The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
This time, it was not rebuilt. Construction costs had increased considerably. There was not enough money in the town treasury to rebuild the temple to its former magnificence. The remaining pieces slowly sunk in the marshy field until the ruin disappeared from sight altogether.
A constant stream of visitors came to see the temple. The townspeople built shops around the temple. Some shops sold little replicas of the temple for tourists to take home. The city of Ephesus boomed for a while. But it did not last. The temple was destroyed (again) around 200 CE by the Goths.
The average weigh pounds - around the same weight as a car!
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens
There was little argument that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon would be included as a world wonder. It was on nearly everyone’s list. The thought of a huge and magnificent garden, towering 300 feet above the desert sands, appealed to the Greeks sense of the incredible.
That alone would have greatly impressed the ancient Greeks. But a love story was attached to the gardens that made them even more interesting.
The Hanging Gardens
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
In Alexander’s time, the ornately decorated temple was 425 feet long, 225 feet wide, and 60 feet high. 127 columns supported the roof.
The Hanging Gardens
No one knows if the love story behind the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is true, or if the gardens ever really existed. But it was a great story, and the Greeks loved stories, especially stories about war and love.
Visit the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Great Pyramid at Giza Hanging Gardens of Babylon Statue of Zeus at Olympia Temple of Artemis at Ephesus Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse at Alexandria
The Great Pyramid at Giza
The Great Pyramid at Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza is about 4,500 years old, and is the only ancient wonder still standing.
The Seven Wonders
Selected by the Ancient Greeks
When the ancient Greeks decided to select seven wonders from the many impressive structures that had been constructed throughout history, there was a lot of argument about which structures to select.
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
There was absolutely no argument about the Statue of Zeus. It was a world wonder – everyone knew that! Zeus was the king of the ancient Greek gods. Olympia was the city that hosted the Ancient Greek Olympic Games. The statue could have been the size of a peanut, and still the Ancient Greeks would have selected it. But it truly was a magnificent structure.
It was rumored that the king King Nebuchadnezzar, ordered the gardens built to honor his queen.
The queen was homesick for her land in the mountains. The gardens were designed by the king to make his queen feel loved and welcomed in her new land of Babylon.
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The temple was under construction (again) when some years later Alexander the Great visited the town. Alexander had seen many beautiful buildings in his travels, but this temple was so beautiful that it impressed even Alexander the Great! Alexander offered to give the town enough money to finishing building it if the townspeople would put his name on it. The town did not want to do that, but they did thank Alexander very nicely. (You would too if you were facing Alexander's army!)
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Today, little remains of the temple or the once magnificent Statue of Zeus within it. But the spirit of the Olympic Games lives on!
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Temple of Zeus was completed in 456 BCE.
It was built in Olympia to honor Zeus and the Greek Olympic Games. Like the Parthenon and the Temple of Artemis, Doric columns were used to support the structure.
The Hanging Gardens
The Hanging Gardens were supposedly built around 600 BCE, along the banks of the Euphrates River in Babylon.
Constructed inside the palace walls, the gardens were built in a series of platforms, or terraces, that created a structure 400 feet long, 400 feet wide, and 380 feet high!
Over the years, many different lists were created. Finally, a list was presented that most Greeks agreed included the seven most wondrous wonders, each a unique achievement.
The Great Pyramid at Giza