Original Seven Wonders of the World

You might know about the original ancient seven wonders of the world. Only one, which is the Great Pyramids of Giza still surviving, while the others have collapsed. The historian, Herodotus and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of seven wonders. Their writings have not survived, except as references. 

Here are the original seven wonders of the ancient world:


1) The Great Pyramids of Giza

Great Pyramids of Giza

The most famous pyramids in Egypt are the Great Pyramids of Giza. It was completed around 2560 BC. Its purpose was to shelter and safeguard the souls of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. In 2007, it was named an honourary candidate. It was the final surviving monument frm the original list.





2) Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is the only wonder in the ancient world whose location is unknown. Because no physical evidence for the Hanging Gardens has been found at Babylon, it has been suggested that they were purely mythical, and the descriptions found in ancient Greek and Roman writers represent a romantic ideal of an eastern garden. If it did indeed exist, it was destroyed sometime after the first century AD.

3) Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Statue of Zeus

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was an enormous statue, about 13m tall, completed around 435 BC at the sanctuary Olympia, Greece, and erected in the Temple of Zeus. It was made of ivory and gold-plated plates on wooden frames. It was a shine to Greek God Zeus. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in a fire.









4) Temple of Artemis

The Temple of Artemis

The Temple of Artemis was a Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis. The Temple of Artemis was located near the ancient city of Ephesus, about 75 km south from the modern port city of İzmir, in Turkey.It was completely rebuilt three times before its final destruction in 401 AD by a fire.

5) Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a tomb built between 353 BC and 350 BC at Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire, and his sister-wife Artemisia II of Caria. The structure was designed by the Greek architects Satyros and Pythius of Priene. It was damaged by eartquakes in the 13th century AD. Its final destruction was by crusaders in 1522 AD.

6) Colossus of Rhodes

Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes  was a statue of the Greek titan-god of the sun Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes in 280 BC. It was constructed to celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of Cyprus, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, whose son unsuccessfully besieged Rhodes in 305 BC. The Colossus stood approximately  33 metres high, making it the tallest statue of the ancient world. It was destroyed during the earthquake of 226 BC, and never rebuilt.






7) Lighthouse of Alexandria

The lighthouse of Alexandria

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a lighthouse built between 280 and 247 BC which was between 120 and 137 m tall. Badly damaged by three earthquakes between AD 956 and 1323, it then became an abandoned ruin. It was the third longest surviving ancient wonder (after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the extant Great Pyramid of Giza).