The History of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Here at Geodepress we like to focus on education, especially as we highlight the Zenobia Book Series. Education is very important to Zenobia. Not only did she train physically with her bow and arrow and sword but she challenged herself mentally by learning all that was available to her.  We've been sharing interesting facts from each of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and hope we've broaden your knowledge of Ancient History. Like many other history buffs, we are fascinated by the Ancient Seven Wonders.

Zenobia visits two of these Wonders in book one, Zenobia- Birth of a Legend. Read the post at: http://geodepress.com/lighthouse-of-alexandria-one-of-the-seven-ancient-wonders-of-the-world/

"Many historians now believe that the list served as a guidebook for ancient "tourists" traveling to see the revered sites.

The "wonders of the world" concept dates back to the fifth century B.C., when the Greek historian Herodotus contemplated the amazing achievements of art and architecture created by the Persians and the Greeks.

However, Antipater of Sidon, who wrote in the second century B.C., is credited with putting together the first list of wonders."
Oct. 18, 2006  -  Read full article at: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/7Wonders/story?id=2583185

Howard David Johnson

My favorite artist Howard David Johnson has captured the beautiful Seven Wonders.

Take a look for yourself at: http://www.howarddavidjohnson.com/7wonders.htm

Attention Teachers: Howard David Johnson's pictures are available for classroom use.  E-mail for permission at :  info@howarddavidjohnson.com or check with your school library. View at :  http://www.howarddavidjohnson.com/sevenwonders.htm

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World The Temple of Artemis, Turkey

Color engraving by Ferdinand Knab/The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images

The great marble temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis was completed around 550 B.C. at Ephesus, near the modern-day town of Selçuk inTurkey.

In addition to its 120 columns, each standing 60 feet (20 meters) high, the temple was said to have held many exquisite artworks, including bronze statues of the Amazons, a mythical race of female warriors.

Today the temple’s foundations have been excavated and some of its columns re-erected.

Full article found: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/photogalleries/seven-wonders/#/new-old-7-wonders-temple-artemis-turkey_18315_600x450.jpg

“And there is no doubt that the temple was indeed magnificent. “I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon,” wrote Philon of Byzantium, “the statue of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were put in the shade.” -  http://www.unmuseum.org/ephesus.htm

Today the site of the temple near the modern town of Selçuk is only a marshy field. A single column has been erected to remind visitors that once there stood in this place one of the wonders of the ancient world.

 (Licensed through Wikipedia Commons courtesy Adam Carr)

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Turkey

Painting by The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images

The famous tomb at Halicarnassus—now the city of Bodrum—was built between 370 and 350 B.C. for King Mausolus of Caria, a region in the southwest of modern Turkey. Legend says that the king's grieving wife Artemisia II had the tomb constructed as a memorial to their love.

The tomb was most admired for its architectural beauty and splendor. The central burial chamber was decorated in gold, while the exterior was adorned with ornate stone friezes and sculptures created by four Greek artists.

The mausoleum stood intact until the early 15th century, when Christian Crusaders dismantled it for building material for a new castle. Some of the sculptures and frieze sections survived and can be seen today at the British Museum in London, England.

At the British Museum is a fragmentary horse from the colossal four-horses chariot group which topped the podium of the the Mausoleum at Halicarnassos. H. (7 ft. 7 ½ in.)

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus at Bodrum in 2009

 Wikimedia Commons by Dorushiva 2009

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World:The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece

Color engraving by Ferdinand Knab/The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images

The massive gold statue of the king of the Greek gods was built in honor of the original Olympic games, which began in the ancient city of Olympia.

The statue, completed by the classical sculptor Phidias around 432 B.C., sat on a jewel-encrusted wooden throne inside a temple overlooking the city. The 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) figure held a scepter in one hand and a small statue of the goddess of victory, Nike, in the other—both made from ivory and precious metals.

The temple was closed when the Olympics were banned as a pagan practice in A.D. 391, after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

The statue was eventually destroyed, although historians debate whether it perished with the temple or was moved to Constantinople (now Istanbul) in Turkey and burned in a fire.

-Full article can be found at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/photogalleries/seven-wonders/#/new-old-7-wonders-statue-zeus-olympia-greece_18313_600x450.jpg

In ancient times one of the Greeks most important festivals, the Olympic Games, was held every four years in honor of the King of their gods, Zeus. Like our modern Olympics, athletes traveled from distant lands, including Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and Sicily, to compete. The Olympics were first started in 776 B.C. and held at a shrine to Zeus located on the western coast of Greece in a region called Peloponnesus. The games helped to unify the Greek city-states and a sacred truce was declared. Safe passage was given to all traveling to the site, called Olympia, for the season of the games. - For full article see: http://www.unmuseum.org/ztemp.htm

(Read post about  the first female in the Olympics. http://geodepress.com/women-in-sports-from-ancient-olympics-to-2013-triple-crown/)

Interesting Fact:

The Lincoln Memorial with its single large statue and columns probably is very much like the temple of Zeus except the statue of the King of the Gods was more than double the height of Lincoln.

The Lincoln Memorial

A 1908 artist's conception of the temple at Olympia in Greece.

Zenobia the Musical

The world premiere of Zenobia the Musical performed summer 2013. Book and lyrics by Lorrisa Julianus, music composed by Angela Salvaggione. Now available for performance by your theatre company. If your interested please contact: Zenobiathemusical@gmail.com

  Zenobia the Musical (highlights)

 

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Lorrisa Julianus as Zenobia the warrior Queen

In the Zenobia Book Series, author Russ Wallace describes Zenobia as having dark captivating eyes, almost like they sparkle. She’s strikingly beautiful, with bronzed skin and long black hair to the middle of her back. Lorrisa Julianus  plays Zenobia in the musical and looks and plays the part perfectly.

  Zenobia is the deadliest woman who ever lived.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Colossus of Rhodes, Greece

Did You Know?

The Colossus of Rhodes was an inspiration for the Statue of Liberty

Color engraving by Ferdinand Knab/The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images

In contrast to the pyramids, the colossus was the shortest lived of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Completed in 282 B.C. after taking 12 years to build, the Colossus of Rhodes was felled by an earthquake that snapped the statue off at the knees a mere 56 years later.
The towering figure—made of stone and iron with an outer skin of bronze—represented the Greek sun god Helios, the island’s patron god. It looked out from Mandráki Harbor on the Mediterranean island of Ródos (Rhodes), although it is no longer believed to have straddled the harbor entrance as often shown in illustrations.
The Colossus stood about 110 feet (33 meters) tall, making it the tallest known statue of the ancient world. It was erected to celebrate the unification of the island’s three city-states, which successfully resisted a long siege by the Antigonids of Macedonia.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/photogalleries/seven-wonders/photo9.html#/new-old-7-wonders-colossus-rhodes-greece_18305_600x450.jpg

In my research I found this article about rebuilding The Colossus of Rhodes. I couldn’t find confirmation that the project has been started. It seems that financing may be holding it up.

Colossus of Rhodes to be rebuilt as giant light sculpture

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/nov/17/colossus-rhodes-greece-sculpture by Helena Smith in Athens The Guardian, Sunday 16 November 2008

For almost seven decades it stood over Rhodes before being destroyed by an earthquake in 226BC. In later years, its huge bronze and marble parts were carted off by Arab tradesmen. “Even lying on the ground, it is a marvel,” wrote Pliny the Elder. It was so big, he said, that “few people can get their arms around its thumb”. Although historians have spent years arguing about the wonder’s exact location, artists have always depicted it straddling Rhodes’ imposing harbour. Unlike the original statue, which took Chares 12 years to carve in situ, the new statue could be built in less than half that time if adequate funding is found, project organisers say. While the Statue of Liberty was built in France and then assembled in New York, the new Colossus is expected to be built by locals on the island.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient world: Are the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” real or fake?

Artist's representation of Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Credit: iStockphotos.com)

See full article at history.com http://www.history.com/news/hanging-gardens-existed-but-not-in-babylon

Though there are multiple accounts of the gardens in both Greek and Roman literature, none of them are firsthand, and no mention of the gardens has been found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. As a result, most modern scholars believe that the existence of the gardens was part of an inspired and widely believed but still fictional tale.

Mythology shrouds each of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but none has been more mysterious than the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Archaeologists have never unearthed evidence of the soaring gardens, and scholars have questioned its very existence. Now, however, an Oxford University researcher Stephanie Dalley says she knows why the Hanging Gardens of Babylon have proven so elusive because they were never built there in the first place.

Dalley, who has spent the better part of two decades researching the Hanging Gardens and studying ancient cuneiform texts, believes they were constructed 300 miles to the north of Babylon in Nineveh, the capital of the rival Assyrian empire.

Dalley explains that the reason for the confusion of the location of the gardens could be due to the Assyrian conquering of Babylon in 689 B.C. Following the takeover, Nineveh was referred to as the “New Babylon,” and Sennacherib even renamed the city gates after those of Babylon’s entrances. Dalley’s assertions could debunk thoughts that the elusive ancient wonder was an “historical mirage,” but they could also prove that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are mislabeled and should truly be the Hanging Gardens of Nineveh.

You can purchase a copy of Stephanie Dalley’s book “The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon” at:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Mystery-Hanging-Garden-Babylon/dp/0199662266

or

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mystery-of-the-hanging-garden-of-babylon-stephanie-dalley/1112707348?ean=9780199662265