Seven Wonders of the World

Seven Wonders of the World

The Pyramid of Cheops, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis (Babylon), the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Rhodes, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, and the Statue of Zeus on Olympus. These have been called "miracles" by various authors as incredible man-made structures.

Hiram of Cheops

Gnome-searchtool.svg Main article: Hiram of Cheops

Built in 2500 BC, Cheops' pyramid is the only one among the seven wonders of the world that has survived to the present time. It was built as a mausoleum for the Egyptian pharaoh Cheops. Unfortunately, the bandits managed to enter the pharaoh's burial chamber, stole the ruler's mummy and valuables and fled. The area of ​​the pyramid is 2.6 million cubic meters, and its height is 146.6 meters. The pyramid was built with 2.3 million blocks of limestone, and the total weight is estimated to be 6.75 million tons. According to the information provided by Herodotus, the pyramid of Cheops was built in 20 years. The Pyramid of Cheops was the largest building in the world until the 20th century.
Hanging Gardens of Semiramis (Babylon).

Gnome-searchtool.svg Main article: Hanging Gardens of Semiramis

The hanging gardens of Semiramis were located in Babylon, the largest and richest city of the ancient East. The construction of these gardens in B.C. century, King Nebuchadnezzar II ordered his beloved wife, the Median princess Semiramis, not to long for her homeland of Midia. The gardens consisted of four tiers, the arches of which rested on 25-meter columns, rising step by step, and smooth stairs made of metal stones, connected to each other. In the courtyard of the gardens, flat stones, a layer of reeds with a clay mixture and a layer of lead were laid so that water did not flow to the floors below. A thick layer of soil was laid on each level, enough for a large tree to grow, and rare plant and shrub seeds and tree seedlings were brought from the north. Thus, Nebuchadnezzar II proves his love for his wife, and these gardens became famous under the name "Hanging Gardens of Semiramis" and are etched in the memory of history. There is also an interesting idea that Semiramis never lived in these gardens. The gardens did not reach the modern age and are destroyed together with the city where they are located.
Statue of Zeus on Olympus

Gnome-searchtool.svg Main article: Statue of Zeus on Olympus

The statue of Zeus was made by the sculptor Phidias for the Temple of Zeus at Olympia in 430 BC in honor of Zeus, the chief god of the ancient Greeks. According to ancient authors, Zeus sat on a throne decorated with gold and ivory. The upper part of his body was bare, and the lower part was covered with rich clothes. Zeus' body and head were made of wood and covered with ivory. In one hand, Zeus held Nika, the statue of the goddess of victory, and in the other, a jezl, a scepter decorated with the image of Zeus's sacred bird, the eagle. A wreath of olive leaves made of gold adorned the head of Zeus. The statue inside the temple of Zeus barely fit in the temple, even Zeus, who is depicted in a sitting position, stood as if the ceiling of the temple would collapse if he stood up. The floor on which the statue was placed was 6.5 meters wide and 1 meter high, and the statue itself was 12 meters high. Ancient Greek gods and mystical animal figures such as the sphinx were depicted on it. The statue's skin was made of ivory, and its beard, hair and clothes were made of gold.

In 391 AD, Roman emperor Diocletian (284–305) banned the Olympic games, and interest in the Temple of Zeus declined. The statue, which was brought to Constantinople by a wealthy Greek, was completely destroyed in a great fire in 462. Later, in 1829, some pieces of the statue were found on Mount Olympus and taken to France, where they were exhibited in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Temple of Artemis

Gnome-searchtool.svg Main article: Temple of Artemis
The foundations of the temple located in Ephesus, the ancient city of Western Anatolia, date back to the 7th century BC. The temple was not built in honor of Artemis, the goddess of the moon, hunting and wildlife in Greek mythology, but in honor of the Ephesian goddess of fertility and truth, sometimes called Diana. This ancient temple contained a sacred stone believed to be a meteor that fell from Jupiter. Croesus, king of Lydia, conquered Ephesus and other Greek cities in Anatolia in 550 BC. During this battle, the temple was destroyed. Croesus built a new temple that eclipsed all previous ones in architecture. The new temple was larger than the previous one in the number of floors by 4 matabas, 90 meters in height and 45 meters in width. The roof of the temple was supported by more than a hundred stone pillars. However, this temple was also destroyed in a fire caused by a city resident named Herostratus in 356 BC. Shortly after the event, a new temple is built. According to the Roman historian Pliny, the new temple was 130 meters long and 68 meters wide. The ceiling was supported by 127 columns with a height of 18 meters. The construction lasted for 120 years. The new temple was the largest of the Greek temples built up to that time. Another feature of the temple was that it was built entirely of marble. However, this temple was also destroyed along with the city during the raid of the Goths in 262. A century after this event, the Roman emperor Constantine I restored Ephesus, but because he was a Christian, he did not restore the temple. Most of the remains of the temple were used in other constructions.

Although most of the remains of the temple that have reached our time are kept in the British Museum, one or two of its remains are exhibited in the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey.

Colossus of Rhodes statue

Gnome-searchtool.svg Main article: Colossus of Rhodes
Located at the entrance to the port of Rhodes, the 32-meter-tall bronze statue supported by iron and stone was erected in honor of the Greek sun god Helios.

In 305 BC, the Antigonids, followers of Alexander the Great, attacked Rhodes and the siege lasted for 1 year. After the peace in 304 BC, the people of Rhodes wanted to build a statue to express their gratitude to the gods. The statue was built by Xares, a student of the famous sculptor Lyssippus, in 12 years and completed in 282 BC.

The 32-meter bronze statue depicted a young man. His strong legs were slightly apart, his right hand was over his eyes. On his head was a crown, which was considered a symbol of the sun's rays. This statue was a representation of the sun god Helios. The people considered him their protector. There is a legend that ships passed between the legs of the statue standing at the entrance of the port, but it is thought that it was impossible to make such a statue with the construction techniques and materials of that time.

As a result of the earthquake that occurred in 226 BC, the statue was broken in the weakest part of the knee. Although the Rhodesians received an offer of help for restoration on the part of the Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy III, they consulted a priest and refused the help, fearing that this would offend Helios. The statue remained in ruins for about 900 years.

In 653, Arab troops led by Muawiya I captured Rhodes and melted the statue, loaded its bronze on 900 camels and sold it to a Jewish merchant from Edessa (Sanliurfa).