7 Wonders

4 Pages 1121 Words

1. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon – Located approximately 50km south of Baghdad, Iraq on the east bank of the Euphrates River. King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC), grandson of the famous King Hammurabi, is credited to have commissioned the construction of the gardens. Although no tablets were found in Babylon referring to the Gardens, accountings from the ancient Greek historian, Strabo, state that the “The Garden is quadrangular, and each side is four plethra long. It consists of arched vaults which are located on checkered cube-like foundations.. The ascent of the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway..”

2. The Great Pyramid of Giza – The only one of the Seven Wonders still left standing to this day, it is also the oldest of the 7 Ancient Wonders. Located in the city Giza, a necropolis of ancient Memphis, which is now part of Cairo, Egypt. This impressive monument was commissioned by Pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around 2560 BC, to serve as his final resting place. The great pyramid was 145.75 meters tall when constructed, but over the course of time has lost nearly 10 meters. The entrance is located on the North side of the pyramid, and once inside there is a series of passageways and galleries that lead to the Kings burial chamber. The structure is comprised of some 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing more than 2 tons, with the King’s burial chamber and sarcophagus made out of red granite.

3. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia – The god of gods to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. It was located in the ancient town of Olympia, about 150 km west of Athens, in Greece. The original temple housing the massive statue was constructed around 450 BC, designed by architect Libon. The statue itself was created by the Athenian sculptor Pheidias. Constructed out of ivory sections, the massive statue was 45 feet tall, holding victory in his right hand, and his sceptor in his left. Closed by the Roman...