Seven Wonders of the World: Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Nebuchadnezzar's construction in Babylon Seven wonders of the world of the old generation

The ancient kings knew how to live beautifully. Huge palaces with fountains, majestic temples, marble sculptures in honor of themselves. But most of all, the rulers loved to create beautiful gardens, where birds of paradise delighted their ears with their singing, and delicate greenery caressed their eyes. The most famous of these gardens belonged, according to legend, to the Assyrian queen Semiramis, and was one of the 7 wonders of the world. Ekaterina Astafieva will tell you where the Hanging Gardens of Babylon really were, who built them, and what was so wonderful about them.

Whose gardens are they anyway?

Let's start with the main thing - the Hanging Gardens of Babylon never belonged to Babylon. The name of this legendary queen is often found in Akkadian and ancient Armenian mythologies. Under the guise of Semiramis hides the Assyrian queen Shammuramat. She became famous due to the fact that for some time she ruled alone, which rarely happened to women in those days. She lived at the beginning of the 9th century BC, that is, according to scientists, two centuries before the creation of the famous wonder of the world.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were actually built by Nebuchadnezzar II

The second, more correct name for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is the gardens of Amitis or Amanis. This was the name of the wife of Nebuchadnezzar II, who created the wonder of the world as a gift to his beloved. This gift has a beautiful story that could give a head start to many romantic ballads. In the 6th century BC, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II entered into an alliance with the king of Media Cyaxares. They united against a common enemy - powerful Assyria. The allies managed to win, and they divided the territory of the defeated among themselves. In honor of the successful union, Nebuchadnezzar married the Median princess Amytis. But the girl, who grew up in fertile Media, was bored in dusty and deserted Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar ordered hanging gardens to be built for his young wife, which would brighten up her homesickness. And so the second wonder of the world appeared.

The Mystery of Babylon

The place where the Hanging Gardens were supposed to be located was excavated in 1899 by the German archaeologist Robert Koldewey. He discovered some unusual structure on the territory of ancient Babylon. He suggested that it was used as a special water lift for a continuous supply of water. In addition, the structure was lined with stone, not brick. Ancient sources reported two places where stone was used in construction. One of them has already been discovered, and the second, legendary, turned out to be the hanging gardens of Amytis.

The correct name for the hanging gardens is Amitis Gardens

True, there is another version where it is worth looking for the wonder of the world. Some scholars agree that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were located in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, which after the war went to Babylon.

It is interesting that there are almost no direct indications of the existence of the Hanging Gardens of Amytis among those who could directly visit the palace of Babylon. Herodotus, for example, in his descriptions mentions a part of the palace that can be correlated with a wonder of the world. But he already considered the creation of the gardens to be the work of Queen Shammuramat.

The Hanging Gardens were excavated by German archaeologist Robert Koldewey

Did the gardens hang?

What did the famous gardens look like? Were they really hanging? The Hanging Gardens were built in the form of a large stepped pyramid, with four floors rising above each other. The platforms were connected by stairs made of white and pink slabs. Each platform was installed on columns 25 meters high. This distance allowed the plants to receive the right amount of sunlight.

The surface of each tier, as scientists suggest, consisted of several layers. First, a layer of reed mixed with resin was laid on the platform, then two layers of brick held together with gypsum mortar. Lead slabs were laid on top of all this, and a layer of fertile soil was poured on them, sufficient for tall trees to take root. Flowers and herbs were also planted nearby.

For some time, the Gardens of Babylon belonged to Alexander the Great

Irrigation of hanging gardens deserves special attention. In the middle of one of the columns there was a pipe through which water entered the garden. Every day the slaves turned the wheel, along the perimeter of which buckets hung. They scooped up water from the river or, as some researchers believe, from underground wells. Water first entered the upper tier of the pyramid, from where it flowed through channels to the lower floors. Of course, such a complex system required careful care and continuous work of slaves. That is why the Hanging Gardens of Babylon fell into disrepair soon after the death of Nebuchadnezzar II. After Alexander the Great captured Babylon, made the king’s palace his own residence and died here directly, the artificial irrigation system stopped functioning and the beautiful plants died. Soon, due to floods from a nearby river, the foundation was washed away, the slabs fell, and only memories remained of the hanging gardens.

In all centuries, people were proud and carefully protected the achievements of their civilizations. The memory of these achievements has survived to this day, becoming a worldwide property. The Seven Wonders of the World is a classic list of outstanding human creations.

An interesting fact is that it was well known even before our era. In ancient schools, children were taught various sciences, and knowledge of the 7 wonders of the world was mandatory.

In this article we will provide you not only with a list of 7 wonders of the world, but also make a brief description of each of them.

List of 7 wonders of the world

Well, now photos and descriptions of the masterpieces of antiquity, which we call nothing less than seven wonders of the world.

1 wonder of the world - Pyramid of Cheops

The exact date of construction of this grandiose structure is unknown. However, scientists suggest that it is around 2600 BC.

The original height of the Cheops pyramid was 146 meters (that's like 5 nine-story buildings), while now it is approximately 138 m. The inclination angle of the walls is from 51° to 53°. The average weight of the blocks from which the pyramid is built is 2.5 tons, although some blocks reach 80 tons.

No cement or other binding substance was used in construction. The stone blocks of the first wonder of the world are simply stacked on top of each other. The surface of the pyramid was lined with limestone slabs. Today the coating is almost completely destroyed.

There are three chambers inside the pyramid: the underground, the Queen's Chamber and the Pharaoh's Chamber. There was only one entrance to this structure, and it was located at a height of 15 meters from the ground. But in 820 another, artificial entrance was made to the Cheops pyramid.

The purpose of this stunning building is still unknown. It was previously believed that the pyramids played the role of tombs for the pharaohs. However, such a simplified view of such a majestic and complex structure has not been taken seriously for a long time.

There are also suggestions that the Cheops pyramid was an ancient space observatory, or was a powerful energy generator.

2 wonder of the world - Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are considered the 2nd wonder of the world. This amazing structure was built in 605 BC, but already in 562 BC. it was destroyed due to flooding.

Despite the fact that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are named after the Assyrian queen Semiramis (800 BC), Nebuchadnezzar II built them in honor of his wife Amytis.

But the Hanging Gardens were included in the list of 7 wonders of the world with the name of Semiramis.

The structure consisted of four floors. All of them were equipped with cool rooms for royal walks. Columns 25 m high supported each tier.

The terraces were covered with special lead leaves and filled with asphalt to prevent water for watering the plants from leaking out. On top of all this was sprinkled with earth of such thickness that trees could grow there freely. One can only imagine how much weight the columns of the lower tier could bear.

Water for irrigation was pumped up from the Euphrates River using a cunning system. The slaves constantly turned the wheel to supply water, since the majestic building with stunning gardens required a lot of moisture.

To see the place where the 2nd wonder of the world was located - the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, you will have to go to Iraq, since the ruins of ancient Babylon were found there.

3rd wonder of the world - Statue of Zeus at Olympia

By the name of the 3 wonders of the world - the statue of Zeus, it is not difficult to guess to whom this architectural masterpiece was dedicated. The fact is that the Greeks built a temple to the pagan god Zeus in 465 BC, but the statue of Zeus, which is considered one of the 7 wonders of the world, appeared there only 30 years later.

The statue of Zeus itself was made of ivory and reached a height of 17 meters (like a five-story building). At the base of the monument there was a square slab, 6 m wide and 1 m high.

The effect produced on the Greeks by the third of the wonders of the world was stunning. The fact is that the ratio of the sizes of the temple itself and the statue of Zeus inside it was such that it seemed as if Zeus would now rise and break through the roof of the temple, since otherwise he would simply not be able to straighten up.

The statue of Zeus stood in Olympia for about 800 years. At the beginning of the 5th century AD, the temple was destroyed, and the statue was transported to Constantinople in order to preserve cultural heritage. In 425 she died in a fire.

4th wonder of the world - Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

In the ancient Greek city of Ephesus in 560 BC. The Temple of Artemis of Ephesus was built, which later became one of the 7 wonders of the world.

The height of the temple was 18 m, width – 52 m, length – 105 m. The roof was supported by 127 columns.

Some of the best masters of antiquity worked on the creation of this architectural masterpiece. The statue of Artemis itself was made of gold and ivory.

The temple had not just religious significance, but was also a cultural and economic center.

Who burned the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus?

In the summer of 356 BC. e. The Temple of Artemis, one of the 7 wonders of the world, was burned by a resident of the city of Ephesus. The name of the temple arsonist is Herostratus.

You may ask why Herostratus needed to destroy such a unique architectural monument?

By his own admission, he did this in order to go down in history and perpetuate his name forever. Despite the fact that he was executed for this crime, the name of Herostratus has indeed survived to this day.

However, the great commander Alexander the Great restored the temple of Artemis of Ephesus to its previous form, allocating colossal funds for this matter.

In 263, the fourth wonder of the world was plundered and destroyed by the Goths.

The remains of the Temple of Artemis from Ephesus can be found in Turkey, in the city of Selcuk, Izmir province.

5th wonder of the world - Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

The Halicarnassus Mausoleum, included in the list of 7 wonders of the world, appeared in 351 BC. The author of the idea is the king of Caria named Mausolus together with his wife, Queen Artemisia.

Thus, they decided to perpetuate their name following the example of the Egyptian pharaohs. It must be said that his idea was successful, since the fifth wonder of the world is still associated with his name.

The mausoleum building was three-tiered.

The first tier was a massive base, surrounded around the perimeter by statues of ancient Greek heroes. Inside, after the death of Mausolus and his wife, their tombs were to be placed.

The second floor was used as a temple to serve pagan cults. There were 36 columns on it that supported the upper, main part of the Halicarnassus mausoleum.

The third tier looked like a pyramid consisting of 24 steps. At the very top the main value of the mausoleum was installed: a majestic statue representing a chariot with King Mausolus and his wife Artemisia.

It seems incredible, but in the British Museum you can see statues of both royal spouses that have been well preserved to this day.

The Mausoleum in Halicarnassus, which became one of the seven wonders of the world, was destroyed in the 13th century due to a large-scale earthquake.

In the Turkish resort town of Bodrum you can find the site where the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus once stood.

6th wonder of the world - Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes entered the classic list of the Seven Wonders of the World almost immediately after its creation in 280 BC.

But first, let's tell the background story of the appearance of the sixth wonder of the world. Demetrius I, almost immediately after the death of Alexander the Great, attacked Rhodes, one of the largest port cities.

Having held the siege of the city for more than a year, for unknown reasons he abandoned everything he had there and left with his army.

As a token of gratitude, the residents of Rhodes decided to sell the huge property that was in their hands and use the proceeds to build a monument to Helios, the sun god.

The main architect and sculptor of this masterpiece was Jerez. The original idea of the inhabitants of Rhodes was to build a statue that would be 10 times higher than the average height of a person, that is, 18 meters.

But then they decided to double the height, for which they allocated an even larger amount of money to Jerez. But they were not enough to continue construction. However, Jerez could no longer stop.

He borrowed enormous amounts of money from wealthy friends and relatives and continued to work tirelessly to create a monument that would later join the Seven Wonders of the World.

Ultimately, after 12 years of titanic work, the world saw the 36-meter Colossus of Rhodes. It consisted of an iron frame, finished with clay, and was lined with bronze. The Colossus was located right at the entrance to the harbor, and was visible from all the nearby islands.

It is interesting to note that the fate of the sculptor Jerez himself was tragic. After completing his masterpiece, he was persecuted by creditors. Ultimately, he committed suicide.

In total, 13 tons of bronze and 8 tons of iron were used to build the Colossus of Rhodes. However, 65 years after its appearance, around 225 BC. The Colossus of Rhodes fell into the sea, breaking at the knees. By the way, the expression “colossus with feet of clay” appeared precisely after this.

Eyewitnesses left information that the finger of the statue alone was so thick that two adults could barely grasp it.

The height of the colossus was approximately 60 m (like an eighteen-story building). The Rhodes statue lay in a recumbent position for almost 900 years. Then it was dismantled and sold by the Arabs, who by that time had captured Rhodes.

In the end, it should only be noted that there is no exact data about what the Colossus of Rhodes, included in the seven wonders of the world, actually looked like.

7th wonder of the world - Lighthouse of Alexandria

The last, seventh wonder of the world is the Lighthouse of Alexandria, built in the 3rd century BC. It is also called the Faros Lighthouse.

The idea of creating this lighthouse was quite practical. The fact is that not far from Alexandria there was the island of Pharos with an important bay. At that time it was of great importance for passing merchant ships.

Probably Sostratus of Knidos (chief architect of the lighthouse) dreamed that his brainchild would be included in the seven wonders of the world and glorify his name for centuries.

The project was implemented during the reign of the Egyptian Ptolemy II. 20 years were allotted for construction, but Sostratus completed the work in just 5.

An interesting fact is that when Sostratus was asked to imprint the name of Ptolemy on the Alexandria lighthouse, he acted very cunningly. First, he carved his name on the stone, and on top of the plaster he laid out the name of the ruler.

A few decades later, the plaster collapsed, and the residents saw the name of the true master and author of the seventh wonder of the world.

The Alexandria Lighthouse consisted of three towers.

The lowest part was a technical floor, where workers and soldiers lived, and all equipment for maintaining the lighthouse was stored.

The second part looked like an octagonal tower, around which there was a ramp. Fuel for the fire was supplied through it.

The topmost, key tower of the lighthouse was equipped with a complex system of mirrors, thanks to which the light from the fire was visible so far.

The total height of the Faros lighthouse was about 140 meters. At the very top of the head was a statue of the god of the seas - Poseidon.

It is worth mentioning the reviews of contemporaries who saw the Alexandria Lighthouse in person. So some travelers talked about the amazing statues that were located at the lighthouse.

The first of them raised her hand at sunrise, pointed at it throughout the day, and after sunset the hand dropped.

The second one made a sound 24 times a day with the last second of each passing hour.

The third indicated the direction of the wind.

At night, the Alexandria lighthouse illuminated the water surface over a distance of over 60 km. During the day, a column of smoke rose from it, which also served as an important indicator for ships.

In 796, after standing for almost 1000 years, the seventh wonder of the world, the Faros lighthouse, was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake. In the 15th century, Sultan Qait Bey founded a fortress on its foundation, which still exists today.

An interesting fact is that in 2015, the Egyptian authorities approved a project to rebuild the lighthouse.

Well, here we go all seven wonders of the world. Of course, this list was disputed at various times by certain figures, but it is still considered classic.

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7 Wonders of the World. Tower of Babel.

Tower of Babel.

The Tower of Babel (Hebrew: מִגְדָּל בָּלַל‎ Migdal Bavel) is a tower to which the biblical legend is dedicated, set out in chapter 2 “Noah” (verses 11:1-11:9) of the book of Genesis.

The Tower of Babel is not on the "official" list of wonders of the world. However, it is one of the most outstanding buildings of Ancient Babylon, and its name is still a symbol of confusion and disorder.

Jan Collaert 1579

According to the ancient biblical legend, after the Flood, more than four thousand years ago, all people lived in Mesopotamia (from the east people came to the land of Shinar), that is, in the basin of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and everyone spoke the same language. Since the land of these places was very fertile, people lived richly. They decided to build a city (Babylon) and a tower as high as the heavens to “make a name for themselves.”

Marten Van Valckenborch I (1535-1612)

To build a monumental structure, people did not use stone, but unfired raw brick; bitumen (mountain tar) was used instead of lime to join the bricks. The tower grew and grew in height.

Theodosius Rihel 1574-1578

Finally, God became angry with the foolish and vain people and punished them: he forced the builders to speak different languages. As a result, the stupid, proud people stopped understanding each other and, abandoning their guns, stopped building the tower, and then dispersed to different directions of the Earth. So the tower turned out to be unfinished, and the city where construction took place and all languages were mixed was called Babylon. Thus, the story of the Tower of Babel explains the emergence of different languages after the Flood.

A number of biblical scholars trace the connection between the legend of the Tower of Babel and the construction of high tower-temples called ziggurats in Mesopotamia. The tops of the towers served for religious rites and astronomical observations.

Fresco 1100

The tallest ziggurat (91 m high, one rectangular step and seven spiral ones - 8 in total) was located in Babylon. It was called Etemenanki, which means “the house where heaven meets earth.” It is unknown when exactly the original construction of this tower was carried out, but it already existed during the reign of Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC).

Assyrian king Sennacherib in 689 BC. e. destroyed Babylon, Etemenanki suffered the same fate. The ziggurat was restored by Nebuchadnezzar II. The Jews, forcibly resettled by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon after the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah, became acquainted with the culture and religion of Mesopotamia and undoubtedly knew about the existence of ziggurats.

During excavations in Babylon, the German scientist Robert Koldewey managed to discover the foundation and ruins of a tower. The tower mentioned in the Bible was probably destroyed before the time of Hammurabi. To replace it, another was built, which was erected in memory of the first. According to Koldewey, it had a square base, each side of which was 90 meters. The height of the tower was also 90 m, the first tier had a height of 33 m, the second - 18, the third and fifth - 6 m each, the seventh - the sanctuary of the god Marduk - was 15 m high. By today's standards, the structure reached a height of 30 - storey skyscraper.

Calculations suggest that about 85 million bricks were used to build this tower. A monumental staircase led to the upper platform of the tower, where the temple soared into the sky. The tower was part of a temple complex located on the banks of the Euphrates River. Clay tablets with inscriptions found by archaeologists suggest that each section of the tower had its own special meaning. The same tablets provide information about the religious rituals performed in this temple.

The tower stood on the left bank of the Euphrates on the Sakhn plain, which literally translates as “frying pan.” It was surrounded by the houses of priests, temple buildings and houses for pilgrims who flocked here from all over Babylonia. A description of the Tower of Babel was left by Herodotus, who thoroughly examined it and, perhaps, even visited its top. This is the only documented account of an eyewitness from Europe.

Tobias Verhaecht, The Tower Of Babel.

The Tower of Babel was a stepped eight-tiered pyramid, lined with baked bricks on the outside. Moreover, each tier had a strictly defined color. At the top of the ziggurat there was a sanctuary lined with blue tiles and decorated at the corners with golden horns (a symbol of fertility). It was considered the habitat of the god Marduk, the patron saint of the city. In addition, inside the sanctuary there were a gilded table and bed of Marduk. Stairs led to the tiers; Religious processions ascended along them. The ziggurat was a shrine that belonged to the entire people, it was a place where thousands of people flocked to worship the supreme deity Marduk.

The upper platforms of the ziggurats were used not only for cultic purposes, but also for practical purposes: for warrior guards to view the surrounding area. Cyrus, who took control of Babylon after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, was the first conqueror to leave the city undestroyed. He was struck by the scale of Etemenanki, and he not only forbade the destruction of anything, but ordered the construction of a monument on his grave in the form of a miniature ziggurat, a small Tower of Babel.

Hendrick III van Cleve (1525 - 1589)

And yet the tower was destroyed again. The Persian king Xerxes left only ruins of it, which Alexander the Great saw on his way to India. He, too, was struck by the gigantic ruins - he, too, stood in front of them as if spellbound. Alexander the Great intended to build it again. “But,” as Strabo writes, “this work required a lot of time and effort, because ten thousand people would have had to clear the ruins for two months, and he did not realize his plan, since he soon fell ill and died.”

Lucas van Valckenborch 1594

Lucas van Valckenborch 1595

Currently, only the foundation and the lower part of the wall remain from the legendary Tower of Babel. But thanks to cuneiform tablets, there is a description of the famous ziggurat and even its image.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Tower of Babel 1564.

The story of the Tower of Babel is widespread in Christian iconography - in numerous miniatures, handwritten and printed editions of the Bible (for example, in a miniature of an English manuscript of the 11th century); as well as in mosaics and frescoes of cathedrals and churches (for example, the mosaic of the Cathedral of San Marco in Venice, late XII - early XIII century).

Fresco of the Tower of Babel from the Venetian Cathedral of San Marco.

Towers of this type still exist in Iraq - very tall, stepped or spiral-shaped. In Babylon itself, almost nothing reminds of the tower; only part of the wall and foundation have been preserved there, as well as beautiful ancient reliefs of the royal palace in excavations.

The current building of the European Parliament is designed after a painting of the unfinished Tower of Babel painted in 1563 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The motto of the European Parliament in French: “Many languages, one voice” distorts the meaning of the biblical text. The building was built to give the impression of being unfinished. In fact, this is the completed building of the European Parliament, the construction of which was completed in December 2000.

Nowadays, it is customary to call unique artistic and technical creations a wonder of the world, which, due to their level of performance, evoke the admiration of most specialists. But in fairness, this erroneous approach should be corrected - the wonders of the world include specific objects created by people in ancient times.

Below is a list of 7 wonders of the ancient world...

1. Pyramids of Cheops (Giza)

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu (in the Greek version of Cheops), or the Great Pyramid, is the greatest of the Egyptian pyramids, the oldest of the seven wonders of the world of antiquity and the only one of them that has survived to our time. For over four thousand years, the pyramid was the largest building in the world.

The Pyramid of Cheops is located in the far suburb of Cairo, Giza. Nearby there are two more pyramids of the pharaohs Khafre and Menkaure (Khefre and Mikerin), according to ancient historians, the sons and successors of Khufu. These are the three largest pyramids in Egypt.

Following ancient authors, most modern historians consider the pyramids to be funerary structures of ancient Egyptian monarchs. Some scientists believe that these were astronomical observatories. There is no direct evidence that pharaohs were buried in the pyramids, but other versions of their purpose are less convincing.

Based on ancient “royal lists”, it has been established that Cheops reigned around 2585-2566. BC. Construction of the "Sacred Height" lasted 20 years and ended after the death of Khufu, around 2560 BC.

Other versions of the construction dates, based on astronomical methods, give dates from 2720 to 2577. BC. Radiocarbon dating shows a scatter of 170 years, from 2850 to 2680. BC.

There are also exotic opinions expressed by supporters of theories of aliens visiting the Earth, the existence of ancient civilizations, or adherents of occult movements. They determine the age of the Cheops pyramid from 6-7 to tens of thousands of years.

2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Babylon)

The existence of one of the wonders of the world, many scientists question and claim that this is nothing more than a figment of the imagination of an ancient chronicler, whose idea was picked up by his colleagues and began to be carefully copied from chronicle to chronicle. They justify their assertion by the fact that the Gardens of Babylon are most carefully described by those who have never seen them, while historians who have visited ancient Babylon are silent about the miracle erected there.

Archaeological excavations have shown that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon still existed.

Naturally, they did not hang on ropes, but were a four-story building, built in the shape of a pyramid with a huge amount of vegetation, and were part of the palace building. This unique structure received its name due to an incorrect translation of the Greek word “kremastos”, which actually means “hanging” (for example, from a terrace).

The unique gardens were erected by order of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II, who lived in the 7th century. BC. He built them especially for his wife Amytis, daughter of Cyaxares, king of Media (it was with him that the Babylonian ruler entered into an alliance against the common enemy, Assyria, and won the final victory over this state).

Amitis, who grew up among the mountains of green and fertile Media, did not like dusty and noisy Babylon, located on a sandy plain. The Babylonian ruler was faced with a choice - to move the capital closer to his wife’s homeland or to make her stay in Babylon more comfortable. They decided to build hanging gardens that would remind the queen of her homeland. Where exactly they are located, history is silent, and therefore there are several hypotheses:

The main version says that this wonder of the world is located near the modern city of Hilla, which is located on the Ephrat River in the center of Iraq.
An alternative version, based on re-decipherment of cuneiform tablets, states that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are located in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria (located in the north of modern Iraq), which after its fall was transferred to the Babylonian state.

The very idea of creating hanging gardens in the middle of a dry plain seemed simply fantastic at that time. The local architects and engineers of the ancient world were able to accomplish this task - and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which were later included in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World, were built, became part of the palace and were located on its north-eastern side.

They say that the statue of Zeus at Olympia turned out to be so majestic that when Phidias, having created it, asked his creation: “Are you satisfied, Zeus?” - thunder struck, and the black marble floor at the god’s feet cracked. The Thunderer was pleased.

Despite the fact that only memories of one of the most majestic statues of this scale have reached us, the mere description of the monument, which was in its own way a real jewelry masterpiece, cannot but shake the imagination. Both before and after the creation of the statue of Olympian Zeus, people have not created a monument of such a scale - and it is not a fact that they ever will: this wonder of the world turned out to be too expensive in cost and huge in scale.

The uniqueness of this monument also lies in the fact that the statue of Olympian Zeus, the only one of all the wonders of the ancient world, was located on the territory of continental Europe, in the Greek city of Olympia, which is located on the Balkan Peninsula.

The statue of Zeus in Olympia took quite a long time to create: Phidias spent about ten years on it. When she appeared before the residents and guests of Olympia in 435 BC, she was a real wonder of the world.

The exact dimensions of the statue have not yet been determined, but apparently its height ranged from 12 to 17 meters. Zeus, naked to the waist, sat on a throne, his feet were on a bench supported by two lions. The pedestal on which the throne was located was quite huge: its dimensions were 9.5 by 6.5 m. Ebony, gold, ivory and jewelry were used to make it.

The throne itself was decorated with images of scenes from the life of the Greek celestials, the goddesses of victory danced on its legs, and the battles of the Greeks with the Amazons were depicted on the crossbars and, naturally, the Olympic Games were not absent (Panen did the painting). The Thunderer was made from ebony wood, and his entire body was covered with plates of ivory of the highest quality. The master selected materials for his statue extremely meticulously.

On the head of the supreme god there was a wreath, and in one hand he held the golden Nike, the goddess of Victory, in the other - a scepter decorated with an eagle, symbolizing supreme power. The god's clothes were made of gold sheets (in total, about two hundred kilograms of gold were needed to make the sculpture). The Thunderer's cloak was decorated with images of representatives of the animal and plant world.

Nowadays, a marble copy of one of the wonders of the world can be seen in the Hermitage, where it was brought from Italy in 1861. Apparently, this statue of Zeus was created by a Roman author in the first century BC, and it was found during archaeological excavations in the vicinity of Rome at the end of the 18th century. It is notable for the fact that today it is one of the largest ancient sculptures that are in museums in the world - the height of the monument is 3.5 meters and weighs 16 tons.

The sculpture was acquired at the beginning of the 19th century by one of the Italian collectors, Marquis D. Campana.

He did not have it for long, because after some time he went bankrupt, his property was confiscated and sold at auction. Before the auction, the director of the Hermitage managed to persuade the Italian authorities to give him the opportunity to purchase some things before the sale, thus, the best exhibits from the collection of the bankrupt marquis, including the statue of the Thunderer, ended up in the Hermitage.

4. Temple of Artemis of Ephesus (Ephesus)

According to ancient Greek belief, Artemis was the goddess of hunting and fertility, the patroness of all life on earth. She looked after the animals in the forest, herds of domestic animals, and plants. Artemis provided a happy marriage and assistance during childbirth.

In honor of Artemis, a temple was built in Ephesus on the site of the former sanctuary of the Carian goddess, also responsible for fertility. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was so large that it was immediately included in the list of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The construction was financed by the Lydian king Croesus, and the construction work was led by the architect from Knossos Charsifron. During his time they managed to erect walls and columns. After his death, his son Metagenes took over the post of chief architect. The last stage of construction was led by Peonitus and Demetrius.

The Temple of Artemis of Ephesus was completed in 550 BC. A delightful spectacle opened before the local residents; nothing like this had ever been built here. And although it is currently impossible to recreate the former decoration of the temple, you can be sure that the best craftsmen of their time, working here, could not have made a mistake. The statue of the culprit of the construction itself was made of ivory and gold.

It was possible to recreate the image of the former majestic temple of the goddess Artemis in Ephesus only after archaeological excavations. The temple measured 105 by 51 meters. The roof of the structure was supported by 127 columns, each 18 meters high. According to legend, each column was donated by one of the 127 Greek rulers.

In addition to religious services, the temple was in full swing with financial and business life. It was the center of Ephesus, independent from the authorities, subordinate to the local college of priests.

In 356 BC, when the famous Alexander the Great was born, the temple of Artemis was burned by the Ephesian resident Herostratus. The motive of this feat is to remain in history in memory of posterity. After being caught, the arsonist faced capital punishment. In addition to this, it was also decided to eradicate the name of this person from history. But what is forbidden sits even more firmly in people’s memories, and the name of Herostratus is now a household name.

By the 3rd century BC, the wonder of the world, the Temple of Artemis in Greece, was restored on the initiative of the aforementioned Alexander the Great, but with the arrival of the Goths, it was again destroyed. Later, with the ban on pagan cults, the Byzantine authorities closed the temple. Then they begin to gradually dismantle it for building materials, as a result of which the temple fades into oblivion. A Christian church was built in its place, but it also faced the fate of destruction.

On October 31, 1869, the English archaeologist Wood manages to find the location of the former Temple of Artemis in Turkey, and excavations begin. Now in its place stands one column restored from the rubble. Despite this, the place still attracts thousands of tourists.

5. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Let's move to the ancient city of Halicarnassus. It was the capital of Caria and, as befits the capital of a state, it was famous for its beauty and grandeur. Temples, theaters, palaces, gardens, fountains, and a living harbor guaranteed the city honor and respect. But the tomb of King Mausolus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, occupied special attention here. So, the wonder of the world is the mausoleum in Halicarnassus.

King Mausolus, ruling Caria in the 4th century BC. (377-353), according to the experience of the Egyptian pharaohs, began the construction of his tomb during his lifetime. It was supposed to be a unique structure. Located in the center of the city, among palaces and temples, it symbolizes the power and wealth of the king. And to worship the late king, it must combine both a tomb and a temple. The best architects and sculptors were allocated for the construction - Pythias, Satyr, Leochares, Scopas, Briaxides, Timothy. After the death of the king, his wife, Queen Artemisia, approached the construction of an eternal monument to her great husband even more intensively.

The construction was completed in 350 BC. Its appearance combined several architectural styles of that time. The mausoleum had three levels with a total height of 46 meters. The first tier was a massive base made of brick, lined with marble. Next on it stood a temple with 36 columns. The columns supported the roof in the form of a pyramid with 24 steps. At the top of the roof there was a sculpture of King Mausolus and Artemisia in a chariot drawn by 4 horses. Around the building there were statues of horsemen and lions. The beauty of the structure was mesmerizing; it is no coincidence that the mausoleum in Halicarnassus quickly became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The tomb of Mausolus and his wife itself was located in the lower tier. An upper room with columns and a statue of Mausolus was built to worship the king. The statue has survived to this day, and fully reflects the image of the despot king. The sculptor subtly conveyed the character of Mavsol in his facial features - evil, cruel, capable of getting everything he needs. It is no coincidence that he was a very rich man. Next to the statue of Mausolus there was a statue of Queen Artemisia. The sculptor embellished it, presented it in a majestic, soft image. The famous sculptor of that time Skopas worked on it. Both of these statues are now considered among the finest in Greek culture from the 4th century BC. Separately, it is worth mentioning the upper part of the base of the mausoleum. The sculptors decorated it with scenes from the Greek epic - the battle with the Amazons, hunting, the battle of the Lapiths with the centaurs.

Mausoleum - a word derived from the name of King Mavsol, is currently a common noun among all peoples.

After 18 centuries, the mausoleum was destroyed by an earthquake. Later, its ruins were used to build St. Peter's Castle by the Knights of St. John. When the Turks arrived, the castle became the Budrun Fortress, currently called Bodrum. Excavations here were carried out in 1857. Relief slabs, statues of Mausolus and Artemisia, and a statue of a chariot were found. They are currently on display in the British Museum.

6. Colossus of Rhodes (Rhodes)

The Colossus of Rhodes is a huge statue that has become one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The grateful inhabitants of the island of Rhodes decided to build it in honor of the sun god Helios, who helped them survive the unequal struggle with the invaders. The siege of the beautiful island lasted almost a year and the likelihood of victory was negligible, but the patron helped the islanders win. For this, Helios was immortalized in the guise of a huge statue. For the people of Rhodes, the statue represented independence and freedom, just like the Statue of Liberty in New York for the Americans.

The island of Rhodes had an advantageous geographical location; its inhabitants traded freely with many countries, which ensured the wealth of the city as a whole and each citizen individually. From its foundation until the 3rd century. BC. Rhodes was ruled in turn by the famous king Mausolus, the Persian rulers and Alexander the Great. None of them oppressed the city or prevented it from developing. However, after the death of Alexander the Great, his heirs began to divide the inherited lands in a bloody struggle.

The island of Rhodes went to Ptolemy, but the other heir (Antigonus) considered this unfair and sent his son to destroy the city. This would help to equalize the power of Ptolemy. Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, assembled a huge army that outnumbered the islanders. Only impregnable walls prevented the soldiers from immediately entering the capital and destroying it. The enemies used siege towers - huge wooden catapults that were installed on ships. The inhabitants of Rhodes managed to delay their enemies until the arrival of Ptolemy's army and defend their homeland.

Having sold the siege engines and the remaining ships of the invaders, the inhabitants of Rhodes decided to erect a huge statue of the god Helios, their patron. Until then, any statues were called colossi, but after the Colossus of Rhodes, only the largest of them began to be called this way.

Construction of the Colossus began in 302 BC. and finished only after 12 years (according to other sources after 20 years). They installed the statue on an artificial embankment that blocked the entrance to the harbor. Behind this hill, for a long time, individual parts of the sculpture were hidden from prying eyes. The mound with the statue turned into a kind of gateway to the city. Some poets described the Colossus as standing on two hills. The ships had to sail between Helios' legs. However, this version is considered doubtful. The stability of such a sculpture would be too low, and large ships would not be able to dock in the port.

The statue has not survived to this day, but numerous descriptions from contemporaries indicate that the Colossus stood on one of the banks, and not at all in the form of an arch, as artists depict it. In the giant's hand was a bowl of blazing fire. At the base there were three pillars that served as support. The builders inlaid two of them with bronze parts to disguise Helios at the feet. The third pillar was in the place where the cloak or part of the sheet of the majestic Colossus fell.

Residents wanted the statue to point its hand into the distance, but the sculptor understood that this would reduce the stability of the structure, so the statue seemed to cover its eyes from the sun with its palm. The torso and main elements were made of sheets of iron and bronze. They were secured to support pillars. The space inside was filled with large stones and clay to increase stability. The free space was covered with earth so that workers could move freely along the surface and secure the following parts. In total, the production of the Colossus required 8 tons of iron and 13 tons of bronze. The resulting statue reached a height of 34 m.

The statue of the Colossus of Rhodes was so huge that it could be seen from ships sailing in the distance. According to the descriptions of contemporaries, she was a tall young man with a radiant crown on her head. One hand of the young man covered his eyes, and the other caught his falling robe.

Another poet, Philo, described the Colossus differently. He claimed that the statue was on a marble pedestal and was striking in the size of its feet. Each of them was the size of a small statue itself. There was a working torch at arm's length. It was lit at night to illuminate the way for sailors.

Scientists are still trying to discover where the Colossus of Rhodes is located or where exactly it was installed. At the end of the 20th century, huge boulders were discovered off the coast of the island of Rhodes, which resembled the fragments of a statue in shape. However, the theory that these are elements of an ancient sculpture was not confirmed. But researcher Ursula Vedder suggested that the Colossus did not stand near the shore at all, but on Monte Smith Hill. The ruins of the Temple of Helios remain here, and its foundations have a suitable platform on which the Colossus could have stood.

7. Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos)

Only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world had a practical purpose - the Lighthouse of Alexandria. It performed several functions at once: it allowed ships to approach the harbor without any problems, and the observation post located at the top of the unique structure made it possible to monitor the expanses of water and notice the enemy in time.

Locals claimed that the light of the Alexandria lighthouse burned enemy ships even before they approached the shore, and if they managed to approach the coast, the statue of Poseidon, located on the dome of an amazing design, uttered a piercing warning cry.

The height of the ancient lighthouse was 140 meters - much higher than the surrounding buildings. In ancient times, the buildings did not exceed three floors, and against their background the Faros Lighthouse seemed huge. Moreover, at the time of completion of construction it turned out to be the tallest building of the ancient world and remained so for an extremely long time.

The Alexandria Lighthouse was built on the east coast of the small island of Pharos, located near Alexandria - the main seaport of Egypt, built by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. It is also known in history as the Faros Lighthouse.

The great commander chose the location for the construction of the city extremely carefully: he initially planned to build a port in this region, which would be an important trading center.

It was extremely important that it be located at the intersection of both water and land routes of three parts of the world - Africa, Europe and Asia. For the same reason, it was necessary to build at least two harbors here: one for ships arriving from the Mediterranean Sea, and the other for those sailing along the Nile.

Therefore, Alexandria was not built in the Nile Delta, but a little to the side, twenty miles to the south. When choosing a location for the city, Alexander took into account the location of future harbors, paying special attention to their strengthening and protection: it was very important to do everything to ensure that the waters of the Nile did not clog them with sand and silt (a dam was subsequently built specifically for this purpose, connecting the continent with an island).

After the death of Alexander the Great (who, according to legend, was born on the day of the destruction of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus), after some time the city came under the rule of Ptolemy I Soter - and as a result of skillful management it turned into a successful and prosperous port city, and the construction of one of the seven wonders of the world was significant increased his wealth.

The Alexandria lighthouse made it possible for ships to sail into the port without any problems, successfully avoiding underwater rocks, shoals and other obstacles in the bay. Thanks to this, after the construction of one of the seven wonders, the volume of light trade increased sharply.

The lighthouse also served as an additional reference point for sailors: the landscape of the Egyptian coast is quite diverse - mostly just lowlands and plains. Therefore, signal lights before entering the harbor were very useful.

A lower structure could have successfully performed this role, so the engineers assigned another important function to the Lighthouse of Alexandria - the role of an observation post: enemies usually attacked from the sea, since the country was well defended on the land side by the desert.

It was also necessary to install such an observation post at the lighthouse because there were no natural hills near the city where this could be done.

The lighthouse of Alexandria has served since 283 BC. until the 15th century, when a fortress was erected instead. Thus, he experienced more than one dynasty of Egyptian rulers and saw Roman legionnaires. This did not particularly affect its fate: no matter who ruled Alexandria, everyone made sure that the unique structure stood for as long as possible - they restored parts of the building that had been destroyed due to frequent earthquakes, and updated the facade, which was negatively affected by wind and salty sea water.

Time has done its work: the lighthouse stopped working in 365, when one of the strongest earthquakes in the Mediterranean Sea caused a tsunami that flooded part of the city, and the number of dead Egyptians, according to chroniclers, exceeded 50 thousand inhabitants.

After this event, the lighthouse significantly decreased in size, but stood for quite a long time - until the 14th century, until another strong earthquake wiped it off the face of the earth (a hundred years later, Sultan Qait Bey built a fortress on its foundation, which can be seen Nowadays). After this, the pyramids at Giza remained the only ancient wonder of the world that has survived to this day.

In the mid-90s. the remains of the Alexandria lighthouse were discovered at the bottom of the bay with the help of a satellite, and after some time, scientists, using computer modeling, were able to more or less restore the image of the unique structure.

The primacy of compiling a list of the 7 Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is attributed to Antipater of Sidon, who sang them for centuries in his poem:

I saw your walls, Babylon, on which there is spacious

And chariots; I saw Zeus at Olympia,

Miracle of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Colossus of Helios

And the pyramids are the work of many and hard labors;

I know Mausolus, a huge tomb. But I just saw

I am the palace of Artemis, the roof raised to the clouds,

Everything else faded before him; outside Olympus

The sun does not see beauty equal to it anywhere.

At different times, with the construction of new buildings, they tried to change the list of 7 wonders of the world of antiquity, but in the final version, only the Lighthouse of Alexandria appeared among the new ones, which eclipsed the greatness of the walls of Babylon.

Some include here all the pyramids of Egypt, some of the great pyramids of Giza, but for the most part only the largest of them, the Pyramid of Cheops, is perceived as a miracle. The pyramid is also considered the oldest miracle on the list - its construction is estimated to be around 2000 BC. Despite its old age, this is the only structure of the 7 old wonders of the world that has survived to our times.

Created by order of the king of desert Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II, for his wife, these gardens were supposed to console her and remind her of her distant homeland. The name of Semiramis, the Assyrian queen, appeared here by mistake, but, nevertheless, was firmly entrenched in history.

The statue was created for a temple in the major religious center of Ancient Greece - Olympia. The giant Zeus of the sculptor Phidias amazed the local residents so much that they decided that Zeus himself personally posed for the master.

In the ancient large port city of Ephesus, the goddess of fertility Artemis was especially revered. In honor of her, a huge and majestic temple was created here, which was included in the list of 7 ancient wonders of the world.

The rich king Mausolus wished to erect a mausoleum-temple in Halicarnassus, incomparable in beauty. The best craftsmen of that time worked on the construction. The work ended only after the death of Mavsol, but this did not prevent him from going down in history forever.

In honor of the great victory, the inhabitants of Rhodes decided to build a huge statue of the god Helios. The plan was carried out, but this miracle did not last long, and was soon destroyed by an earthquake.

To navigate ships near the large port of Alexandria, it was decided to build the largest lighthouse at that time. The building immediately eclipsed the walls of Babylon and took a place on the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

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