First 3 Wonders
Some things aren’t meant to be understood, rather appreciated in all their mind-boggling glory. Perhaps you’ve heard of the “Seven Wonders of the World” or at least heard an inebriated gentleman boldly proclaim he’s the eighth, however, few people actually know what the Seven Wonders actually are. Enjoy the journey across the ancient world as we piece together the puzzle.1. Great Pyramid of Giza – This is the only wonder the average person can name, and many would say it’s the most impressive, though that of course is a matter of opinion. While all the Egyptian Pyramids are certainly impressive, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three. Furthermore, it is the oldest of all the wonders is also remains largely intact. Perhaps what is so impressive about the Pyramid is its sheer size, composed of thousands of massive stones, still stumping researches as to how the ancient Egyptians could possibly get each stone into place. Architectural debate still rages on surrounding the subject, with no generally agreed upon conclusion nearly in place. 2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon – Only truly majestic sites can be so sublime that historians will debate their very existence. This threshold has been crossed by the Hanging Gardens,some saying they were merely a poetic creation of the mind, too complex to every construct in real life. For those who believe, the Hanging Gardens were commissioned by Babylonion King Nebuchadnezzer II in 600 BC, in an effort to please his homesick wife. The gardens were destroyed by an earthquake in 2000 B.C., so any description today can hardly do it justice, but here’s what Scriptores Rerum Alexandrii Magni has to say,”And then there were the Hanging Gardens. Paracleisos going up to the top is like climbing a mountain. Each terrace rises up from the last like the syrinx, the pipes of pan, which are made of several tubes of unequal length. This gives the appearance of a theater. It was flanked by perfectly constructed walls twenty-six feet thick. The galleries were roofed with stone balconies. Above these there was the first of a bed of reeds with a great quantity of bitumen, then a double layer of baked bricks set in gypsum, then over that a covering of lead so that moisture from the soil heaped above it would not seep through. The earth was deep enough to contain the roots of the many varieties of trees which fascinated the beholder with their great size and their beauty.” 3. Statue of Zeus at Olympia -The 43-foot tall Zeus, seated mind you, loomed large over Ancient Greece not only in mythology but in structure. Erected inside the Temple of Zeus, an impressive accomplishment in its own right, the statue was composed of an ivory and gold blend known as chryselephantine, sculpted by the Phidias in the year 432 BC, according to estimates. Homer’s Iliad served as Phidias’ muse, using Book One verses 528 through 530 to paint a mental picture. Though the original statue was destroyed by a fire sometime in the 5th or 6th century AD, archeologists uncovered Phidias’ original workshop in the 1950′s allowing great insights into the ancient sculpting process and has enabled modern researchers to recreate past techniques.