The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
Written by Dutch painter merten van Hames Cork on 1572. 230 years ago (3rd century BC), Phoenician traveler Antioch Parker wrote seven wonders:
1. Egyptian pyramid of khufu
2. The colossus of Zeus in Olympia
3. The Temple of Al themis
4. Mosora's mausoleum
5. Alexandria lighthouse
6. Hanging Garden
7. The Giant of Rhode Island
Seven wonders of the ancient world.
1. The Great Pyramid of Khufu circa 2500 BC-Egyptians, pyramid of khufu, Egypt.
2. In 435 BC, the statue of Zeus in Olympia-the Greeks-was destroyed by fire.
3. In 550 BC, the Temple of themis in Ephesus-Anatolian-was destroyed by fire in 356 BC.
4. The mausoleum of Halicarnassus 315 BC-Hellenistic Kalians-destroyed the earthquake, Mosora's mausoleum.
5. The lighthouse of Alexandria-Greek civilization-destroyed the earthquake in the 3rd century BC.
6. Hanging Gardens The hanging gardens in Babylon were destroyed by an earthquake in 600 BC-Babylonians.
7. The colossus of Rhodes, a Greek civilization, was destroyed by an earthquake in 224 BC from 292 to 280 BC.
According to the traveler, the seven wonders are what he "saw with his own eyes and will never be erased". This is the origin of the so-called "seven wonders" at the beginning of the century.
The seven wonders of the ancient world have also been translated into "ancient? "Seven Wonders of the World" refers to the seven magnificent man-made landscapes in the ancient western world (Nile Valley, Two Rivers Valley and Hellenistic Aegean Sea). These buildings and statues, with their grand scale, artistic beauty or unique construction methods, represent the achievements of ancient western civilization and make the world marvel and marvel.
At that time, the West (represented by ancient Greece) knew almost nothing about China, and even less about India. Otherwise, at least some huge projects in the Qin and Han Dynasties, such as the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and Epang Palace (it is said that they were burnt down before they were completely completed), can they also be included as "the Eight Wonders of Ancient Times"? No wonder international friends marveled when visiting the site of Qin Shihuang's mausoleum that "Terracotta Warriors and Horses are the eighth wonder of ancient civilization"!
Pyramids of Giza
Basic information
Construction time: about 2700-2500 BC Construction site: near Giza, near Cairo, Egypt. According to legend, before the third dynasty in ancient Egypt, both princes and ministers and ordinary people were buried in a rectangular tomb made of mud bricks, which the ancient Egyptians called "Mastaba". Later, a clever young man, Imhotep, invented a new architectural method when designing a mausoleum for the Egyptian Pharaoh Zuosai. He replaced mud bricks with square stones picked from the ground, constantly revised the design scheme of building a mausoleum, and finally built a six-story trapezoidal pyramid-this is the prototype of the pyramid we see now. In ancient Egypt, pyramids were called hierarchical pyramids because they were trapezoidal and layered. This is a tall pyramid building with a square base and a triangle on each side. It looks like Chinese characters? The word "gold", so China people write it as "pyramid" (the original is pyramid). The tower mausoleum designed by Imhotep is the first stone mausoleum in Egyptian history.
There are 80 pyramids in Egypt, the largest of which is the Pyramid of Giza, which was built around 2600 BC and all of them were artificially built. How did the ancient Egyptians carve stones and build tombs? The layout of the passages and rooms inside the mausoleum is like a maze. How did the ancient Egyptians build it? Up to now, there are still different opinions and no clear research.
brief introduction
The Great Pyramid along the Nile is a tomb built by the ancient Egyptian pharaohs themselves. It is said that there are nearly 100 pyramids in Egypt, most of which were built in the third to sixth dynasties of Egypt. Some pyramids with a history of more than 4,000 years are mainly distributed in the capital and the west bank of the Nile. The pyramids of Giza belong to King Kabra on the left and King Kuff on the right, and there is a sphinx nearby. The main building material is limestone, and part of it is huagangyan. The three largest and best-preserved pyramids were built by three emperors of the Fourth Dynasty, Khufu, Cabra and Menkoala, from 2600 BC to 2500 BC. Pyramid of khufu 146.6m high and 230.35m long at the bottom. The height of the Hafra Pyramid is 143.5m and 215.25m; Grow at the bottom. The Menkoala Pyramid is 66.4m high and the bottom is108.04m long.
Among the three great pyramids, the largest is pyramid of khufu, which is an almost solid boulder, consisting of more than 2 million boulders. Crowds of people dragged these big stones to the slope of the ground, and then piled them around the pyramid by scaffolding. Next to the pyramids, there are some small pyramids and rectangular desktop graves of royalty and nobility.
At first, the polished gray limestone blocks on the outside of the pyramid almost disappeared. What we are seeing now is the light yellow limestone below, revealing its internal structure. There is a tomb in the center of the pyramid, which can be entered through the tunnel. On the top of the tomb, several large stones weighing dozens of tons are stacked on top of each other.
The completed pyramid was used as a tomb. Ancient Egyptians believed in immortality after death. At first, the tombs in the pyramids were filled with gold and various valuables.
Statue of Zeus in Olympia
Brief introduction of Zeus
Zeus is the god of Greek gods and the main god of Olympia, built to show worship? The statue of Zeus is the largest indoor statue in the world, and the temple of Zeus where the statue of Zeus is located is the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Philo of Byzantium wrote about the Seven Wonders: "We are proud of the other six wonders, but we are afraid of the statue of Zeus."
Temple of Zeus in Athens
The temple of Zeus was the religious center of ancient Greece. The temple is located in the center of a vast flat land on the Rizos River southeast of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and is in charge of Zeus, the god of ancient Greek gods. Now this place is full of hills in Huang Chengcheng, but in ancient Greece, it was surrounded by green valleys and cool streams, and the scenery was elegant. Not far away, there is a dense forest, full of green, with beautiful flowers and trees on both sides of the forest path, which was the religious center at that time. In ancient Greece, this area was located outside the walls of Athens. In Hadrian's time, in order to expand the scale of Athens and expand the city walls, temples were incorporated into the city.
The construction of the temple began in 470 BC and was finally completed in the first 456 years. This is a Dominic-style building, designed by the architect Lieben from Elis, and the statue of Zeus was carved by the sculptor Pheidias.
The Temple of Zeus itself is a Dolique-style building, the surface of which is covered with gypsum limestone. The roof of the temple is made of marble and supported by 34 Corinthian columns, the height of which is17m, and the Paros in front of the temple is 4 1. 1 m107.75m.. Many statues on the herringbone eaves in the west of the temple are completely Athenian.
Statue of Zeus
As for Zeus, the protagonist of the temple, the so-called "chryselephantine" technology was adopted, and the muscles carved from ivory and gold clothes were added to the wooden support. The throne is also gilded, inlaid with ebony, precious stones and glass, which took eight years to complete.
In a book by traveler Pausanias, the statue of Zeus is described in detail. It is recorded in the book:' The main body of Zeus is made of wood, the exposed part of his body is covered with ivory, and his clothes are covered with gold. He wore a crown woven with olive branches on his head, a victory statue made of ivory and gold in his right hand, a scepter made of various dazzling metals in his left hand, and a vulture rested on the top of the scepter.
As for his throne, the head and back of the statue are engraved with statues of "Sanya" and "Three Seasons" (spring, summer and winter). The legs and feet are decorated with dancing goddess of victory, sphinx with head and other Greek gods. The bottom is 6.55 meters wide and the height is 1 meter. Except for the throne, this statue of God, which is only about 13 meters high, is equivalent to a four-story modern building, so that Zeus sitting on the throne almost put his head on the top of the temple.
Behind the statue hangs a sacred curtain looted by the temple of Jerusalem. Phidias planned the surrounding changes more accurately, including the light from the temple gate to the statue. In order to make the face of the statue more beautiful and bright, a huge and shallow black marble olive oil pool was built in front of the statue, and the light was reflected by olive oil. During standing, workers come to wipe ivory, which is called "phidias polisher". A visitor said, "I can tell you the size of the statue, but I can't describe its impression."
Idols have been worshipped by people for more than 900 years, but in the end, Christ ended everything. In 393 A.D., the Roman emperor Marius I resolutely issued a pardon order to stop the competition, and the ancient Olympic Games also ended in this year. Then in 426 AD, the pagan temple was destroyed, so the statue of Zeus was destroyed, phidias's studio was changed into a church, and ancient Greece was destroyed. The inward inclined stone pillars of the temple collapsed in the earthquakes of 522 and 55 1 year, and the stones were demolished and transformed into fortresses against barbarian aggression. Fortunately, before this, the statue had been transported to Constantinople (now Istanbul, the Turkish capital) and kept in the palace by eunuch luisi for 60 years. Unfortunately, it was also destroyed in the city riots.
Roddy's giant
Basic information about the Colossus of Rhode Island
The Colossus of Rhode Island in Greece is the most mysterious of the Seven Wonders. This colossus was built at the entrance of Rhodes Harbor. It is a bronze statue of Helius, the Greek sun god, about 33 meters high. Because it was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC in just 56 years, archaeologists could not even determine its exact location and appearance.
Construction time: completed in 282 BC.
Construction site: Aegean Sea in Rhodes Port, Greece
brief introduction
The colossus of Rhodes is located in the port of Rhodes, Greece, which leads to the Mediterranean Sea. Rhode Island in BC is an important commercial center, located at the junction of Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Port Rhodes was built in 408 BC. Historically, Rhode Island was ruled by many spheres of influence, including Mausolaris (whose tomb is also one of the Seven Wonders) and Alexander the Great. But after the death of Alexander the Great, the whole island was plunged into a long war. Macedonian aggressor Dmitry led 40,000 troops (more than the population of the whole island) to surround the port. After a hard war, Rhode Island defeated the invaders. Celebrate the victory? The colossus of Rhode Island, they decided to build a statue with bronze weapons abandoned by the enemy. This statue was built for 12 years, and it is about 33 meters high, which is similar to the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York. The statue is hollow and reinforced with complex stones and iron columns. But this great statue was destroyed by a strong earthquake just over 50 years after it was built. Legend has it that the statue stood in the harbor with its legs apart and boarded the ship only through the middle of its legs, which was very spectacular and interesting. This colossus is actually the Greek sun god and their patron saint Helius. It was designed by architect Charles. After 12 years of construction, the Colossus of Rhode Island was completed in 282 BC. The whole colossus is 33 meters high, made of marble and covered with bronze, and was later used as a lighthouse. However, the earthquake in 226 BC knocked down the colossus, and its fragile knee became the fatal wound of the colossus, and the colossus fell to the shore near the port of Mandraki. In 654 AD, Rhode Island was invaded by Arabs, and the invaders even transported the remains to Syria, which made it more difficult to investigate this spectacle.
Hanging gardens in Babylon
Basic information? Composition of Hanging Gardens
Like the Colossus of Rhode Island, archaeologists have yet to find the remains of the Hanging Gardens.
Construction time: about 6th century BC.
Location: Babylon, east of the Euphrates River, about 50 miles south of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
brief introduction
Of course, the hanging gardens in Babylon were not suspended in the air. The origin of this name is that people misinterpret the original Greek "kremastos" and Latin "pensilis" (meaning "hanging" besides "protruding") as "hanging".
It is generally believed that the Hanging Garden was built by King Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 BC) to comfort the homesick princess Amyitis, and it was modeled after her hometown in the mountains. It is said that slaves need to turn mechanical devices to draw a lot of water from the Euphrates River below to irrigate the flowers and plants in the hanging gardens.
The most amazing thing about the hanging garden is the water supply system. Because there is not much rain in Babylon, and the ruins of the Hanging Gardens are far away from the Euphrates River, historical researchers believe that the Hanging Gardens should have many water conveyance facilities. The slave kept pushing, even? The handle of the gear carries groundwater to the storage tank on the top floor and then returns to the ground through the artificial river. Another problem is maintenance, because ordinary buildings can't withstand the erosion of the river for many years without collapsing. Because there are not many stones in Mesopotamia, researchers think that the bricks used in hanging gardens are unusual. They are added with reeds, asphalt and gravel. Some documents even pointed out that a layer of lead was added to the stone to prevent the river from infiltrating into the foundation. It should not be a "hanging garden" originally, but it has become a "hanging garden" because of translation errors.
artemis temple,selcuk
Basic information
Artemis is the Greek word α ρ ε ι δ (Latin Artemis), the goddess of the moon and hunting in Greek mythology and the sister of Apollo, the sun god. Roman mythology called her Diana, Egyptians called her Isis, and Arabs called her Rath. In ancient Greece, the goddess themis was deeply worshipped, so she built the Temple of themis, one of the seven wonders.
Construction time: about 550 BC
Construction site: in the soul of freedom in ancient Greek cities, about 50 kilometers south of Izmir (Smyrna).
brief introduction
Temple buildings are based on marble and covered with wooden roofs. The designers of the whole building are Qiao Xihong and his son. Its biggest feature is that there are two rows of columns at least 106, and each row is about 12 to 18 meters high. The base of the temple is about 60 times 120 meters.
It was destroyed by a fire in 356 BC, and it was built after the original site caught fire again in 262 AD. The Temple of Al themis has been rebuilt seven times. The first themis Temple was designed by architects Samos, Qiao Xihong and his son Meta janus in 550 BC, supported by Ionian marble columns, and it was the first building built entirely of marble at that time. The ruins of the Temple of Al themis in the whole building were decorated with bronze, silver, gold and ivory reliefs by famous artists at that time, such as phidias, Cletus, keresey Ras and Vladmont. The statue of Al themis is placed on the U-shaped altar in the center for people to worship. Later, in 356 BC, the temple was destroyed by fire and invasion. After the transformation, the length of the marble column increased to 2 1.7 meters, and thirteen steps were added around it. Finally, because people who love free souls converted to Christianity, the temple was destroyed by St. John Christom in 40 1 year.
Mosora's King's Tomb Temple
Basic information
The temple of Mao Solas's tomb in Halicarnassus is about 45 meters high, and the upper part of the pedestal is in the shape of a stepped pyramid. The statue of King Solas of the Kingdom of Caria may stand at the top. This mausoleum was destroyed in an earthquake in the third century.
Construction time: about 353 BC
Construction site: present-day southwest Turkey.
brief introduction
This huge white marble mausoleum was built for Mo Solas and his wife. The whole building was designed by two Greek designers and decorated with strange carving patterns. Fu Yijian's achievement is well known, but it was destroyed by a great earthquake in the early 3rd century. There are still some remaining sculptures in the British Museum in London.
Mao Solas's Tomb Temple is located in Halicarnassus. The ground floor building is rectangular, with an area of 40m by 30m and a height of 45m. The pier wall is 20m high, the column is12m high, the pyramid is 7m high, and the top carriage statue is 3m high. The building is surrounded by pier walls, decorated with stone statues, and the statue at the top is four horses pulling an ancient two-wheeled chariot. In addition to its architecture, this mausoleum temple is also famous for its sculptures. The sculpture of Mausoleum Temple was made by four famous sculptors, Briasis, Leo Chales, Scopas and Timothy, each of whom was responsible for one side of the tomb temple.
/kloc-At the beginning of the 5th century, Halicarnassus was occupied. In order to build a huge castle, the new ruler used some stones from Mao Solas's tomb temple as building materials in 1494. Today, many sculptures still survive and are kept in museums in London, England. /kloc-Since the 20th century, archaeological excavations have been carried out in Lisi Tomb Temple in Mosora, providing a lot of information about Mao.
Alexander's lighthouse
Basic information
Following the orders of Ptolemy (the first Ptolemy Pharaoh who ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great (King of Macedonia)), the Faros Lighthouse in Alexandria was built on an artificial island in 300 BC. Due to vague historical records, the estimated height is between115-150m (377-492ft), and it is made of shiny white limestone or marble.
Construction time: about 300 BC
Construction site: Faross Island near Alexandria.
brief introduction
Shortly after the death of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy Soter, one of his subordinates, ruled Egypt and made Alexandria its capital. In view of the dangerous sea lanes near Alexandria, Ptolemy Soter ordered the architect soste Lars to cooperate with the Alexandria Library/Mouse to build the Alexandria Lighthouse, which was completed in 290 BC.
When the Alexander Lighthouse was completed, its height deserved to be the tallest building in the world at that time. His designer is Chattus of Sotheby's, a Greek architect. An Arab traveler recorded in his notes: "The lighthouse was built on three steps. At its top, a mirror reflects sunlight during the day and guides the ship with fire at night. " /kloc-for 0/500 years, the Alexandria lighthouse has been guiding sailors to the harbor in the dark. It is also the latest of the six wonders (except the pyramids of Giza in Egypt). /kloc-it was completely destroyed by the earthquake in the 0/4th century.
The Fallot Lighthouse is completely different from the other six wonders, because it has no religious color, and it is built purely for people's real life. The light of the Fallot lighthouse shines all over Alexandria at night, protecting the ships at sea. In addition, it was the tallest building in the world at that time.
The legend of Alexander lighthouse: Alexander
Alexander Lighthouse In 332 BC, Alexander the Great of Macedonian Empire established a new city, Alexandria, west of the mouth of the Nile River in Egypt. After the death of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt began to rise, and Alexandria became the capital of the Ptolemaic dynasty and prospered accordingly. In addition, Alexandra is located at the junction of Asia, Africa and Europe, and it can also lead to the ports of the Nile and the Mediterranean. You can imagine how prosperous Alexandra is and how developed world trade is. Moreover, Faross in Alexandria has the Alexandria lighthouse, one of the seven wonders of the world, which shines on the harbor.
There are also a large number of architectural relics such as temples and Egyptian royal palaces. Although Alexandra is so prosperous, today, Alexandra is beyond recognition. Scientists believe that most of these buildings collapsed due to a major earthquake in the fourth century AD. Scientists have carried out many excavations in Alexandria, including one in 1996. French experts claimed that a large ancient relic was found at the bottom of Alexandria, and traces of ancient roads and paving stones were also found. Investigators found an ancient binaural flask that sank to the bottom of the sea. This is an ancient Greek pot with two handles, which is used to transport wine and other trade goods. The investigation team also found the head of the statue of Pharaoh. The staff first fixed the Pharaoh's head with metal utensils, and then sent the statue into the water with balloons. The survey was conducted at the possible location of the Fallows lighthouse. Just compare the head of the statue with the staff next to it, and you can imagine the huge statue.
With these discoveries, many investigations have unearthed thousands of relics, most of which weigh several tons to dozens of tons. From these relics, we can gradually imagine the mysterious lighthouse of Fallows. Due to the prosperity of Alexandra and the backwardness of ancient directional navigation technology, it is conceivable that the Fallows lighthouse, which shines on the whole port, plays an extremely important role in defending the lives of ancient sailors. Whether future generations can have a clearer understanding of Fallows Lighthouse depends on whether the government and experts will pay attention to the excavation of Alexandria. If the excavation of Alexandria can be further developed, more architectural features can be reproduced. ...
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Seven wonders of the Middle Ages
Because most of the above miracles have been destroyed, later generations put forward the seven wonders of the world in the Middle Ages:
The Colosseum in Rome, Italy? The underground tomb of Alexander at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.
The great wall of China
Stonehenge
China Hongji Glass Pagoda
Leaning tower of Pisa, Italy
Sophia Cathedral in Turkey
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Seven engineering wonders of the world
Elected by American Society of Civil Engineers:
Panama Canal (Panama)
North Sea Protection Project (Netherlands)
Empire State Building (new york, USA)
Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, USA)
Itaipu Dam (parana river on the border between Brazil and Paraguay)
Canada National Television Tower (Toronto, Canada)
Anglo-French Cross-Harbour Tunnel (Dover, England and Calais, France)
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Seven natural wonders of the world
In addition, American Lowell Thomas also put forward the seven natural wonders of the world:
Colorado Grand Canyon, USA
Victoria Falls in Africa
Alaska Glacier Bay
Ma Meng Cave National Park
Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.
Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world.
Yellowstone National Park, USA.
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The election of the new seven wonders
brief introduction
20 years old? 0 1 The Great Wall of Wan Li was initiated by the "New Seven Wonders" Foundation (founded by French Bernard Weber, 200 1). From more than 200 scenic spots around the world, 77 scenic spots were selected for netizens to vote. So far, the last 2 1 scenic spots have been selected. The event ended on July 7, 2007 and was announced in Lisbon, Portugal, in the early morning of July 8. The Great Wall of China, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, the statue of Christ in Brazil, the site of Machu Picchu in Inca, the pyramid of Kulkun in Ceacu, Chen Chi, the Colosseum in ancient Rome and the Taj Mahal have become the "new seven wonders" in the world.
Among them, the Great Wall in Wan Li, China ranks first.
The only remaining Egyptian pyramid of Giza among the ancient "Seven Wonders of the World" will naturally retain the status of a miracle, mainly because Egyptian officials said that it was an insult to ask the pyramids to compete for a place, so on the 8th, * * * produced the eight wonders of the world including the pyramids.
name list
In other words, the new list is:
The Great Wall of China
Petra Jordan
Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Machu Picchu, Peru
Pyramid of Chichen Itza in Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Rome, Italy, Colosseum
Taj Mahal, India
Egypt, the pyramids of Giza
The pyramids of Giza do not belong to the New Seven Wonders, but are one of eight wonders of the world.
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The new seven natural wonders of the world
From June 5438+February 2007 to July 2009, the World New Seven Wonders Foundation called on people all over the world to nominate their natural wonders. /kloc-77 of more than 440 entries from more than 220 countries were selected from more than 0/100,000 votes. Subsequently, an expert group selected 28 landscapes from them to enter the finals and conduct a global vote again.
The Amazon Rainforest in Brazil, Halong Bay in Vietnam, Iguazu Waterfall at the junction of Argentina and Brazil, Jeju Island in South Korea, Komodo National Park in Indonesia, the underground river in Puerto Princesa in the Philippines and Table Mountain in South Africa have been included in the new seven natural wonders of the world. The foundation of the new seven wonders of the world, which initiated the voting, said that the final result will be announced in early 20 12. It also warned that the seven natural wonders in the preliminary results may be different from the final list.