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Exploring the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
They truly are wonderfully wondrous wonders
“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.” — Neil Armstrong
Before the wondrously idiotic age of the internet, people weren’t quite sure what the world beheld. Of course, you could learn about history, or ask your more worldly friends where they have been. You could even pull up the original Michelin Guide or later on the extremely useful Lonely Planet series.
But if you went back far enough, perhaps a couple of millennia, you’d have far less material to help satisfy your wanderlust. That’s one of the main reasons the original list of the Seven Wonders of the World was made — for wealthy travelers to know where to go.
That fact alone is almost enough to be the eighth wonder in my book, but I digress. Let’s explore the seven ancient wonders in all their glory, see where they existed, and learn a bit about their unique history, too.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Seven Wonders of the World was a list created over two millennia ago, with the first list dating back to the 3rd century BC. Of course, others have tried modifying the list over the years — perhaps to attract more tourism or fame — but the main list is uncontested today.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are the Temple of Artemis, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia.
They were initially selected by a man named Philo of Byzantium, who wrote a piece called On The Seven Wonders in 225 B.C.
If we were to talk in terms of modern-day country borders, two of the wonders were in Turkey, two in Greece, two in Egypt, and one over in Iraq. Unfortunately for all of us, only one remaining wonder is still in existence — the Great Pyramid of Giza.
All of the others were lost due to the other oldest pastime of humans — warfare. And earthquakes. Lot’s of earthquakes. And oddly enough, scholars aren’t certain if the Hanging Gardens of Babylon actually existed in the first place.
