The Severn Ancient Wonders of the World were built during a period of time that spanned from the old kingdoms of Egypt and Babylon to the Golden Age of Classical Greece - more than two thousand years. During this time, historians recorded the amazing sights they encountered on their travels.
In the second century BC, a Greek historian named Antipatros assembled a list of the seven greatest wonders as a tribute to the ancient world's achievements. The Wonders were chosen not only for their grandeur, but for the vision and purpose that inspired them. Their size, design, and craftsmanship were without equal in the ancient world. Of the seven, only one remains standing today.
THE PHAROS OF ALEXANDRIA C. 280 BC
Alexander the Great chose a small fishing village at the mouth of the Nile as the site for his capital in Egypt. The city was named Alexandria, and it soon became the cultural centre of the ancient world. A lighthouse was built above the harbour, both to protect ships at sea and to be used as a military lookout by soldiers on land. The lighthouse was located on the island of Pharos, which was linked to the mainland by a long viaduct.
Constructed by Sostratus of Cnidus, the white marble tower rose to a height of over 440 feet (130 metres) and in it, soldiers kept a bonfire lit day and night. The smoke and flames were said to be visible from 67 km (42 miles) away. The Pharos served as an important model in the building of lighthouses around the world. Made of solid stone, it stood for well over a thousand years, surviving many earthquakes, until 1375 A.D., when the stones from the building were used to build a fort.
THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES C. 280 BC
To commemorate a hard-won victory over the Macedonians, the citizens of the Island of Rhodes commissioned an enormous statue of their sun god Helios. According to legend, the sculptor, Chares of Lindus, fashioned the giant bronze figure from weapons left by the retreating army.
The statue, which took twelve years to complete and was said by Pliny the Elder to have been over 30.5 metres (100 feet) tall, was built on a jetty overlooking the city of Rhodes. Traditionally a shipping port and clearinghouse for Greek merchants, the city eventually became a major power as it flourished with the prosperous Mediterranean trade of Alexander's empire. After only fifty years, the statue toppled in an earthquake around 224 BC It was never rebuilt, but the memory of Colossus lives on today: the word "colossal" comes from the name of this statue.
THE MAUSOLEUM OF HALICARNASSUS 353 BC
In the city of Halicarnassus, on the coast of Asia Minor, Mausolus, King of Caria, ruled with his sister, Queen Artemisia. An ambitious monarch, Mausolus strove to unite the Greek colonies and city-states after the Peloponnesian War. To commemorate his rule, Queen Artemisia hired the best Greek sculptors and architects to build a massive burial tomb for her brother.
Adorned with free-standing statues, the monument was revolutionary in design. Topped by a tall stepped pyramid, the tomb rose to a height of one-hundred-forty feet (forty-three metres) and was crowned with marble statues of Artemisia and Mausolus in a horse-drawn chariot. Damaged by an earthquake and then torn apart for building materials, the huge building was in ruins by 1400 A.D. However, its splendour influenced later Greek tomb architecture, and even today the name of Mausolus is remembered as the root of the word "mausoleum", a generic term for monumental tombs.
THE STATUE OF ZEUS 433 BC
Athletic games and chariot racing had been celebrated throughout Greece since the seventh century BC The greatest of these competitions was held at the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. Every four years, people came from all parts of Greece, and camped in the open for the festival. Wars were put aside for the games, and alliances were often made among the political leaders in attendance.
In the fourth century BC, Phidias, the most famous Greek sculptor of the time, built a huge statue of Zeus, king of the Greek gods, to adorn the temple. The seated figure was over forty-feet (twelve-metres) high and dominated the interior of the temple. Zeus was the most powerful of the gods, and contestants paid homage to him before the games. This ancient festival lives on the modern Olympics, which every four years attracts millions of spectators from all around the world.
THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS 560 BC
The largest temple of classical times, the temple of Artemis was built on the site of an ancient shrine in Ephesus. Funded by the Greek king, Croesus of Lydia, it attracted more pilgrims than any other temple in the ancient world. The design and proportions of the temple influenced many Greek architects, and it rivalled the Parthenon in size and fame.
Made of marble and glittering with gold ornamentation, the giant structure overflowed with treasures, including a huge statue of the deity Artemis. Originally an Asian fertility goddess, Artemis was adopted by the Greeks as their goddess of wild animals and the forest, and subsequently by the Romans as the goddess Diana. The temple was ruined in wars and was rebuilt several times, but by 262 A.D, it had lapsed beyond repair.
THE WALLS AND HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON c. 600 BC
During King Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Babylon became the greatest city in all of Mesopotamia. The King devoted great resources to restore and rebuild the ancient city. He enclosed his capital with protective, double walls that were ten miles long. Within the walls, he built vast ziggurat temples, palaces, and the famous Ishtar Gate, which was decorated with brilliantly coloured glazed brick and led to the long Processional Way that traversed the city.
In his southern palace, at the centre of the sprawling metropolis, the King built the renowned terraced Gardens for his Queen, Amyitis. The vaulted brick building housed fountains, pools, and lush gardens to ease the Queen's yearning for her mountain homeland. To fill the pools and fountains, engineers designed a system of shafts to carry buckets of water of continuous rotation. It was the only such well system in all of Babylonia.
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF EGYPT 2580 BC
King Khufu ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. He was an able ruler and under his guidance the arts flourished. The Great Pyramid at Giza is the most monumental reflection of his grand vision. It was here, on a plateau at the edge of the Nile, that he commissioned masons to build a huge pyramid.
The Chief Vizier and architect to the King designed the pyramid so that the seven-hundred foot (two-hundred-twelve metre) sides were aligned exactly with the points of the compass. Murals and written accounts of the King's life decorated the walls and galleries, and funeral boats, for the King to travel the skies and rivers of the afterlife, were buried at the perimeter of the site. However, the only image of Khufu himself ever found at the site is a small statue, only a few inches tall. The oldest and biggest of all the ancient monuments, it is still the largest stone building in the world and it is the only one of the Seven Ancient Wonders standing today.
