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WONDERS OF THE WORLD DATABASE | |
Number of Cards | 28 |
Card Description | One
card each on 7 Wonders of the Ancient World; One card each on 7 Wonders
of the Mediterranean; One card each on 7 Wonders of the Early Eastern
World; One card each on 7 Wonders of the Early Western World |
WONDERS OF THE WORLD
An Introduction
The Greek historian Herodotus may have been the first to use the phrase "wonders of the world." Herodotus was born around 480 BC in the town of Halicarnassus, a Greek settlement on the Aegean Sea coast in what is now Turkey. Though travel was difficult in the 5th century BC, Herodotus managed to visit places all around the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. He used what he learned on his travels to write several volumes of history. In them he talked of the "wonders" he had seen. He was impressed by the great pyramid of Giza. He wrote about the walls of Babylon, though he made no mention of any "hanging gardens" in Babylon.
Other Greek historians and travelers who followed Herodotus talked about various wonders. Callimachus of Cyrene (305-240 BC), who was the Chief Librarian at the great Alexandria Mouseion (library and museum), wrote a book called A Collection of Wonders Around the World. This may have been the first list of seven wonders, but all we know about his book is the title. It was lost when the Alexandria library was destroyed.
In 120 BC the Greek poet Antipater of Sidon made a list of seven wonders. He included six of what we now call the "official" Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Instead of the Pharos at Alexandria, Antipater put the walls of Babylon on his list.
The list that is most often referred to as the "official" Seven Wonders of the Ancient World has been traced to some time in the Middle Ages. A Dutch artist named Maerten van Heemskerck (1498-1574) made engravings of the Seven Wonders. The list was also mentioned in Johann Fischer von Erlach’s History of Architecture.
The monuments included on the list were all amazing structures created by ancient civilizations. Few of them survived into the Middle Ages and only one, the Great Pyramid of Giza, is standing today. Yet even from the written accounts or from the ruins, the grandeur and magnificence of these architectural wonders is amazing to us.
The fact that the list is of seven wonders may be meaningless. Or it may be related to the importance of the number seven to people in Ancient Greece and Rome. Seven is considered the "perfect number" in some religions. There are seven days in a week; people refer to the seven seas; it is said there are seven gates to heaven.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were all located in countries close to the Mediterranean Sea: Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and Iraq. That was the known world to travelers and historians of Ancient Greece who first made the lists. In later centuries, people such as Van Heemskerck used Greek sources to make their lists.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are marvels of engineering created by people who had only the simplest of tools. All of these wonders were built without the help of any of our modern construction equipment. There were no computers to aid in the design of the structures. The workmen had no tractors or cranes to lift and move heavy construction materials. The builders had no power tools to assist them in the various stages of the project. Some of the wonders took hundreds of men working for hundreds of years in order to be completed.
Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, other people were creating monumental structures. In Europe, in Asia, in the Middle East, and in the Americas advanced civilizations accomplished amazing building projects. Even more important than the intended purpose of each individual wonder is their ability to inspire awe in those who see them.
We have followed the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World with several of our own lists of "seven": Seven Wonders of Early Europe and the Mediterranean, Seven Wonders of the Early Eastern World, and Seven Wonders of the Early Western World. All of these wonders are man-made architectural structures.
In many cases, the dates when a structure was created are estimates, for history has not recorded completely the origins of these early accomplishments. Many of the "wonders" were built over long periods of time, sometimes over several centuries. They were repaired, enlarged, and changed so that no one can say exactly when they were built.
For the same reasons, measurements of the buildings are often estimates, based on descriptions of what existed long ago.
Though they are outside the scope of this book, other lists of "seven wonders" have been compiled by various people and organizations. This is just a sampling of other lists.
Seven wonders of the natural world
1.
Angel Falls in Venezuela
2.
The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada
3.
The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA
4.
The Great Barrier
Reef in Australia
5.
Iguaçú Falls in Brazil/Argentina
6.
Krakatoa Island in Indonesia
7.
Mount Everest in Nepal
Seven current wonders of the world
(Compiled by the American Society
of Civil Engineers)
1.
Channel Tunnel between England and France
2.
CN Tower in Toronto, Canada
3.
Empire State Building in New York City
4.
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
5.
Itaipu Dam in Brazil
6.
North Sea Protection Works in the Netherlands
7.
Panama Canal in Central America
Seven wonders of the modern world
1.
Eiffel Tower in Paris
2.
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, USA
3.
The High Dam in Aswan, Egypt
4.
Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, USA
5.
The Statue of Cristo Redentor in Brazil
6.
The Statue of Liberty in New York City
7.
The Suez Canal in Egypt
Some organizations make lists of "seven wonders" that include sites in their state or country, to promote tourism to their region. Making a list of "seven wonders" has become a popular activity. The first list of "seven wonders" was what Antipater of Sidon thought was amazing. Anyone can follow his example and make his or her own list of "seven wonders."