Seven Wonders of the World

The seven wonders of the world most commonly refers to 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 BCE):

"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 BCE) at the Museum of Alexandria, and the engineer Philo 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.'

Wonders of the World list

The Wonders of the Ancient World list, with the Lighthouse 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 Great Pyramid of Giza - serving as a tomb for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu, in present Egypt. Estimated date of completion: 2680 BC.
2. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the walls of Babylon - both built by Nebuchadnezzar around 600 BC in present Iraq.
3. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia - carved by the Greek sculptor Pheidias, ca 435 BCE in present Greece.
4. The Temple of Artemis - 350 BC, at Ephesus, present Turkey.
5. The Mausoleum of Maussollos - the Persian satrap of Caria, 350 BC, at Halicarnassus, present Bodrum, Turkey.
6. The Colossus of Rhodes - a huge statue of Helios, 280 BC, in present Greece.
7. The Lighthouse of Alexandria (or Pharos) - built by Sostratus of Cnidus, 3rd century BC, in present Egypt.

Two 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 Great Pyramid 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.

Other candidates

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

• Hagia Sophia (Turkey)
• Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
• Stonehenge (United Kingdom)
• The Acropolis (Greece)
• The Great Sphinx of Giza (near the Great Pyramid, in Egypt)
• The Great Wall of China (Northern China)
• The Chichen Itza (Yucatán, Mexico)
• The Taj Mahal (near Agra, India)

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:

• The Channel Tunnel (United Kingdom and France);
• The CN Tower (Toronto, Canada);
• The Empire State Building (New York, USA);
• The Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, USA);
• The Itaipu Dam (Brazil and Paraguay);
• The Delta Works, North Sea protection works (The Netherlands);
• The Panama Canal (Panama);
• The Statue of Liberty (New York, USA);
• The Eiffel Tower (Paris, France);
• The Forth Rail Bridge, Scotland, UK;
• The Kremlin and Red Square (Moscow, Russia);
• The Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia);
• The Reliant Astrodome (Houston, USA)

Wonders of the natural world:

• Mount Everest
• The Great Barrier Reef
• The Grand Canyon
• Victoria Falls
• The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
• Paricutin Volcano
• The Northern Lights
• Uluru

See also

Eighth Wonder of the World

External links and references

• "New 7 Wonders ". NewOpenWorld Foundation.
• Camp, Charles, "CIVL 1101 - Civil Engineering Measurements " . American Society of Civil Engineers. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Memphis. 1996.
• "A virtual tour of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ". Cable News Network. 1997.
• "The Seven Natural Wonders of the World ". Cable News Network. 1997.
• "Natural Wonders " Environmental Education Program, Vol. 4, Issue no 5. Prague Post Endowment Fund. November 20, 2003. (PDF)
• Parkin, Tim, "Researching Ancient Wonders , A (fairly idiosyncratic) Research Guide". Department of Classics, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. (Originally designed to accompany adult evening classes.)
• Ashmawy, Alaa K., "The seven wonders of the ancient world ". January 21, 2004.
• Krystek, Lee, "The seven wonders of the ancient world ". Museum of Unnatural Mystery.
• http://whc.unesco.org/nwhc/pages/doc/mainf3.htm

Further readings

• D'Epiro, Peter, and Mary Desmond Pinkowish, "What Are the Seven Wonders of the World? and 100 Other Great Cultural Lists". Anchor. December 1, 1998. ISBN 0385490623
• Cox, Reg, Neil Morris, and James Field, "The Seven Wonders of the Medieval World". Chelsea House Publications: Library. October, 2000. ISBN 0791060470
• Cox, Reg, and Neil Morris, "The Seven Wonders of the Modern World". Chelsea House Publications: Library. October, 2000. ISBN 079106048
• Morris, Neil, "The Seven Wonders of the Natural World". Chrysalis Books. December 30, 2002. ISBN 184138495X