Did you know…?
Only one of the Seven Wonders of the World still exists.
Lists of the Wonders of the World have been around for thousands of years. The most famous were made by the historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene in the third century BC, and contained seven items (the Greeks believed the number seven was the representation of perfection and plenty). Today, the only wonder from their lists that still exists is the Great Pyramid at Giza. The other wonders are:
Hanging Gardens of Babylon, built by King Nebuchadnezzar II on the banks of the Euphrates river. The gardens were destroyed by earthquakes in the second century BC.
Statue of Zeus, built by the sculptor Pheidias at Olympia. Legend has it that it was carried off to Constantinople, where it was destroyed in the great fire of Lauseion in AD 475.
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which was destroyed by flood in the seventh century BC.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, built for King Maussollos, Persian satrap of Caria. The Knights of St. John of Malta dismantled the mausoleum in 1494 and used the stones to fortify the Bodrum Castle.
Colossus of Rhodes, built by Chares of Lindos. The Colossus stood 107 feet tall and was the largest statue of the ancient world. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC, only 56 years after it was erected.
Lighthouse of Alexandria, built by the Ptolemies in the fourth century BC on the island of Pharos. The lighthouse was badly damaged by an earthquake in 956, then again in 1303 and 1323. In 1408 the remains of the lighthouse were taken by the Sultan of Egypt to build a fort.
Did you also know…?
- Places
- Giants once roamed the Earth.
- The country of Andorra fought World War 1 for 25 years.
- If it hadn’t been for the Marquis de Sade, The French Revolution might not have been won.
- Only one of the Seven Wonders of the World still exists.
- The British started a war over an ear.
- Bulgarians have deemed the chushkopek the most important invention of the twentieth century.
- Neanderthals were gum chewers.
- The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes.
- Marie Antoinette was misquoted.
- September 3, 1752, never happened.
- Ancient Romans believed onions, human hair, and fish could calm thunderbolts.
- Christianity was banned in Japan until 1854.