The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World 2 free essay sample

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ~~ Paul V. Hartman ~~ Of those Seven Wonders, merely one remains. ( The attach toing mini-images are pure artistic conjectures. ) In no peculiar order, they were: 1. The Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt Besides known as the pyramid of Cheops, is the largest pyramid in the universe, and is given the day of the month 2680 BC, though we know that its building stretched over several old ages. A solid mass of limestone blocks, it covers 13 estates, rises 482 pess ( instead, it did, since it has lost some facing blocks ) and 756 pess along each base line. It remains mostly integral on the plane of Gizeh ( Giza ) near modern Cairo. 2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Babylonian Empire fits between the earlier Assyrian Empire and the ulterior Persian Empire. At its tallness, King Nebuchadnezzer ( sometimes: Nebuchadrezzer ) commissioned the Hanging Gardens, circa 560 BC. Built high and behind tall walls ( said to be 75 pess tall ) finished with cosmetic glassy bricks, the gardens were served by an intricate irrigation system which required H2O to be lifted to the highest point in the gardens. We will write a custom essay sample on The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World 2 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Nothing remains today, except the word Babylon which, because the metropolis was legendary for animal life, is now synonymous with immorality/Hollywood. 3. The Statue of Zeus at Olympus Created circa 435 BC by Phidias, the greatest sculpturer of ancient Greece, the statue said to be 40 pess tall was a magestic barbate figure seated upon a richly decorated and huge throne have oning a cloak itself covered with legion graven ornaments. Phidias was known for making curtains in beaten gold with glass inlays, and for covering flesh parts with tusk. The statue was destroyed in antiquity, but clay casts from the sculpturer s workshop suggest its visual aspect, and smaller plants of his from the Parthenon are included in the Elgin Marbles aggregation at the British Museum. 4. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus Artemis, in Greek mythology the girl of Zeus, was revered by the Greeks as the Goddess of the Hunt. ( The Roman equivalent is the goddess Diana. ) As the frequenter diety of Ephesus, the major commercial metropolis of ancient Greece ( now a portion of modern Turkey ) , and the major haven of the part, her Temple was a major attractive force and no little beginning of gross. In 262 AD the Goths overran the metropolis and destroyed the temple. In the early fifth century the seaport silted up and the metropolis was abandoned. Attempts to piece together the temple and other authoritative constructions from rubble are afoot at Ephesus today. 5. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Erected ( circa 352 BC ) in memory of Mausolus of Caria, the name is now synonymous with any expansive entombment burial chamber. This was a brilliant white marble construction presumed to hold been in the Ionic peristyle, set on a monolithic and exalted base which contained the sarcophagus, surmounted by a stepped pyramid on the vertex of which sat a four-horse chariot, the whole concern said to make 135 pess. Other sculpture surrounded this chief piece. Nothing remains at the site in modern Turkey, as it was demolished in ancient times to utilize the stuff in other constructions, but some of the smaller statuary is preserved in the British Museum. 6. The Colossus at Rhodes A big bronze statue in the similitude of Helios, the Sun God, was built about 285 BC busying the walls of the seaport at Rhodes. Said to be 100 pess tall, it is claimed that ships passed between the legs to come in the seaport. Other history, nevertheless, provinces that ships passed by an unsloped statue instead than under it. It was destroyed in ancient times, the bronze cut up and melted for other intents. Current archaeologists on Rhodes are seeking for grounds of the base, which today might be under dry land. 7. The Pharos at Alexandria The site of a beacon built ( 334 BC ) under orders of Alexander, who united the island of Pharos with a land span, organizing a peninsula, upon which the beacon was erected. In 280 BC, the beacon which would go a Seven Wonder was erected by Ptolemy II. Variously estimated to be anyplace from 200 to 600 pess tall, no precise inside informations remain. The beacon was destroyed by temblor in the fourteenth century. Part 2 There has late been a disturbance around the universe as a new 7 admirations were being voted on and selected. So, before everyone forgets the original list, this is the complete 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. The earliest extant transcript of a list of the 7 Wonders comes from Antipater of Sidon from around 140 BC. What list site would be complete without the first celebrated list? 1.Great Pyramid of Giza Constructed: 2650-2500 BC By: The Egyptians The great pyramid is the Pyramid of Khufu ( Cheops ) which he had built for his grave. When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75 m ( 481 foot ) high. Over the old ages, it lost 10 m ( 30 foot ) off its top. It ranked as the tallest construction on Earth for more than 43 centuries, merely to be surpassed in tallness in the 19th century AD. It was covered with a shell of rocks to smooth its surface ( some of the shell can still be seen near the top of Khefre # 8217 ; s pyramid ) . The inclining angle of its sides is 51 grades and 51 proceedingss. Each side is carefully oriented with one of the central points of the compass, that is, north, South, E, and west. The horizontal cross subdivision of the pyramid is square at any degree, with each side mensurating 229 m ( 751 foot ) in length. The maximal mistake between side lengths is amazingly less than 0.1 % . Sadly, this is the lone one of the seven admirations still in being. 2.HangingGardens of Babylon Constructed: 600 BC By: The Babylonians Destroyed: After 1st Century BC Cause: Earthquake The Hanging Gardens were located in what is now Iraq and Nebuchadnezzar II ( 604-562 BC ) is credited for holding built them. It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to delight his married woman or courtesan who had been # 8220 ; brought up in Media and had a passion for mountain milieus # 8221 ; . Strabo and Philo of Byzantium saw the gardens and said this: # 8220 ; The Garden is quadrangular, and each side is four plethra long. It consists of arched vaults which are located on checked cube-like foundations.. The acclivity of the topmost terrace-roofs is made by a staircase # 8230 ; # 8221 ; # 8220 ; The Hanging Garden has workss cultivated above land degree, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper patio instead than in the Earth. The whole mass is supported on rock columns # 8230 ; Streams of H2O emerging from elevated beginnings flow down inclining channels # 8230 ; These Waterss irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of workss and maintaining the whole country moist. Hence the grass is for good green and the foliages of trees grow steadfastly attached to supple branches†¦ This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most dramatic characteristic is that the labour of cultivation is suspended above the caputs of the spectators† . 3.Templeof Artemis at Ephesus Constructed: 550 BC By: The Lydians, Persians, and Greeks Destroyed: 356 BC Cause: Arson The Temple of Artemis was in the ancient metropolis of Ephesus near the modern town of Selcuk, approximately 50 kilometers south of Izmir ( Smyrna ) in Turkey. Those who saw it considered it to be the most beautiful construction on Earth. The composer of the original list of 7 admirations said this: # 8220 ; But when I saw the sacred house of Artemis that towers to the clouds, the [ other Wonders ] were placed in the shadiness, for the Sun himself has neer looked upon its equal outside Olympus. # 8221 ; The foundation of the temple was rectangular in signifier, similar to most temples at the clip. Unlike other sanctuaries, nevertheless, the edifice was made of marble, with a decorated fa # 231 ; ade overlooking a broad courtyard. Marble stairss environing the edifice platform led to the high patio which was about 80 m ( 260 foot ) by 130 m ( 430 foot ) in program. The columns were 20 m ( 60 foot ) high with Ionic capitals and carved round sides. There were 127 columns in entire, aligned orthogonally over the whole platform country, except for the cardinal cella or house of the goddess. The temple housed many plants of art, including four ancient bronze statues of Amazons sculpted by the finest creative persons at the clip. When St Paul visited the metropolis, the temple was adorned with aureate pillars and Ag figurines, and was decorated with pictures. There is no grounds that a statue of the goddess herself was placed at the centre of the sanctuary, but there is no ground non to believe so. On the dark of 21 July 356 BC, a adult male named Herostratus burned the temple to land in an effort to commemorate his name, which he did so. Alexander the Great was born the same dark. 4.Statue of Zeus at Olympia Constructed: 435 BC By: The Greeks Destroyed: 5th-6th Centuries AD Cause: Unknown This is the statue of the God in whose award the Ancient Olympic games were held. It was located on the land that gave its name to the Olympics. At the clip of the games, wars stopped, and jocks came from Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily to observe the Olympics and to idolize their male monarch of Gods: Zeus. The statue was so high that its caput about touched the ceiling, giving one the feeling that if he were to stand up, he would unroof the temple. It was so big that most descriptions that exist are of the throne and non the organic structure or caput of the God. The Grecian Pausanias wrote: On his caput is a graven garland of olive sprays. In his right manus he holds a figure of Victory made from tusk and gold # 8230 ; In his left manus, he holds a scepter inlaid with every sort of metal, with an bird of Jove perched on the scepter. His sandals are made of gold, as is his robe. His garments are carved with animate beings and with lilies. The throne is decorated with gold, cherished rocks, coal black, and tusk. 5.Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus Constructed: 351 BC By: The Persians, and Greeks Destroyed: 1494 Cause: Earthquake This is another burial topographic point ( like the Great Pyramid ) which was located in the metropolis of Bodrum ( Halicarnassus ) on the Aegean Sea, in south-west Turkey. The construction was rectangular in program, with basal dimensions of about 40 m ( 120 foot ) by 30 m ( 100 foot ) . Overliing the foundation was a stepped dais which sides were decorated with statues. The burial chamber and the sarcophagus of white alabaster decorated with gold were located on the dais and surrounded by Ionic columns. The colonnade supported a pyramid roof which was in bend decorated with statues. A statue of a chariot pulled by four Equus caballuss adorned the top of the grave. The beauty of the Mausoleum is non merely in the construction itself, but in the ornaments and statues that adorned the exterior at different degrees on the dais and the roof. These were 10s of life-size every bit good as under and over lifesize free-standing statues of people, king of beastss, Equus caballuss, and other animate beings. The statues were carved by four Grecian sculpturers: Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas, and Timotheus, each responsible for one side. Because the statues were of people and animate beings, the Mausoleum holds a particular topographic point in history as it was non dedicated to the Gods of Ancient Greece. 6.Colossus of Rhodes Constructed: 292-280 BC By: The Hellenistic Greeks Destroyed: 224 BC Cause: Earthquake The Colossus was located at the entryway of the seaport of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes in Greece. Contrary to popular believe, the statue did non straddle the seaport, it stood to its side. The undertaking was commissioned by the Rhodian sculpturer Chares of Lindos. To construct the statue, his workers cast the outer bronze tegument parts. The base was made of white marble, and the pess and mortise joint of the statue were first fixed. The construction was bit by bit erected as the bronze signifier was fortified with an Fe and rock model. To make the higher parts, an Earth incline was built around the statue and was subsequently removed. When the giant was finished, it stood about 33 m ( 110 foot ) high. And when it fell, # 8220 ; few people can do their weaponries run into round the pollex # 8221 ; , wrote Pliny. Sadly the statue stood for a mere 56 old ages, but was so beautiful that it earnt its topographic point in the seven admirations. We do non cognize what the statue looked like so lone conjectures can be made in efforts to pull it. 7.Lighthouse of Alexandria Constructed: third Century BC By: The Hellenistic Egyptians Destroyed: 1303-1480 Ad Cause: Earthquake The Lighthouse of Alexandria was located on the ancient island of Pharos, now a headland within the metropolis of Alexandria in Egypt. Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, merely one had a practical usage in add-on to its architectural elegance: The Lighthouse of Alexandria. For crewmans, it ensured a safe return to the Great Harbor. For designers, it meant even more: it was the tallest edifice on Earth. And for scientists, it was the cryptic mirror that fascinated them most. The mirror # 8217 ; s contemplation could be seen more than 50 kilometer ( 35 stat mis ) off-shore. Of the six vanished Wonders, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was the last to vanish. Therefore we have adequately accurate cognition of its location and visual aspect. Ancient histories such as those by Strabo and Pliny the Elder give us a brief description of the # 8220 ; tower # 8221 ; and the brilliant white marble screen. They tell us how the cryptic mirror could reflect the light 10s of kilometres off. The internal nucleus was used as a shaft to raise the fuel needed for the fire. At the top phase, the mirror reflected sunlight during the twenty-four hours while fire was used during the dark. In ancient times, a statue of Poseidon adorned the acme of the edifice