Seven Wonders of the World

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 'Seven Wonders of the World' (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a widely-known list of seven remarkable manmade constructions of classical antiquity. It was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. Later lists include those for the Medieval World and the Modern World.

[edit] The Original Seven Wonders

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

A later list, under various titles like De septem orbis spactaculis and traditionally misattributed to the engineer Philo of Byzantium, may date as late as the fifth century AD, though the author writes as if the Colossus of Rhodes were still standing.

These are given in the table below:

The Greek category was not "Wonders" but "theamata", which translates closer to "must-sees". The list that we know today was compiled in the Middle Ages—by which time many of the sites were no longer in existence. Since the list came mostly from ancient Greek writings, only sites that would have been known and visited by the ancient Greeks were included. Even as early as 1600 BC, tourist graffiti was scrawled on monuments in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings.

Antipater's original list replaced the Lighthouse of Alexandria with the Ishtar Gate. It was not until the 6th century AD that the list above was used. Of these wonders, the only one that has survived to the present day is the Great Pyramid of Giza. The existence of the Hanging Gardens has not been definitively proven. Records show that the other five wonders were destroyed by natural disasters. The Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus were destroyed by fire, while the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Colossus, and Mausoleum of Maussollos were destroyed by earthquakes. There are sculptures from the Mausoleum of Maussollos and the Temple of Artemis in the British Museum in London.

[edit] Seven Wonders lists about the Middle Ages

Seven Wonders lists about the Middle Ages are existing historical lists for which there is no unanimity of opinion about origin, content or name.^[1] These historical lists go by names such as "Wonders of the Middle Ages" (implying no specific limitation to seven), "Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages", "Medieval Mind" and "Architectural Wonders of the Middle Ages". The lists are more properly seen as a continuing type or genre in the Seven Wonders tradition than a specific list.

It is unlikely the lists originated in the Middle Ages. Brewet's calls them "later list[s]"^[2] suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages. This is supported because the word medieval was not even invented until the Enlightenment-era, and the concept of a "Middle Age" did not become popular until the 16th century. Further, the Romanticism movement glorified all things related to the Middle Ages, or more specifically anything pre-Enlightenment era, suggesting such lists would have found a popular audience in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Some items found on some of the lists are not technically from the Middle Ages (according to modern historical standards), but we know the lists were not created by modern medieval historians, so such standards did not apply.

Typically representative of the seven:^[1][3][4][2]

• Stonehenge
• Colosseum
• Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
• Great Wall of China
• Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
• Hagia Sophia
• Leaning Tower of Pisa

Other sites that have been mentioned include:

• Taj Mahal^[5]
• Cairo Citadel^[6]
• Ely Cathedral^[7]
• Cluny Abbey^[8]

[edit] Modern Wonders

In the tradition of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, many other lists of wonders have been proposed, including both human feats of engineering and wonders of Nature. However, these lists are rather informal, and there is no consensus on any particular list.

[edit] Modern wonders

The American Society of Civil Engineers compiled another list of wonders of the modern world:^[9]

[edit] Tourist travel wonders

Noted travel writer Howard Hillman has compiled lists of the top man-made^[10] and natural^[11] tourist travel wonders of the world:

[edit] Man-made travel wonders of the world

1. Great Pyramids of Giza
2. Great Wall of China
3. Taj Mahal
4. Machu Picchu
5. Bali
6. Angkor Wat
7. Forbidden City
8. Bagan Temples & Pagodas
9. Karnak Temple
10. Teotihuacán

[edit] Natural travel wonders of the world

1. Serengeti Migration
2. Galápagos Islands
3. Grand Canyon
4. Iguazu Falls
5. Amazon Rainforest
6. Ngorongoro Crater
7. Great Barrier Reef
8. Victoria Falls
9. Bora Bora
10. Cappadocia

[edit] Natural wonders

Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the world, as there has been debate over how large the list should be. One of the many lists was compiled by CNN:^[12]

• Grand Canyon
• Great Barrier Reef
• Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
• Mount Everest
• Polar Aurora
• Parícutin volcano
• Victoria Falls

[edit] Underwater wonders

This list of underwater wonders is of unknown origin but has been repeated sufficiently often to acquire a degree of notability:^{[13] [14]}

• Palau
• Belize Barrier Reef
• Great Barrier Reef
• Deep-Sea Vents
• Galapagos Islands
• Lake Baikal
• Northern Red Sea

[edit] New Seven Wonders

Main article: New Seven Wonders of the World

Two "New Seven Wonders" lists have been promoted since 2000.

In 2001 an initiative was started by Swiss corporation New Open World Corporation (NOWC) to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments for profit.^[15] Twenty-one finalists were announced January 1, 2006.^[16] Egypt was not happy with the fact that the only original wonder would have to compete with the likes of the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House, the Taj Mahal, and other landmarks; and called the project absurb. To solve this, Giza was named an honorary Candidate. ^[17]The results were announced on July 7, 2007^[18] and are:

In November 2006 the American national newspaper USA Today in conjunction with the American television show Good Morning America revealed a list of "New Seven Wonders" as chosen by six judges.^[19] The wonders were announced one per day over a week on Good Morning America. An eighth wonder was chosen on November 24 from viewer feedback.^[20]