Seven natural wonders of the world



         


The seven wonders of the world are usually taken to be the seven wonders of the ancient world, which are structures built by humans which represent the finest achievements by civilization.

The originator of the list is usually given as Antipater of Sidon, who listed the structures in a poem (around 140 BC):

"I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, 'Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand.'" (Antipater, Greek Anthology IX.58)

The historian Herodotus, the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305–240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, and the engineer Philon of Byzantium had made earlier lists but the writings have not survived, except as references. The Greek category was not "Wonders" but "theamata"— closer to "Must-sees.'

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Wonders of the World list

The Wonders of the Ancient World list, with the Pharos of Alexandria, is medieval in origin. Antipater's list had the walls of Babylon rather than the lighthouse. In chronological order, they are:

  1. The Pyramids of Giza - serving as tombs for the Egyptian pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, in present Egypt. Built during Egypt's 4th dynasty (ca 2575–ca 2465 BC)
  2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - built by Nebuchadnezzar II, ca 8th–6th century BC, in present Iraq.
  3. The Statue of Zeus - at Olympia, carved by the Greek sculptor Phidias, ca 430 BC in present Greece.
  4. The Temple of Artemis - 356 BC, at Ephesus, present Turkey.
  5. The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus - tomb of Mausolus, the Persian satrap of Caria, built between ca 353 and 351 BC, at Halicarnassus, present Bodrum, Turkey.
  6. The Colossus of Rhodes - a huge statue of Helios, built ca 292–280 BC, in present Greece.
  7. The Pharos of Alexandria - lighthouse built ca 280 BC on the island of Pharos off Alexandria, by Sostratus of Cnidus, in present Egypt.

Two of each of the wonders were within the territories of today's Egypt, Greece, and Turkey, and one in Iraq. The only surviving wonder is the first built, the Pyramids of Giza. The wonder with the shortest life span was the Colossus of Rhodes, which kept its erect posture for only 56 years before being brought down by an earthquake. There is some controversy as to whether the Hanging Gardens of Babylon ever in fact existed.

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Other candidates

Other ancient buildings often included in lists of wonders of the world include:

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Modern candidates

Many people have since devised lists of wonders of the modern world. The American Society of Civil Engineers has its list of historic civil engineering landmarks, for example. Some of the most prominent candidates include:

Wonders of the natural world:

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External links and references

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Further readings






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