The name of new architect is thought to be a man named Theodorus. His temple was 300 feet in length and 150 feet wide with and area four times the size of the temple before it. This clearly depicts it overall magnificence. It’s often affirmed that more than one hundred stone columns supported a massive roof, which was grand for the spectator’s eye. The new temple soon became the pride of Ephesus until 356 B.C. when a tragedy, by name of Herostratus, struck on the earth.
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Herostratus was a young Ephesian who would stop at no cost to have fame or just simply let his name go down in history. He managed this by burning the temple to the ground, which resulted in the total hatred, truculence and intolerance from the whole kingdom. The strictest penalty all over the Ephesus was sentenced to him; The appalled citizens of the city issued a decree that anyone who spoke of Herostratus would be put to death. But the story of the temple doesn’t end here. It was soon commissioned again.
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The new was Scopas of Paros, one of the most famous sculptors of his days. Besides, it’s worth to be mentioned that Ephesus was one of the prominent cities in Asia Minoor, thus no expense was spared in the construction. Well-known historians all over the world worshiped the construction and called it “wonderful monument of Grecian magnificence, and one that merits our genuine admiration.” The cause of astonishment was not only the temple itself but the four bronze statues of Amazon women.

According to Piny, construction took 120 years, though some experts suspect it may have only taken half that time. There even exists a story including the Alexander the Great, who came to Ephesus in 333 B.C when the temple was still under construction. He was willing his name to be carved on the temple, which was a matter of discussion among the fathers of the city, who didn’t want to cut and edge by denying Alexander’s request, but neither wishing to fulfill it. Thus, they found a way out by giving a tactful response: “It is not fitting that one god should build a temple for another god” and Alexander didn’t press the matter,”.

There is another story retelling how the goddess helped the architect to fix the wrongly incorporated stone beams, which were perched on top of the columns. The dream where the Artemis promised him to repair problem appeared to be true in the morning.

The city continued to prosper over the next few hundred years and was the destination for many pilgrims coming to view the temple. St. Paul a difficult time when he visited the city in 57 A.D. St. Paul came to the city to win converts to the new religion of Christianity. He was so successful that Demetrius feared the people would turn away from Artemis and he would lose his livelihood. He called others of his trade together with him and gave a rousing speech ending with “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” They then seized two of Paul’s companions and a near riot followed. Eventually the city was quieted, the men released, and Paul left for Macedonia. It was Paul’s Christianity that won out in the end, though.
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By the time the great Temple of Artemis was destroyed during a raid by the Goths in 262 A.D., both the city and the religion of Artemis were in decline. When the Roman Emperor Constantine rebuilt much of Ephesus a century later, he declined to restore the temple. He had become a Christian and had little interest in pagan temples.

Despite Constantine’s efforts, Ephesus declined in its importance as a crossroads of trade. The bay where ships docked disappeared as silt from the river filled it. In the end what was left of the city was miles from the sea, and many of the inhabitants left swampy lowland to live in the surrounding hills. Those that remained used the ruins of the temple as a source of building materials. However, the amazing Temple of Artemis quelled its name in the history as one of the ancient wonders of the world and this status is purely deserved for it.

The story of the Pharos itself started with the founding of the city of Alexandria by the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.. Alexander founded and called upon his name at least 17 cities named Alexandria at different locations in his vast domain. Time after time most of them disappeared, but Alexandria in Egypt thrived for many centuries and is prosperous even today.
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The city of Alexandria was built some twenty miles to the west of Nile Delta, in order to protect the harbor from the silt and mud carried from the river itself. Though, the city had two harbors inasmuch the Lake Mateoris was located in the south as well. Thus, the activities which were conducted from both sides of the city were the main source of its immense treasure and income.

After the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 B.C. , Photemy Soter ruled over the Egypt, who managed to be the successful legatee of former sovereign and made the city even more prosperous and famous for its wealth. Therefore, the harbor was busy as never, so Photemy clearly saw the need of a symbol, a sign which could give a guide to the trade ships. As a result, he authorized the building of the Pharos in 290 B.C., and when it was completed some twenty years later, it was the first lighthouse in the world and the tallest building in existence, with the exception of the Great Pyramid.

Besides its height which was amazing by that period, the sum of the expenses which were spent over the construction was said to have been 800 talents, an amount equal today to about three million dollars.

It is purely impressive how wonderful the construction technique, unbelievable extents, beauty of the creation was in Egypt that two of its buildings, the Pyramid of Giza, at the beginning of Egypt history and the second the lighthouse of Alexandria, built by one of the last pharaohs, Photemy I Soter, who couldn’t even witness the completion of the construction because of his death.
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Pharos Lighthouse stood on the eastern point of Pharos Island some distance from the city center of Alexandria. It was constructed at the beginning of the third century BC over a period of about twelve years and took an enormous cost and usage of considerable slave labor. As far as we mentioned Pharos Lighthouse was completed and inaugurated by the first Ptolemy’s son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, in 283. The festival he held that day, 279 BC was attributed to his parents. However, it didn’t maintain the original look, but it underwent a number of modifications by later rulers. The architect was Sostratos, a Greek from the Asia Minor city of Cnidus, whose name also appears on the sanctuary of Appolo at Delphi and on Delos. Though only the king’s name was allowed on buildings erected during their reigns in the period, Sostratos got around this by also carving his own with a dedication, which was then covered with plaster. The consecration in honor of Ptolemy was then carved into the plaster, which over time peeled away leaving only Sostratos dedication, which provides, “Sostratos of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, to the savior gods, for sailors. “

The lighthouse was apparently a tourist attraction from the very beginning. We are told that food was sold to visitors at the observation platform at the top of the first level. A smaller balcony provided a view from the top of the eight-sided tower for those that wanted to make the additional climb. The view from there must have been impressive as it was probably 300 feet above the sea. There were few places in the ancient world where a person could ascend a man-made tower to get such a perspective.

The writings indicated that the structure consisted of4 main sections. At the bottom was a platform filled with statues that are still being discovered by present-day divers off the coast of Alexandria. Some researchers believe that ships docked just off this platform as well.

On top of this platform stood a square structure measuring 18 m (60 ft) on each side and roughly 56 m (184 ft) tall. In the middle of this section is a shaft and stairwell used for transporting material and fuel up the Pharos Lighthouse, and for visitors as well.

The third section was an eight-sided structure measuring roughly 27 m (90 ft) high. It also contained a similar transportation shaft in the middle. On top of this was a circular tower that housed the fire (for use to alert ships during the night) and the great mirror (for use during the day). A statue of Poseidon stood on top this tower.

It is purely wonderful how the architects of the Pharos Lighthouse could impress event engineers of today’s skyscrapers. They show similarities in so many cases. The lighthouse is measured up to a modern 40-story building. The Greeks were so impressed with it that they included it as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
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The mirror of the Pharos Lighthouse appeared to be quite famous in ancient times. Many people believed that the mirror was so smooth and powerful that it could be used to reflect the sun’s rays onto invading ships and burn them.

Another belief was that the mirror was so strong it could be used to observe and spy on competing city-states across the Mediterranean Sea, more than 100 miles away. However, it is highly unlikely that either of these stories are true.

From historical evidence, it appears that the Pharos Lighthouse was also a touristattraction. Hundreds of visitors climbed the Lighthouse everyday to enjoy the fantastic view around Alexandria. Food vendors also sold their goods at the top of each section of the Pharos.

The lighthouse was built on the island of Pharos and soon the building itself acquired that name. The connection of the name with the function became so strong that the word “Pharos” became the root of the word “lighthouse” in the French, Italian, Spanish and Romanian languages.

The fact is that the lighthouse doesn’t exist any longer, but the history records confirm its subsistence. The question appears: how it’s possible that this huge building, being an eye of spectators disappear without leaving any ruins of itself. It’s believed that the lighthouse winded up in the Mediterranean. Most accounts indicate that it, like many other ancient buildings, was the victim of earthquakes. It stood for over 1,500 years, apparently surviving a tsunami that hit eastern Mediterranean in 365 AD with minor damage. After that, however, tremors might have been responsible for cracks that appeared in the structure at the end of the10th century and required a restoration that lowered the height of the building by about 70 feet. Then in 1303 A.D., a major earthquake shook the region that put the Pharos permanently out of business.

There is also an unlikely tale that part of the lighthouse was demolished through trickery. In 850 A.D. it is said that the Emperor of Constantinople, a rival port, devised a clever plot to get rid of the Pharos. He spread rumors that there was a fabulous treasure buried under the lighthouse. When the Caliph at Cairo, who controlled Alexandria at this time, heard these rumors, he ordered that the tower be pulled down to get at the treasure. It was only after the great mirror had been destroyed and the top two portions of the tower removed that the Caliph realized he’d been deceived. He tried to rebuild the tower, but couldn’t, so he turned it into a mosque instead.

As colorful as this story is there does not seem to be much truth in it. Visitors in 1115 A.D. reported the Pharos intact and still operating as a lighthouse.

Did the divers actually find the remains of Pharos in the bottom of the harbor? Some of the larger blocks of stone found certainly seem to have come from a huge building. Statues were located that may have stood at the base of the Pharos.

These lands were ruled by Hecatomnus, who came from Malaysia. He was a local satrap too Persians and therefore was well-known for his ambitious, arrogant character as he has concurred and took control over the several neighboring cities and districts. Through his lifetime he managed to extend his territory inasmuch that it included most of the Southwestern Asia Minor. After his death, his whole kingdom was transmitted to his only legitimate heir, Mausoleus, who together with his wife ruled over it during next 24 years. His wife was his own sister Artemisia, (It is worth to be mentioned that it was the custom in Caria for rulers to marry their own sisters). It was often said that Mausoleus was way too much descended from the local people, spoke Greek, and admired everything what was connected to Greece and Greek culture. Thus, he founded several Greek cities along the coast and encouraged their democratic traditions.

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In 353 B. C Mausoleus died and left his beloved wife with huge grief and sorrow. She couldn’t think of anything else rather than building something what would immortalize his name for centuries. Hence, she decided to build him the most splendid tomb in the known world.

Its stucturebecame so famous that Mausolus’s name is now associated with all grand tombs through our modern word mausoleum. The building was also so beautiful and unique it became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

According to Queen Artemisia’s decision the most talented artists of that time have to be found through all the Greece and she would spent a fortune that the tomb to be worth of gods. As a result her messengers brought Scopas, the man who was already famous for supervising the reconstruction of the Temple of Artemis. Other famed sculptors such asBryaxis, Leochares and Timotheusjoined him together with other craftsmen.

It is of common interest to describe how did the tomb look like. The tomb was erected on a hill overlooking the city. The whole structure sat in an enclosed courtyard. At the center of the courtyard was a stone platform on which the tomb itself sat. One could find a staircase there, flanked by stone lions, led to the top of this platform. Along the outer wall of this were many statues depicting gods and goddess. At each corner stone warriors, mounted on horseback, guarded the tomb. It is purely obvious how impressive these warriors could look like for the visitor’s eyes.

The tomb itself was located at the center of the platform. Made mostly of marble, the structure rose as a square, tapering block to about one-third of the Mausoleum’s 140 foot height. This was a section, which was covered with relief sculpture showing action scenes from Greek myth and history. One part showed the battle of the Centaurs with the Lapiths. Another depicted Greeks in combat with the Amazons, a race of warrior women.

On top of this section of the tomb thirty-six slim columns, nine per siderose for another third of the height. Standing in between each column was another statue. Behind the columns was a solid block that carried the weight of the tomb’s massive roof.

The roof had a genuinely unique shape. It comprised most of the final third of the height and was in the form of a stepped pyramid. On the top of the tom there was astonishing sculpture perched. It depicted four massive horses pulling a chariot in which images of Mausolus and Artemisia rode.

However, the tomb wasn’t finished yet. The major construction was built and right after that Artemisia found herself in crisis. Among the territories conquered by Mausolus, was Rhodes, an island in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Asia Minor. When the Rhodians heard about the death of the King Mausolus, they rebelled and sent a fleet of ships to capture the city of Halicarnassus. Knowing that the Rhodian fleet was on the way, Artemisa hid her own ships at a secret location at the east end of the city’s harbor. After troops from the Rhodian fleet disembarked to attack, Artemisia’s fleet made a surprise raid, captured the Rhodian fleet, and towed it out to sea. Afterwards she even put her soldiers on the invading ships and made them flee back to their land. Rebellion was quelled inasmuch that Rhodians couldn’t manage to defend the city and it was easily captured.

Hence, Artemisa lived for only next two years after the death of her husband. Both were meant to be buried in the yet unfinished tomb. However, according to the historian Pliny, the craftsmen decided to stay and finish the work after their employer died “considering that it was at once a memorial of their own fame and of the sculptor’s art.”
It’s still not clear how long the Mausoleum exactly existed. It overlooked the city of Halicarnassus for many centuries. It was untouched when the city fell to Alexander the Great in 334 B.C. and still undamaged after attacks by pirates in 62 and 58 B.C.. It stood above the city ruins for some 17 centuries. Then a series of earthquakes shattered the columns and sent the stone chariot crashing to the ground. By 1404 A.D. only the very base of the Mausoleum was still recognizable.

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Afterwards Crusaders had occupied the city from the thirteen century onward. In 1522 rumors of a Turkish invasion caused Crusaders to strengthen the castle at Halicarnassus, by the time known as Bodrum. Much of the remaining portions of the tomb was broken up and used within the castle walls. Indeed sections of polished marble from the tomb can still be seen there today.

The knights who have been wandering in the tomb, eventually entered the base of the monument and discovered the room containing a great coffin. They decided it was too late to open it that day, after returning the next morning to find the tomb, and any treasure it may have contained, discovered it was stolden. It just disappeared without any trace and the bodies of Mausolus and Artemisia were missing too. The Knights claimed that Moslem villagers were responsible for the theft, but it is more likely that some of the Crusaders themselves plundered the graves.

Before grounding much of the remaining sculpture of the Mausoleum into lime for plaster the Knights removed several of the best works and mounted them in the Bodrum castle. There they stayed for three centuries. At that time the British ambassador obtained several of the statutes from the castle, which now reside in the British Museum.

In 1846 the Museum sent the archaeologist Charles Thomas Newton to search for more remains of the Mausoleum. He had a difficult job. He didn’t know the exact location of the tomb and the cost of buying up all the small parcels of land in the area to look for it would have been astronomical. Instead Newton studied the accounts of ancient writers like Pliny to obtain the approximate size and location of the memorial, and then bought a plot of land in the most likely location. Newton then excavated the site he thought most likely to be the Mausoleum territory and found sections of the reliefs that decorated the wall of the building and portions of the stepped roof. Also a broken stone chariot wheel, some seven feet in diameter, from the sculpture on the roof was discovered. Finally, he found the statues of Mausolus and Artemisia that had stood at the pinnacle of the building.
Today these works of art stand in the Mausoleum Room at the British Museum. There the images of Mausolus and his queen forever watch over the few broken remains of the beautiful tomb she built for him. However, it will always stay in a full attention for historians and archeologists.

It’s worth to be mentioned that the Statue of Zeus is one and only creation from the other six worlds’ ancient wonders which was located on the Europe Continent.

Furthermore, it was considered to be the most famous artistic work in all of Greece and made profound and intense impressions of the viewer. The philosophers, ancient travelers, writers were certainly amazed when they witnessed the beauty of this statue. Philo of Byzantium, was one of those whose manuscripts about all of the wonders were kept till today, but when you glance through them the inspiration and ardor is felt while he touches the theme of the king of the Gods, Zeus.
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He wrote “Whereas we just wonder at the other six wonders, we kneel in front of this one in reverence, because the execution of the skill is as incredible as the image of Zeus is holy…” To the Greeks the statue of Olympian Zeus was the incarnate god, and not to have seen it at least once in one’s lifetime was considered a misfortune.

Olympic Games were the reason once every four years when all the wars, between the countries declared truce, conflicts were terminated in order to give safe passage to the athletes to travel from distant lands, including Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt and Sicily, to participate, compete and shrine the King of their gods, Zeus, in honor of which this most important festivals, the Olympic Games were organized. Olympics started in 776 B.C and it helped to unify the Greek city-states.

The spot where the competitions were actually held consisted of a stadium and a sacred grove, or Altis, where a number of temples were located. The worshiping to Zeus here was simple and ordinary in the early years, but as time went by and the games increased in importance, it became obvious that a new, larger temple, one worthy of the King of the gods, was needed. Thus, the construction on a new temple started between 470 and 460 B.C.,.

Thus the temple followed already well-maintained and often used design of large Grecian temples; it showed some similarities towards the Parthenon in Athens and the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. The outlook of the temple was like this: it was built on a raised, rectangular platform. Thirteen large columns supported the roof along the sides and six supported on each end. The temple was covered with gently-peaked roof, where the pediments depicted the twelve labors of Heracles.

Even though the temple was considered one of the best examples of the Doric design because of its style and the quality of the workmanship, it is not the one which was declared as the ancient wonders of the world. However, a statue of Zeus specially made for the interior, to make it more superficial, otherwise it was too simple and usual for worshiping the god of the gods. When some philosophers argue that statue didn’t fit the interior of the temple, even though it was quite big, others assume that the proportions were very effective in conveying the god’s size and power.

Sometimes it said that Zeus presided over the Olympic Games. As much as he was ruling over the gods from his exalted throne on the top Mount Olympus, Zeus was eligible to see everything, reward good conduct, punish evil, and govern all. Greeks thought that he was the bringer of thunder and lightning, rain, and winds, and his weapon was the thunderbolt. He was the protector of cities, the home, strangers and supplicants. This sublime feelings and attitudes towards Zeus conditioned that the sculptor chosen for this great task, man named Phidias sculptured the figure of Zeus as it nearly grazed the roof.

Talking about the person who was honored to do this great job, the best work of his life, Phidias was already quite experienced and well-known as he had already rendered a forty-foot high statue of the goddess Athena for the Parthenon in Athens and had done much on the exterior of that temple itself. After arriving on Olympia he set up the workshop to the west of the temple and it took 12 years to complete the project.

The seated statue of Zeus itself was about 43 feet (12 meters) tall, 22 feet (10 meters) wide. The technique by which the statue was constructed is known as chryselephantine, where gold-plated bronze and ivory sections were attached to the wooden flame. Withstanding the fact that the weather in Olympia was so humid, the statue required the essential care. It’s said that Phidias held the responsibility for this maintenance for centuries. Thoughtful and creative Phidias invented the method of treating it with olive oil, which also served as reflecting pool and gave the effect of illuminating the statue. The figure’s skin itself was composed of ivory and the beard, hair and robe of gold. Perhaps even more impressive than the statue it was the throne made out of gold, ebony, ivory and inlaid with precious stones.

In his right hand the statue held the figure of crowned Nike, the goddess of victory, also chryselephantine and in its left was a scepter with an eagle perched on the top. Carved into the chair were figures of Greek gods and mystical animals, including the half man/half lion sphinx.

The date of the statue, the third quarter of the 5th century BC, long a subject of debate, was confirmed archaeologically by the rediscovery and excavation of Phidias’ workshop.

The sculptor of this world-famous statue after returning to his home-city was accused of stealing the gold meant for the statue of the goddess Athena and ended up his life in jail. However his masterpiece continued to live and astonish visitor’s eyes until it was damaged in an earthquake in 170 B.C. and then repaired. However, much of its majesty was probably lost after Emperor Constantine decreed that gold be stripped from all pagan shrines after he converted to Christianity in the early fourth century A.D.. Then in 392 A.D. the Olympics were abolished by Emperor Theodosius I of Rome, a Christian who saw the games as a pagan rite. After that according to the Byzantine historian Georgios Kedrenos, the statue was moved by a wealthy Greek named Lausus to the city of Constantinople where it became part of his private collection of classical art. It is believed that the remains of the statue were destroyed by a fire that swept the city in 475 A.D.. However, other sources say the statue was still at the Olympic Temple when it burned down in 425 A.D..
The greatest discovery around this sculpture came in 1954–1958 with the excavation of the workshop at Olympia where Phidias created the statue. Tools, terracotta moulds and a cup were found at the site. The Cup extensively showed the inscribed “I belong to Phidias” note and furthermore that was a place where the traveler Pausanias said the Zeus was constructed. This has enabled archaeologists to re-create the techniques used to make the great work and confirm its date.

Of course the copies of the statue were made, but none of them survive, though pictures found on coins give researchers clues about its appearance.

Thus, one thing is true, the statue of Zeus, during the centuries was such an impressive, exciting and powerful image of god that, “If a man, with a heavy heart from grief and sorrow in life, will stand in front of the statue, he will forget all these.”

It is said to be built under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled the city for 43 years starting in 605 BC. However, there is an alternative story claiming that the hanging gardens were constructed by Assyrian Queen Semiramis during her five year reign starting in 810 BC, which is less reliable according to the historical sources. Thus, they are sometimes called the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis.

The hanging gardens were built in the city-state of Babylon. The ancient ruins of this famous city lie about 50 miles to the south-west of Bagdad, in Iraq.The current location is Al Hillah, Babil.

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Most of the scholars state that King Nebuchadnezzar II dedicated hanging gardens of Babylon to his precious and marvelous wife Amytis, of Media. Amytis was a daughter of King Medes and the marriage between those two was perceived to be the strong alliance among their nations. It is worth to be mentioned that King Nebuchadnezzar was prominent sovereign, who had conquered and controlled virtually most of the known world. Thus, the land Amytis came from was nothing compared to the flat, sun-baked terrain of Mesopotamia. Ametis missed of the mountains and greenery of her homeland and accordingly, surrounding dust and sand she found extremely depressing.

Ancient Greek historian Herodotus (450 B.C) describes the city of Babylon as a “wonder of traveler’s eye”. “In addition to its size Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world.” – added he later.

There are a lot of rumors spreading about the size of the hanging gardens

Herodotus claimed that outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. He assumed that the outer walls were wide enough, to allow a four-horse chariot to turn. The inner walls were “not as thick as the first, but hardly less strong.” Inside the walls anyone could see fortresses and temples containing immense statues of solid gold. Rising above the city was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk that seemed to reach to the heavens. All above-mentioned asserts that Babylon has owned tremendous wealth and recognition. However, archaeological examination has disputed some of Herodotus’s narratives; it’s obvious that the hanging gardens have astonished and dazed thousands of spectators.

The term “hanging” caused a lot of disputes among the archeologists and historians. It is apparent that the term exaggerates what has been in reality. It did not really   “hang” in the meaning of being suspended from cables or ropes. The name comes from an inexact translation of the Greek word kremastos or the Latin word pensilis, which mean not just “hanging”, but “overhanging” as in the case of a terrace or balcony. That is exactly how the huge variety of the plants from all over the world were planted alongside each other and managed to survive no matter the huge climate change moving from their homelands to the sandy soil.

The Greek geographer Strabo, who described the gardens in first century BC, wrote, “It consists of vaulted terraces raised one above another, and resting upon cube-shaped pillars. These are hollow and filled with earth to allow trees of the largest size to be planted. The pillars, the vaults, and terraces are constructed of baked brick and asphalt.”

Strabo also touched very interesting point concerning to the hanging gardens-irritation procedure. Probably that was the most amazing part of the garden. As much as Babylon rarely received rain, it was vital to irrigate the garden; otherwise it wouldn’t survive.  That meant to have concrete measures to lift the water far into the air so it could flow down through the terraces, water the plants, so that it reached each level. The water was supposed to be taken from Euphrates River. However it was an immense task without any of the modern engines to pump up the water that high in the fifth century B.C.. The decision has been made and one of the solutions the designers of the garden might have reached is “chain pump.”

A chain pump was meant to be constructed with two large wheels, one above the other, connected by a chain. The buckets were hanging on the chain. Below the bottom wheel should have been a pool with the water source from the Euphrates. As the wheel started to turn around, the buckets dip into the pool and picked up the water. The chain then lifted them to the upper wheel, where the buckets were tipped and dumped into an upper pool. The chain then carried the empty buckets back down to be refilled. However, historians think that screw pump could have been the alternative way of lifting water while irrigation, which is considered very effective source by that time. Although this theory has it’s defects as much as screw pump was invented around 250 B.C , which is 300 year later than hanging gardens of Babylonshould have been created.

Talking about the hanging gardens of Babylon, there have been a lot of disputes if it actually existed at all or not.  Even though Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Herodotus and other scholars have mentioned about it in their descriptions, archeological excavations have put this topic under question-mark. First was German archaeologist Robert Koldewey, who melted an ice and started to pay scientists interest towards muddy debris of the ancient city Babylon.

Though interesting thing about this location was that unlike others, it was clearly defined, nothing visible remained of its architecture. Koldewey unearthed many of the features of the city while having archeological excavations for around 14 years. As a result he clarified details including the outer walls, inner walls, foundation of the Tower of Babel, Nebuchadnezzar’s palaces, ect.

The foundations that Koldewey discovered measured some 100 by 150 feet. This was smaller than the measurements described by ancient historians, but still impressive.

Even though Koldewey was convinced he had found the gardens, some scientists still considered its location was far beyond to get the necessary amount of water needed for irritation.

Overall, the reality is that, nowadays none of the proofs have been kept to state that hanging gardens of Babylon truly existed. It’s often stated that they destroyed during the earthquake in second century B.C. Thus, it’s still an open question if hanging gardens of Babylon were legend in the ancient Greek historians’ minds or truth, devastated by the geographical changes.

1. There are two equally credible theories about who build the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, they are assumed to be the work either of semilegendary Queen Sammu-ramat (Greek Semiramis), the Assyrian queen who reigned from 810 to 783 BC, or of King Nebuchadrezzar II, the king of the Babylonian Empire, who reigned c. 605 BC – 562 BC. Though there are no compelling arguments about the credibility of any of the assumptions, the hanging Gardens of Babylon are often called the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis.
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2. A few words about the first possible builder, Semiramis:Through the centuries the legend of Semiramis attracted not only the attention of Greek historians, but she also was the muse of novelists, poets and other storytellers. Great warrior queens in history have been called the Semiramis of their times. A  “gossip” around her name would have made a beautiful yellow press headline – “Semiramis is said to have had a long string of one-night-stands with handsome soldiers”. Another “rumor” may become an inspiration for horror film makers – they say that she had each lover killed after a night of passion, so that her power would not be threatened by a man who presumed on their relationship.

3. As for the other supposed builder – King Nebuchadrezzar II (reigned c. 605– c.561 BC), it is said that he built the legendary gardens to console his wife Amytis of Media, because she was homesick for the mountains and greenery of her homeland. Nebuchadnezzar II is most widely known through his portrayal in the Bible, according to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and sent the Jews into exile.

4. The gardens, presumed to have been located on or near the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 31 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq. A more recent theory proposes that the gardens were actually constructed in the city of Nineveh, on the bank of the river Tigris. It is possible that  Through the ages, the location of the Hanging Gardens may have been confused with gardens that existed at the city of Nineveh, since tablets from the place clearly show gardens.

5. The gardens were about 75 feet (22 meters) high. The image of the gardens is impressive not only for its blossoming flowers, ripe fruit, gushing waterfalls, terraces lush with rich foliage, and exotic creatures, but also for the engineering feat of supplying the massive, raised gardens with soil and water. German architect and archaeologist Robert Koldewey who is known for revealing the semilegendary Babylon as a geographic and historical reality, discovered huge vaults and arches at the site. He also uncovered an ancient hydraulic system like a pump drawing water from the river.

6. The hanging gardens didn’t actually hang… The name “hanging” comes from the Greek word “kremastos” or the Latin word “pensilis”, which mean more “overhanging” than just “hanging” as in the case of a terrace or balcony. The gardens were probably developed on a structure like a ziggurat and built in the form of elevated terraces, so that the gardens were at different levels which grew around and on top of a building.

7. Here is a puzzle: In Herodotus’ description of the city of Babylon (Histories, Book I, sections 178-184), where he claims to have been to Babylon himself, he fails to mention the gardens, this is usually taken as proof that they did not exist. But a Dutch historian Jona Lendering thinks that Herodotus’ description of Babylon is so extraordinary that he even  characterises it as “nonsensical”. The 18th-century Historian, Edward Gibbon goes even further and accuses Herodotus of never having set foot in Babylon at all. Despite these considerations, if you try to sketch out the city plan as herodotus describes it, you’ll see that it’s pretty accurate in relation to archaeological maps… so how come that he never mentions the Gardens?

image source: www.bible-history.com

8. Another proof of the consideration that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon never actually existed are many thousands of clay tablets from that period in Babylon. Stone tablets from Nebuchadnezzar’s reign give detailed descriptions of the city of Babylonia, its walls, and the palace, but do not refer to the Hanging Gardens. Some historians claim that the warriors in the army of Alexander the Great were amazed at the immense prosperity of the thriving city of Babylon and tended to exaggerate their experiences greatly. When the soldiers returned to their stark homeland, they had incredible stories to relate about the remarkable gardens, palm trees, and imposing buildings of rich and fertile Mesopotamia.

image source: www.jayneshatzpottery.com

9. In ancient writings the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were first described by Berossus, a Chaldaean (a dynasty in Babylonian history) priest who lived in the late 4th century B.C. In his book Babyloniaca, written around 280 B.C.  The book is lost, but it was summarized by Alexander Polyhistor in C1 BC in a treatise of 42 books on world history and geography which is also lost. That treatise, however, was used by Josephus (37–100 AD), who discussed the gardens twice – once in Jewish Antiquities, and once in Contra Apionem (Against Apion, or Against the Greeks).

10. Ancient Greek historians, Strabo, Philo and Diodorus  gave us these description of the hanging gardens of Babylon:

• “The Garden is quadrangular, and each side is four plethra long. It consists of arched vaults which are located on checkered cube-like foundations.. The ascent of the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway…” (Strabo)
• “The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns… Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels… These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches… This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is suspended above the heads of the spectators.” (Philo)
• “The approach to the Garden sloped like a hillside and the several parts of the structure rose from one another tier on tier. On all this, the earth had been piled…and was thickly planted with trees of every kind that, by their great size and other charm, gave pleasure to the beholder. The water machines [raised] the water in great abundance from the river, although no one outside could see it.” (Diodorus)

11. Recent archaeological digs at Babylon have unearthed a major palace, a vaulted building with thick walls (perhaps the one mentioned by Greek historians), and an irrigation well in proximity to the palace. Although an archaeological team surveyed the palace site and presented a reconstruction of the vaulted building as being the actual Hanging Gardens, accounts by Strabo place the Hanging Gardens at another location, nearer the Euphrates River. Other archaeologists insist that since the vaulted building is thousands of feet from the Euphrates, it is too distant to support the original claims even if Strabo happened to be wrong about the location. The latter team reconstructed the site of the palace, placing the Hanging Gardens in a zone running from the river to the palace. Interestingly, on the banks of the Euphrates, a newly discovered, immense, 82-foot thick wall may have been stepped to form terraces like those mentioned by the ancient Greek sources.

image source: Raymond Kleboe/Picture Post/Getty Images

12. Archaeologists and historians believe that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were not destroyed by an earthquake but by other minor disasters such as: erosion and warfare. The huge construction probably started falling apart under the influence of the weather. Armies and other raiders could have been for its eventual destruction and disappearance. After about 600 or 700 years, the whole structure had been levelled to the ground.

1. Let’s start with a little funny paradox, did you know that the owner of the largest pyramid of Giza is also known for having the smallest Egyptian royal sculpture ever discovered? The ivory statue of paraoh Khufu (AKA Cheops) found at Abydos is 7.5 cm (3 inch) high.

2. But you wouldn’t call Khufu a small guy in real life, in fact he is known as a big and cruel leader. As described by Herodotus: “Cheops moreover came, they said, to such a pitch of wickedness, that being in want of money he caused his own daughter to sit in the stews, and ordered her to obtain from those who came a certain amount of money (how much it was they did not tell me):[ADS]and she not only obtained the sum appointed by her father, but also she formed a design for herself privately to leave behind her a memorial, and she requested each man who came in to give her one stone upon her building: and of these stones, they told me, the pyramid was built which stands in front of the great pyramid in the middle of the three, each side being one hundred and fifty feet in length.”

3. Here are some significant figures: Khufu was 20 when he came to the throne and at once began building his “Stairway to Heaven”. Khufu was the first pharaoh who build a pyramid at Giza. The entire project took about 23 years to complete, 2,300,000 building blocks, weighing an average of 2.5 tons each (Although some weigh as much as 16 tons) were used to build the great pyramid. The length of each side of the pyramid at the base is 755 feet (230.4 m). They rise at an angle of 51 52′ to a height, originally, of 481 feet (147 m) but nowadays 451 feet (138 m).

4. Some believe that Khufu’s pyramid at Giza was built by slaves, but modern Egyptologists accept that it was built by many tens of thousands of skilled workers rather than slaves. It is known that Khufu’s nephew Hemiunu was appointed head of construction for the Great Pyramid and that Khufu provided good food and clothing for his workers. According to Herodotus: “On the pyramid it is declared in Egyptian writing how much was spent on radishes and onions and leeks for the workmen, and if I rightly remember that which the interpreter said in reading to me this inscription, a sum of one thousand six hundred talents of silver was spent…” In the video below, you’ll find interesting information about the pyramid builders.

5. Experts have talked a lot about the methods by which stone blocks were raised into position, it is usually assumed that wooden and bronze levers were used to put the blocks into position. “This pyramid was made after the manner of steps which some called “rows” and others “bases”: and when they had first made it thus, they raised the remaining stones with machines made of short pieces of timber, raising them first from the ground to the first stage of the steps, and when the stone got up to this it was placed upon another machine standing on the first stage, and so from this it was drawn to the second upon another machine…” – describes Herodotus.

6. About 600 years ago, beautiful smooth blocks known as Casing Stones covered the entire exterior of the pyramid, encasing the whole structure, before the Arabs began to tear the stones off. The ancient writer, Strabo, said: “It seemed like a building let down from heaven, untouched by human hands.”  It has been calculated that the original pyramid with its casing stones would act like gigantic mirrors and reflect light so powerful that it would be visible from the moon as a shining star on earth. At the present, only a few of these are left in position on each side at the base.  One of the largest remaining Casing stones is nearly 5 feet high by 8 feet at the bottom, and weighs about 14 tons.

7. There are three known chambers inside the Great Pyramid – King’s chamber, Queen’s chamber and unfinished chamber. A team of French Egyptologists (Gilles Dormion and Jean-Yves Verd’hurt) claims that an undiscovered room lies underneath the pyramid’s Queen’s Chamber and insists that it is the actual burial chamber for Khufu and not the one known as the King’s chamber. However, even those who believe that the King’s chamber was never put to use believe that Khufu may have been buried elsewhere rather than in another, hidden chamber. Well, there are still lots of mysteries concerning Khufu’s burial to be.. or never to be revealed.

8. One of the most mysterious parts of the Great Pyramid is the empty coffer in the King’s Chamber, it is made from a solid block of chocolate-colored granite and is even harder than the granite walls of the King’s Chamber. For thousands of years, researchers have wondered about its purpose. Ancient legend says that it came from Atlantis or even from America.  It was never inscribed or decorated. Also, since it is too large to pass through the low passages leading into the King’s Chamber, it is considered to be placed in the chamber before the chamber was closed and passages were sealed.

9. The interior temperature of the Pyramid is constant and equals the average temperature of the earth, 20 Degrees Celsius (68 Degrees Fahrenheit).

10. Another pleasant discovery in the Great Pyramid is a spectacular ancient cedar-wood boat, which was found sealed in a pit at the base of the Great pyramid. This boat was interred in pieces and has since been reassembled, restored and preserved in a climate controlled museum over the site of the original pit. The name “Djedefre”,  who was Khufu’s son and successor, is found on some of the slabs of stone that sealed the pit, indicating that probably the boat was put there by Khufu’s son.