Date of construction
2650-2500 B.C.
Cause & date of destruction
N/A, still standing.
Builder
Egyptians
Notable features
Built as the tomb of Fourth dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu.
The Ancient Seven Wonders of the World
The historian Herodotus (484 BC-ca. 425 BC), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305-240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of "seven wonders" but their writings have not survived, except as references. The earliest extant version of a list of seven wonders was compiled by Antipater of Sidon, who described the structures in a poem around 140 BC:
I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, 'Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand.'
- Antipater, Greek Anthology IX.58
Click here to see the New Seven Wonders of the World.
The Great Pyramid of Giza
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Date of construction
600 B.C.
Cause & date of destruction
Earthquake, after 1st century B.C.
Builder
Babylonians
Notable features
Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles (90 km) in length, 80 feet (24 m) thick and 320 feet (98 m) high (although some archaeological findings suggest otherwise).
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Date of construction
550 B.C.
Cause & date of destruction
Arson, 356 B.C.
Builder
Lydians, Persians and Greeks
Notable features
Dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis, it took 120 years to build. Herostratus burned it down in an attempt to achieve lasting fame.
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Date of construction
435 B.C.
Cause & date of destruction
Unknown, presumed destroyed by fire or earthquake, during 5th or 6th centuries A.D.
Builder
Greeks
Notable features
Occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple that was built to house it, and was 40 feet (12 meters) tall.
Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicamassus
Date of construction
351 B.C.
Cause & date of destruction
Damaged by earthquake and eventually disassembled by European Crusaders, 1494 A.D.
Builder
Persians, Greeks
Notable features
Stood approximately 45 meters (135 feet) tall with each of the four sides adorned with sculptural reliefs. Origin of the word mausoleum.
Colossus of Rhodes
Date of construction
292-280 B.C.
Cause & date of destruction
Earthquake, 224 B.C.
Builder
Hellenistic Greece
Notable features
A giant statue of the Greek god Helios roughly 3/4ths as large as today's Statue of Liberty in New York.
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Date of construction
3rd Century B.C.
Cause & date of destruction
Earthquake, 1303-1408 A.D.
Builder
Hellenistic Egypt
Notable features
Between 115 and 135 meters (383 - 440 ft) tall it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries.
