The Many Different 7 Wonders

Can you name the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World?

Don't be too surprised if you can't. With modern monuments, the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages, and the world's Seven Natural Wonders in the mix, very few people can sort out these astounding ancient architectural feats. What makes it even harder is that only one still exists. I didn't even know that there were so many categories of seven wonders until I started reading articles related to this topic.

"Inspired by mythology, religion and art, ancient civilizations undertook these seven imposing projects from about 2700 B.C. to about 270 B.C. Only one, the Egyptian Pyramids at Giza, has survived. Fires, earthquakes, conquests and the ravages of time have led to the others' demise.

The ancient Greeks and Romans are said to have initiated the original "Seven Wonders" list, perhaps as an early travel guide of sorts.

Over time, the inventory was added to and culled, then finally "completed" during the Middle Ages. Classical writers later disagreed on the final list, but the following seven works of art and architecture were among those most commonly included. Unfortunately, relatively few drawings or sketches exist of the wonders that vanished, so archaeologists have relied on ancient tales and literary works to get an idea of their appearance and history."

Anyway, these are the seven wonders of the ANCIENT WORLD:
1. The Great Pyramid of Giza (26th century BC)
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (6th century BC)
3. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus(6th century BC)
4. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia (5th century BC)
5. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (4the century BC)
6. The Collosus of Rhodes (3rd century BC)
7. The Lighthouse of Alexandria (3rd century BC)


Interesting tidbits about the ancient Seven Wonders of the World:

No one knows today what six of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World actually looked like. All the paintings and drawings we see today stem from the imaginations of artists who lived long after those six wonders perished.

No one knows for certain who created the ancient Seven Wonders of the World list that we accept to today as the "official" version. Various scholars have nominated different creators.

The oldest known reference to a Seven Wonder list was written in the 5th century BC by Herodotus, the famous Greek historian. This was two centuries before the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria were built.

Likely some Seven Wonders lists were kept in the Library of Alexandria, the world's greatest repository of important ancient manuscripts. Sadly, in 48 BC, a devastating fire in Alexandria caused by Julius Caesar inadvertently spread to the library, and destroyed it. The library's nearly half million irreplaceable scrolls documenting ancient history were lost to mankind forever.

Two of the ancient Seven Wonders are royal tombs (Pyramid of Giza and Mausoleum at Halicarnassus). Two involve Greek temples (Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus, which was the focal point of the Temple of Zeus). Two relate to Mediterranean harbors (Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria). The Hanging Gardens of Babylon stand alone. Only the Lighthouse of Alexandria served a practical public function. It guided mariners safely into the harbor. The Pyramid of Giza has lasted nearly 100 times as long as did the Colossus of Rhodes. And, it has survived almost as many centuries (46) as the other six combined (52).

Below are the longevity rankings:
1. Pyramids of Giza (46 centuries and counting)
2. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (17 centuries)
3. Lighthouse of Alexandria (16 centuries)
4. Statue of Zeus (9 centuries)
5. Temple of Artemis (8 centuries)
6. Hanging Gardens of Babylon (1 century)
7. Colossus of Rhodes (½ century)

Earthquakes helped destroy the majority of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World. The four victims are the Colossus of Rhodes, Lighthouse of Alexandria, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and Temple of Artemis. The three exceptions are the Statue of Zeus (by fire), Hanging Gardens of Babylon (by water damage and brick deterioration) and Pyramid of Khufu (still going strong).


Now here's a different list. The seven wonders of the MIDDLE AGES:
1. The Colosseum of Rome
2. The Catacombs of Alexandria
3. The Great Wall of China
4. Hagia Sophia of Constantinople
5. Stonehenge
6. The Leaning Tower of Pisa
7. The Porcelain Pagoda of Nanjing

The PRESENT seven wonders of the world today by National Geographic (compiled in 1931 after the completion of the Empire State Building):
1. The Great Pyramids (Egypt)
2. Hagia Sophia (Turkey)
3. Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy)
4. Washington Monument (U.S.)
5. Eiffel Tower (France)
6. Taj Mahal (India)
7. Empire State Building (U.S.)

The seven NATURAL WONDERS of the world: (varies slightly from source to source)
1. Mount Everest (Nepal)
2. The Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
3. The Grand Canyon (U.S.)
4. Victoria Falls (Zambia/Zimbabwe)
5. The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
6. Paricutin Volcano (Mexico)
7. The Northern Lights

This is much more complicated than I expected. There are a whole bunch of other lists of seven wonders but I won't even go there. It would get way too complicated. Well, these are the most common lists of seven wonders.

I'm stepping outta here now...