The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World

There has often been a debate about what the 7 wonders of the world are: pyramids, temples, mausoleums... And how many times, while trying to list them, is there always one missing? A classic, I would say. But are we sure that those listed are indeed among the 7 wonders of the world? I would also push further: are we sure that the 7 wonders of the world are only 7? No, it's not like asking "what color was Napoleon's white horse" (which everyone answers "black", for who knows why...), but it's a matter of disambiguation, to put it in Wikipedia terms: because indeed the wonders of the world are 21, that is, 7 x 3. There are 3 categories in which the 7 wonders of the world have been, so to speak, divided: the wonders of the ancient world, those of the modern world, also called "the new 7 wonders", and the wonders of the natural world. What are they? They are works of such great beauty that they were considered, by the Greeks and Romans, the most beautiful works of all humanity. All built over 2,000 years ago, only one survives; the others have been destroyed due to various causes. Let's discover the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World!

• Construction started: 605 B.C.
• Dimensions: unknown
• Destroyed by: Earthquake
• Architect: Nebuchadnezzar II

One of the most controversial works, not for merit but for historical certainty: even today, many scholars doubt the actual existence of these hanging gardens in ancient Babylon, near present-day Baghdad, built by King Nebuchadnezzar II in 590 B.C. Another controversy concerns the attribution of the construction, which many credit to Queen Semiramis of Assyria, who is featured in the majority of works (literary, lyrical, and pictorial) regarding the gardens. A very interesting interpretive key concerns the very meaning of the word "gardens" in Mesopotamian culture, closely related to the meaning of "Paradise". According to legend, it seems that Queen Semiramis would find fresh roses in these gardens every morning, despite the arid climate of the area.

• Construction started: 292 B.C.
• Dimensions: 32 m in height
• Destroyed by: Earthquake
• Architect: Chares of Lindos

Dating back to the 3rd century B.C., it is the statue of God Helios built by the Rhodians to celebrate their extraordinary victory in the battle against Demetrius I Poliorcetes. The construction was entrusted to Chares, a student of the famous master Lysippus. Standing 32 meters tall, it took 12 years to complete and lasted for 56 years before an earthquake destroyed it. For a remarkable 800 years, the statue lay on the ocean floor until the conquering Arabs, in 672, dismantled it.

• Construction started: approximately 353 B.C.
• Dimensions: 45 m in height
• Destroyed by: Earthquake
• Architects: Artemisia II, Pythius of Priene, Satyrus

A work of extraordinary grandeur: it is the tomb of Mausolus, Satrap of Caria, built by his sister and wife (yes, sister and wife) Artemisia. The tomb was so imposing that since then the term mausoleum was used to define all large monumental tombs. Some remains can be seen in present-day Bodrum, Turkey, and in the British Museum in London.

• Construction started: around 560 B.C.
• Dimensions: 18 m in height
• Destroyed by: Fire
• Architects: Chersiphron, Metagenes

A story of birth and death, glory and destruction: the Ionic temple was built in Ephesus in honor of the goddess Artemis around 560 B.C., and it was one of the most imposing structures of classical civilization. It was destroyed by a fire set by the shepherd Herostratus, driven solely by the desire to go down in history. History tells us that on the same night, Alexander the Great was born, and the same goddess Artemis was too busy watching over and blessing this birth to protect her Temple. Rebuilt 2 more times, it was destroyed again, first by the Goths in 262, and then by Christians in 401.

• Construction started: 280 B.C.
• Dimensions: 8.50 m in length and 134 in height
• Destroyed by: earthquake
• Architect: Sostratus of Chios

Built on the island of Pharos, in front of the port of Alexandria, Egypt, it is one of the greatest masterpieces of Hellenistic engineering. Completed around 300 B.C., with a height of 134 meters, it was responsible for ensuring the safety of maritime traffic. It is estimated that the lighthouse was visible up to 48 km away. It was destroyed by two earthquakes that occurred in 1303 and 1323.

• Opening date: 436 B.C.
• Height: 13 m
• Destroyed by: Fire
• Architect: Phidias

Built by the great sculptor Phidias in 436 B.C. to complete the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. This chryselephantine sculpture, made of gold and ivory, had a base of 6 meters and a height of 13 meters. The proportions were such that the head of the sculpture, which depicted the father of the Gods seated on a throne, almost brushed the ceiling of the temple, so much so that, said Strabo, if he had stood up, he would have knocked the Temple's roof off.

• Construction started: 2584 B.C.
• Dimensions: 139 m in height
• Destroyed by: -
• Architects: Cheops, Hemiunu, Imhotep

Also known as "The Great Pyramid", it is located in Giza and is named after Pharaoh Cheops, who had it constructed as his tomb. Construction began in 2584 B.C. (almost 5000 years ago!), and originally it stood 146.6 meters tall; the passage of time and the wind have brought it down to 139 meters today.

It covers an area of 5 hectares and has extraordinary and impressive precision in its proportions, not only for that time but also for ours. It is estimated that its total weight is around 7 million tons, considering that limestone weighing from 800 kg to 4 tons was used for its cladding and granite blocks weighing between 20 and 80 tons were used for the inner chambers. Some studies on its proportions have revealed shocking data:

• the ratio between the base perimeter and twice its height gives the value of Pi;
• measuring the pyramid's perimeter in inches yields the number 36524, or one hundred times the number of days in a solar year (365.24);
• its measurements and proportions represent a model of the Earth's northern hemisphere, at a scale of 1:43,200.