The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one that survives to the present day, this is one of three pyramids at the Giza Necropolis in Egypt.

Legend has it that the King Nebuchadnezzar II built this palace around the 6th century BC, in present-day Iraq. One Greek writer described it: “The foundations of its turrets are sunk thirty feet into the ground and the fortifications rise eighty feet above it at the highest point. On its summit are the hanging gardens, a wonder celebrated by the fables of the Greeks. They are as high as the top of the walls and owe their charm to the shade of many tall trees. The columns supporting the whole edifice are built of rock, and on top of them is a flat surface of squared stones strong enough to bear the deep layer of earth placed upon it and the water used for irrigating it.”

A Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis, this was built and destroyed three times. In the 19th century archaeologists found remains of the temple in western Turkey.

Standng 43 feet tall, this statute of Zeus on his throne was made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia. It was probably destroyed sometime around the 5th century AD.

Built between 353 and 350 BC in present-day Turkey, this building stood 148 feet tall and was the tomb for Mausolus, ruler of Caria, and his wife. A series of earthquakes during the Middle Ages has left it in ruins.

It took 12 years for Chares of Lindos to build this statue of the Greek god Helios. It stood over 98 feet high. However, the statue only lasted from 280 BC to 226 BC, after which an earthquake broke it at the knees.

This mosaic is one of the few contemporary images we have the Lighthouse, which was built in the 3rd century BC. Standing over 330 feet high, this building continue to be used until the 12th century AD. However a series of earthquakes destroyed the lighthouse by the 14th century.