the Great Pyramid at 143.5 m (471 ft) high. Khafre’s son and successor, King Menkaure, subsequently built the third and smallest pyramid, which originally stood at about 66 m (215 ft) high.

The exact layout inside the Great Pyramid continues to be a mystery, as does the purpose of the many shafts. Investigations using a miniature robot have helped to map out some of the shafts and led to the discovery of tiny doorways inside, bringing scientists closer to solving some of the mysteries of the Pharaohs.

STATUE OF ZEUS
Statue of Zeus, huge statue built to honour the king of all gods, Zeus, and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was located in the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, home of the Olympian Games (which were held every four years to worship Zeus), in Greece. In about 435 bc, Phidias, an Athenian sculptor, was asked to create a statue to make the temple even grander. The ivory and gold statue (supported by an internal wooden frame) depicted Zeus sitting on a decorative wooden throne, and was about 12 m (40 ft) high and 7 m (22 ft) wide, while the base was an additional 6.5 m (20 ft) in height. At these proportions, the statue took up...