7 Wonders of the World

History

The origin of the idea of Seven Wonders of the World dates back to Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC) and Callimachus (305 BC – 240 BC), who made lists which included 7 famous place of ancient world, and from there the Idea of 7 wonders started. Only the Great Pyramid of Giza is still standing of those ancient wonders.

The other six were destroyed by earthquake, fire, or other causes. New Seven Wonders of the World is a project that attempts to revive the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a list of modern wonders. A popularity poll was being led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the Swiss-based, controlled by New 7 Wonders Foundation, with winners announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza Built 2560 BC. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza.

This is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that survives in the world. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for Fourth dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu and constructed over a 20 year period concluding around 2540 BC. The Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. Originally the Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed a smooth outer surface. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the main part of a complex setting of buildings that included two mortuary temples in honor of Khufu (one close to the pyramid and one near the Nile).

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. They were built by the Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC. He is reported to have constructed the gardens to please his sick wife, who longed for the trees and fragrant plants of her homeland Persia. The lush Hanging Gardens are extensively documented by Greek historians such as Strabo and Diodorus Siculus. Through the ages, the location may have been confused with gardens that existed at Nimrud. The gardens were destroyed by several earthquakes after the 2nd century BC.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was made by the Greek sculptor Phidias, circa 432 BC on the site where it was erected in the Temple of Zeus, Olympia, Greece. It was considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. For six hundred years after the death of the sculptor, people from all over the civilized world traveled to view it as it was thought to be a misfortune to die without seeing this work. The seated statue, some 12 meters (39 feet) tall, occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple built to house it. "It seems that if Zeus were to stand up," the geographer Strabo noted early in the first century BC, "he would unroofed the temple. “

Temple of Artemis

The Temple of Artemis also known less precisely as Temple of Diana, was a temple dedicated to Artemis completed in its most famous phase around 550 BC at Ephesus (in present-day Turkey). Here were previous temples on its site, where evidence of a sanctuary dates as early as the Bronze Age. The whole temple was made of marble except for the roof. The Temple of Artemis was located near the ancient city of Ephesus, about 50 km south from a modern port city of Turkey.

Today the site lies on the edge of the modern town of Selcuk. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was destroyed on July 21, 356 BC in an act of arson committed by Hero stratus. According to the story, his motivation was fame at any cost, thus the term herostratic fame. A man was found to plan the burning of the temple of Ephesian Diana so that through the destruction of this most beautiful building his name might be spread through the whole world. The temple was restored after Alexander's death, in 323 BC. This reconstruction was itself destroyed during a war in 262. The Ephesians rebuilt the temple again. In 401, the temple in its last version was finally destroyed by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom, and the stones were used in construction of other buildings

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Turkey for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire, and Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister. It stood approximately 45 meters (135 ft) in height, and each of the four sides was adorned with sculptural reliefs created by each one of four Greek sculptors. The beauty of the Mausoleum was not only in the structure itself, but in the decorations and statues that adorned the outside at different levels on the podium and the roof: statues of people, lions, horses, and other animals in varying scales. The four Greek sculptors who carved the statues were each responsible for one side. The Mausoleum overlooked the city of Halicarnassus for many years.

It was untouched when the city fell to Alexander III of Macedon in 334 BC and still undamaged after attacks by pirates in 62 and 58 BC. It stood above the city's ruins for sixteen centuries. Then a series of earthquakes shattered the columns and sent the bronze chariot crashing to the ground. By 1404 AD only the very base of the Mausoleum was still recognizable.

Lighthouse of Alexandria

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a tower built in the 3rd century BC (between 285 and 247 BC) on the island of Pharos in Alexandria. With a height variously estimated at between 115 and 135 m (380 and 440 ft), it was identified as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The lighthouse was completed in the 3rd century BC. Alexander died unexpectedly at age 32, Ptolemy Soter (Saviour, named so by the inhabitants of Rhodes) made himself king in 305 BC and ordered the construction of the Pharos shortly thereafter. The building was finished during the reign of his son. The two earthquakes in 1303 and 1323 damaged the lighthouse to the extent that the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta reported no longer being able to enter the ruin. Even the stubby remnant disappeared in 1480.

Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindros between 292 and 280 BC. It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Before its destruction, the Colossus of Rhodes stood over 30 meters (107 ft) high, making it one of the tallest statues of the ancient world. The structure was being built with iron tie bars to which brass plates were fixed to form the skin.

The interior of the structure, which stood on a 15-meter- (50-foot) high white marble pedestal near the harbor entrance, The statue itself was over 30 meters (107 ft) tall. Much of the iron. The statue stood for only 56 years until Rhodes was hit by the 226 BC Rhodes earthquake, when significant damage was also done to large portions of the city, including the harbor and commercial buildings, which were destroyed. The remains lay on the ground as described by Strabo (Greek historian) for over 800 years, and even broken, they were so impressive that many traveled to see them. In 654, an Arab force captured Rhodes, the remains were sold to a Jewish merchant, The buyer had the statue broken down, and transported the bronze scrap on the backs of 900 camels to his home. There is compelling evidence, however, that all traces of the Colossus had actually disappeared long before the Arab invasion.

New Seven Wonders of the World

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a monument located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their fourteenth child. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632, one year after her death. The principal construction was completed in 1648. By the late 19th century, parts of the buildings had fallen badly into disrepair. During the time of the Indian rebellion of 1857, also damaged during the British period, At the end of the 19th century, Lord Curzon ordered a massive restoration project, which was completed in 1908.

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from attacks during various successive dynasties. Since the 5th century BC, several walls have been built that were referred to as the Great Wall.

One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China. Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851. 8 km (5,500. 3 mi). This is made up of 6,259. 6 km (3,889. 5 mi) of sections of actual wall, 359. 7 km (223. 5 mi) of trenches, and 2,232. 5 km (1,387. 2 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. At present some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even extensively renovated, in many locations the Wall is in disrepair.

Many parts have been destroyed because the Wall is in the way of construction. More than 60 kilometers (37 mi) of the wall in Gansu province may disappear in the next 20 years, due to erosion from sandstorms. In places, the height of the wall has been reduced from more than five meters (16. 4 ft) to less than two meters. The square lookout towers that characterize the most famous images of the wall have disappeared completely. Many western sections of the wall are constructed from mud, rather than brick and stone, and thus become more harmful for the building.

Roman Coliseum

Roman Coliseum in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture. its construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD. Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of Emperor Vespasian in around 70–72AD. The site chosen was a flat area on the floor of a low valley between the Hills, By the 2nd century BC. In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged y a major fire (caused by lightning) which destroyed the wooden upper levels of the amphitheater's interior. It was not fully repaired until about 240, again possibly to repair damage caused by a major earthquake in 443; and again constructed in 484 and 508. Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the great earthquake in 1349, also country caused severe damage by the earthquake. Much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. But again at 19th century Roman rebuilt it. The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. On July 7, 2007, the Colosseum was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World.

Petra

Petra meaning rock It's in Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah, the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. They constructed it as their capital city around 100 BC. The site suffers from a host of threats, including the collapse of ancient structures, erosion due to flooding and improper rainwater drainage, weathering from salt upwelling, improper restoration of ancient structures, and unsustainable tourism. The latter has increased substantially ever since the site was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu located 2,430 meters (8,000 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the most familiar symbols of the Inca Empire. The Incas started building it around AD 1430. Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu was constructed around 1462, at the height of the Inca Empire.

It is likely that most of its inhabitants were wiped out by smallpox before the Spanish conquistadores arrived in the area, and there is no record of the Spanish having known of the remote city. An area of 325. 92 square kilometers surrounding Machu Picchu was declared a "Historical Sanctuary" of Peru in 1971. In addition to the ruins, this sanctuary area includes a large portion of the adjoining region, rich with flora and fauna. Machu Picchu was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1983 when it was described as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization"

Christ the Redeemer

Christ the Redeemer is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest art deco (Art Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s) statue in the world. The statue stands 39. 6 meters (130 ft) tall, including its 9. 5 meters (31 ft) pedestal, and 30 meters (98 ft) wide. It weighs 635 tons (700 short tons) and is located at the peak of the 700 meters (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain. It is one of the tallest of its kind in the world. the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil. The idea for erecting a large statue atop Corcovado was first suggested in the mid-1850s, which financing from Princess Isabel to build a large religious monument. The second proposal for a large landmark statue on the mountain was made in 1921 by the Catholic Circle of Rio. The group organized an event called Semana do Monumento ("Monument Week") to attract donations and collect signatures to support the building of the statue. The donations came mostly from Brazilian Catholics.

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of Mexico. Chichen Itza was a major regional focal point in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic through the Terminal Classic and into the early portion of the Early Postclassic period. The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, from what is called “Mexicanized”. Chichen Itza is maintained by Mexico’s (National Institute of Anthropology and History, INAH). The land under the monuments, however, is privately owned by the Barbican family. Some ethnohistoric sources claim that in about 987 a Toltec king arrived here with his army from central Mexico made Chichen Itza his capital.

The art and architecture from this period show an interesting mix of Maya and Toltec styles. Chichen Itza was a major economic power in the northern Maya lowlands. It’s the largest tourist place in Mexico but Over the past several years, INAH, which manages the site, has been closing monuments to public access. While visitors can walk around them, they can no longer climb them or go inside their chambers. The most recent was El Castillo, which was closed after a San Diego, Calif., woman fell to her death in 2006.

Cite this Page

7 Wonders of the World. (2018, Aug 18). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/7-wonders-of-the-world/

copy to clipboard