Little Blue Birdie's diary

Ancient wonders of the world

Dear Diary,

Did you know that the new Seven Wonders of the World were declared yesterday, July 7? So, I thought of writing on the ancient wonders of the world. We can talk about the new list later. The old wonders were all built between 3000 B.C. and 476 A.D. I have already visited and written about the Pyramid of Giza, the only remaining wonder from this list.

The historian Herodotus, and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305-240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria had prepared early lists of "seven wonders," but unfortunately, their writings have not survived, except as references.

The earliest version of a list of seven wonders was compiled by Antipater of Sidon, who described the structures in a poem around 140 BC. Today, I'll tell you about a few of these wonders. Wait for more in the future issues.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis had been the most beautiful structure on Earth. It had been built in 550 BC in honour of Artemis, the Greek goddess of hunting, nature, and fertility.

This temple had been situated in the ancient city of Ephesus near the modern town of Selcuk, about 50 km south of Izmir (Smyrna) in Turkey.

Although the foundation of the temple dates back to the seventh century BC, the structure that earned a spot in the list of Wonders was built around 550 BC. Referred to as the great marble temple, or Temple D, it was sponsored by the Lydian king Croesus and was designed by the Greek architect Chersiphron.

The Temple was decorated with bronze statues sculpted by the most skilled artists of their time. The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution.

On the night of July 21, 356 BC, a man named Herostratus burned the temple to the ground in an attempt to immortalise his name, which he did indeed. Alexander the Great was born the same night. The historians later wrote that the goddess was "too busy taking care of the birth of Alexander to send help to her threatened temple". The temple was eventually restored and is labelled "Temple E" by archaeologists.

But, again, due to some religious battles, it was destroyed. Attempts were recently made to rebuild the temple, but only a few columns have been re-erected. The foundation of the temple was rectangular in form, similar to most temples at the time. Unlike other sanctuaries, however, the building was made of marble, with a decorated cover-up overlooking a spacious courtyard.

Marble steps surrounding the building platform led to the high terrace which was 80 m (260 ft) by 130 m (430 ft) in plan. The columns were 20 m (60 ft) high with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides. There were 127 columns in total, aligned orthogonally (right angled) over the whole platform area, except for the central cellar or house of the goddess.

The temple housed many works of art, including four ancient bronze statues of Amazons sculpted by the finest artists at the time. The temple was said to be adorned with golden pillars and silver statuettes, and was decorated with paintings.

There is no evidence that a statue of the goddess herself was placed at the centre of the sanctuary, but there is no reason not to believe so. The early detailed descriptions of the temple helped archaeologists reconstruct the building.

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Hanging Gardens of Babylon

This was known to be located on the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq. It was said to be constructed in 600 B.C. and had been destructed after the first century B.C. in an earthquake.

Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC), of the Mesopotamian civilization, is credited with the building of the legendary Hanging Gardens. It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or partner, who had been brought up in Media and had a passion for mountain surroundings.

It wasn't until the twentieth century that some of the mysteries surrounding the Hanging Gardens were revealed. Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence before reaching final conclusions about the location of the Gardens, their irrigation system, and their true appearance.

Some recent researchers even suggest that the Hanging Gardens were built by Senaherib, not by Nebuchadnezzar II (ca. 100 years earlier).Detailed descriptions of the Gardens come from ancient Greek sources, including the writings of Strabo and Philo of Byzantium.

More recent archaeological excavations at the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq uncovered the foundation of the palace. Other findings include the Vaulted Building with thick walls and an irrigation well near the southern palace. A group of archaeologists surveyed the area of the southern palace and reconstructed the vaulted building as the Hanging Gardens.

However, the Greek historian Strabo had stated that the gardens were situated by the River Euphrates. Some argue that the site is too far from the Euphrates to support the theory since the Vaulted Building is several metres away.

They reconstructed the site of the palace and located the Gardens in the area stretching from the river to the palace. On the river banks, recently discovered massive walls (25 m thick) may have formed terraces... the ones described in Greek references.

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Statue of Zeus in Olympia

This is the statue of the god in whose honour the Ancient Olympic Games were held. It was located on the land that gave its very name to the Olympics, the ancient town of Olympia, on the west coast of modern Greece, about 150 km west of Athens.

This was constructed in 435 B.C. and was destructed in 5th-6th centuries A.D. from a fire. The magnificent temple of Zeus was designed by the architect Libon and was built around 450 BC.

Under the growing power of ancient Greece, the simple Doric-style temple seemed too dull, and modifications were needed. As a solution, a majestic statue had been built. In the second century BC, repairs were expertly made to the ageing statue.

The base of the statue was about 6.5 m (20 ft) wide and one metre (three feet) high. The height of the statue itself was 13 m (40 ft), equivalent to a modern four-storey building. The statue was so high that visitors described the throne more than Zeus' body and features.