The Seven Wonders of the World

A list of the Seven Wonders was compiled some time during the Middle Ages. The list comprised the seven most impressive monuments of the Ancient World. These wonders inspired the compilation of many other lists of seven attractions, or “wonders,” by later generations.
Included on the best known list were:

The Great Pyramid of Khufu. This is the oldest of the wonders and the only one substantially in existence today. It was built by the Egyptian Pharaoh, Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. These were a series of landscaped rooftop terraces situated on the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq. The Babylonian kingdom flourished under the rule of the famous King, Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). It was not until the reign of Naboplashar (625-605 BC) of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty that the Mesopotamian civilization reached its ultimate glory. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens. It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or concubine who had been "brought up in Media and had a passion for mountain surroundings".

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia (a large gold-and-ivory figure of the god on his throne by Phidias),

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (a temple, built in 356 BC, famous for its imposing size and the works of art that adorned it),

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus,

The Colossus of Rhodes, and

The Pharos of Alexandria (a lighthouse built c. 280 BC on the island of Pharos off Alexandria, said to have been more than 350 ft, or 110 m, high).