First, the concept of the seven wonders of the world:
The seven wonders of the world refer to the seven magnificent man-made landscapes of the known world in the eyes of ancient westerners. The first person to put forward the idea of the Seven Wonders of the World was Antipak, a traveler in the third century BC, and another idea was put forward by Philo, a Byzantine scientist in the second century BC.
Since most of the ancient miracles have been destroyed, later generations put forward the seven wonders of the world in the Middle Ages. In addition, American Lowell Thomas also put forward the seven natural wonders of the world. In 200 1 year, the "New Seven Wonders" Foundation (founded by Bernard Weber, a Frenchman, and founded in 200 1 year) launched the online election of the New Seven Wonders.
Second, about the seven ancient wonders of the world:
1, Pyramid of Giza
Construction time: about 2700-2500 BC
Construction site: near Giza near Cairo, Egypt.
Architectural features:
There are 80 pyramids in Egypt, the largest of which is the Pyramid of Giza, which was built around 2600 BC and all of them were artificially built. How did the ancient Egyptians carve stones and build tombs? The layout of the passages and rooms inside the mausoleum is like a maze. How the ancient Egyptians built it is still controversial. At first, the polished gray limestone blocks on the outside of the pyramid almost disappeared. What we are seeing now is the light yellow limestone below, revealing its internal structure. There is a tomb in the center of the pyramid, which can be entered through the tunnel. On the top of the tomb, several large stones weighing dozens of tons are stacked on top of each other. The completed pyramid was used as a tomb. Ancient Egyptians believed in immortality after death. At first, the tombs in the pyramids were filled with gold and various valuables.
Legend:
Before the third dynasty in ancient Egypt, both princes and ministers and ordinary people were buried in a rectangular tomb made of mud bricks, which the ancient Egyptians called "Mastaba". Later, a clever young man, Imhotep, invented a new architectural method when designing a mausoleum for the Egyptian Pharaoh Zuosai. He replaced mud bricks with square stones picked from the ground, constantly revised the design scheme of building a mausoleum, and finally built a six-story trapezoidal pyramid-this is the prototype of the pyramid we saw. It looks like the word "gold" in Chinese characters, so people in China write it as a "pyramid". The tower mausoleum designed by Imhotep is the first stone mausoleum in Egyptian history.
Historical origin:
The Great Pyramid along the Nile is a tomb built by the ancient Egyptian pharaohs themselves. It is said that there are nearly 100 pyramids in Egypt, most of which were built in the third to sixth dynasties of Egypt. Some pyramids with a history of more than 4,000 years are mainly distributed in the capital and the west bank of the Nile. The pyramids of Giza belong to King Kabra on the left and King Kuff on the right, and there is a sphinx nearby. The main building material is limestone, and part of it is huagangyan. The three largest and best-preserved pyramids were built by three emperors of the Fourth Dynasty, Khufu, Cabra and Menkoala, from 2600 BC to 2500 BC. Pyramid of khufu is146.6m high and 230.35m long at the bottom. The height of the Hafra Pyramid is143.5m, and the bottom is 215.25m.. The Menkoala Pyramid is 66.4m high and the bottom is108.04m long.
Among the three great pyramids, the largest is pyramid of khufu, and there is a sphinx in front of pyramid of khufu. Its ears are only 2 meters long and its claws are 15 meters. It is almost a solid boulder, consisting of more than 2 million boulders, each of which weighs 2.5 tons on average. Crowds of people dragged these big stones to the slope of the ground, and then piled them around the pyramid by scaffolding. Next to the pyramids, there are some small pyramids and rectangular desktop graves of royalty and nobility.
2. Statue of Zeus
Character brief introduction: Zeus is the god of Greek gods and the main god of Olympia. The statue of Zeus built for sacrifice is the largest indoor statue in the world, and the temple of Zeus where the statue of Zeus is located is the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Philo of Byzantium wrote about the Seven Wonders: "We are proud of the other six wonders, but we are afraid of the statue of Zeus."
Temple of Zeus:
The temple of Zeus was the religious center of ancient Greece. The temple is located in the center of a vast flat land on the Rizos River southeast of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and is in charge of Zeus, the god of ancient Greek gods. This place was full of hills in Huang Chengcheng, but in ancient Greece, it was surrounded by green valleys and cool streams, with elegant scenery and was the religious center at that time. In ancient Greece, this area was located outside the walls of Athens. In Hadrian's time, in order to expand the scale of Athens and expand the city walls, temples were incorporated into the city.
The construction of the temple began in 470 BC and was finally completed in the first 456 years. This is a Dominic-style building, designed by the architect Lieben from Elis, and the statue of Zeus was carved by the sculptor Pheidias.
The Temple of Zeus itself is a Dolique-style building, the surface of which is covered with gypsum limestone. The roof of the temple is made of marble and supported by 34 Corinthian columns, the height of which is17m, and the Paros in front of the temple is 4 1. 1 m107.75m.. Many statues on the herringbone eaves in the west of the temple are completely Athenian.
Statue of Zeus:
As for Zeus, the protagonist of the temple, the so-called "chryselephantine" technology was adopted, and the muscles carved from ivory and gold clothes were added to the wooden support. The throne is also gilded, inlaid with ebony, precious stones and glass, which took eight years to complete.
In the traveler Shanias Ba (Pausanias); In a book, there is a detailed description of the statue of Zeus, which records: "The main body of Zeus is made of wood, the exposed part of his body is covered with ivory, and his clothes are covered with gold. He wears a crown woven with olive branches on his head, a victory statue made of ivory and gold in his right hand, a scepter made of dazzling metals in his left hand, and a vulture resting at the top of the scepter. "
As for his throne, the head and back of the statue are engraved with statues of "Sanya" and "Three Seasons" (spring, summer and winter). The legs and feet are decorated with dancing goddess of victory, sphinx with head and other Greek gods. The bottom is 6.55 meters wide and the height is 1 meter. Except for the throne, this statue of God, which is only about 13 meters high, is equivalent to a four-story modern building, so that Zeus sitting on the throne almost put his head on the top of the temple.
Behind the statue hangs a sacred curtain looted by the temple in Jerusalem. Phidias planned the surrounding changes more accurately, including the light from the temple gate to the statue. In order to make the face of the statue more beautiful and bright, a huge and shallow black marble olive oil pool was built in front of the statue, and the light was reflected by olive oil. During standing, workers come to wipe ivory, which is called "phidias polisher". A visitor said, "I can tell you the size of the statue, but I can't describe its impression."
Idols have been worshipped by people for more than 900 years, but in the end, Christ ended everything. In 393 A.D., the Roman emperor Marius I resolutely issued an imperial edict to stop the competition, and the ancient Olympic Games also ended in this year. Then in 426 AD, the pagan temple was destroyed, so the statue of Zeus was destroyed, phidias's studio was changed into a church, and ancient Greece was destroyed. The inward inclined stone pillars of the temple collapsed in the earthquakes of 522 and 55 1 year, and the stones were demolished and transformed into fortresses against barbarian aggression. Fortunately, the statue had been transported to Constantinople (now Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey) before, and was kept in the palace by eunuch luisi for 60 years, but it was also destroyed in the city riots.
3. The Giant of Rhode Island
Roddy's giant
The Colossus of Rhode Island in Greece is the most mysterious of the Seven Wonders. This colossus was built at the entrance of Rhodes Harbor. It is a bronze statue of Helius, the Greek sun god, about 33 meters high. Because it was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC in just 56 years, archaeologists could not even determine its exact location and appearance.
Construction time: completed in 282 BC.
Construction site: Aegean Sea in Rhodes Port, Greece
Historical origin:
The colossus of Rhodes is located in the port of Rhodes, Greece, which leads to the Mediterranean Sea. Rhode Island in BC is an important commercial center, located at the junction of Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Port Rhodes was built in 408 BC. Historically, Rhode Island was ruled by many spheres of influence, including Mo Solas (whose tomb is also one of the Seven Wonders) and Alexander the Great. But after the death of Alexander the Great, the whole island was plunged into a long war. Macedonian aggressor Dmitry led 40,000 troops (more than the population of the whole island) to surround the port. After a hard war, Rhode Island defeated the invaders. To celebrate this victory, they decided to build a statue with bronze weapons abandoned by the enemy. This statue was built for 12 years, and it is about 33 meters high, which is similar to the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Legend has it that the statue stood in the harbor with its legs apart and boarded the ship only through the middle of its legs, which was very spectacular and interesting. This colossus is actually the Greek sun god and their patron saint Helius. It was designed by architect Charles. After 12 years of construction, the Colossus of Rhode Island was completed in 282 BC. The whole colossus is 33 meters high, made of marble and covered with bronze, and was later used as a lighthouse. Unfortunately, the Colossus of Rhode Island only existed as a miracle for 57 years. The great earthquake in 226 BC knocked down the colossus, and its fragile knee became the fatal wound of the colossus, and the colossus fell to the shore near the port of Mandela. In 654 AD, Rhode Island was invaded by Arabs, and the invaders even transported the remains to Syria, so the colossus disappeared completely. Since the remains of the colossus have been moved to other places, it is more difficult to investigate this spectacle.
4. Hanging Garden
Composition of Hanging Gardens
Of course, the hanging gardens in Babylon were not suspended in the air. The origin of this name is that people misinterpret the original Greek "kremastos" and Latin "pensilis" (which means "hanging" besides "protruding") as "hanging". Like the Colossus of Rhode Island, archaeologists have yet to find the remains of the Hanging Gardens.
Construction time: about 6th century BC.
Location: Babylon, east of the Euphrates River, about 50 miles south of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.
Historical origin:
It is generally believed that the Hanging Garden was built by King Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 BC) to comfort the homesick princess Amyitis, and it was modeled after her hometown in the mountains. It is said that slaves need to turn mechanical devices to draw a lot of water from the Euphrates River below to irrigate the flowers and plants in the hanging gardens.
Architectural features:
The most amazing thing about the hanging garden is the water supply system. Because there is not much rain in Babylon, and the ruins of the Hanging Gardens are far away from the Euphrates River, historical researchers believe that the Hanging Gardens should have many water conveyance facilities. According to literature, the king sent hundreds of slaves to push the axle every day, put the pump on the stone trough, and the stone trough supplied water to the garden. Another problem is maintenance, because ordinary buildings can't withstand the erosion of the river for many years without collapsing. Because there are not many stones in Mesopotamia, researchers think that the bricks used in hanging gardens are unusual. They are added with reeds, asphalt and gravel. Some documents even pointed out that a layer of lead was added to the stone to prevent the river from infiltrating into the foundation. After layers of protection, the top floor of the garden was paved with Shi Zhuan and lead plates, and finally all kinds of exotic flowers and grasses were planted, which looked spectacular from a distance.
5. Temple of Artemis
Artemis is the Greek word α ρ ε ι δ (Latin Artemis), the goddess of the moon and hunting in Greek mythology and the sister of Apollo, the sun god. Roman mythology called her Diana, Egyptians called her Bastiato, and Arabs called her Rath. In ancient Greece, the goddess themis was deeply worshipped, so she built the Temple of themis, one of the seven wonders.
Construction time: about 550 BC
Construction site: in the soul of freedom in ancient Greek cities, about 50 kilometers south of Izmir (Smyrna).
Architectural features;
Temple buildings are based on marble and covered with wooden roofs. The designers of the whole building are Qiao Xihong and his son. Its biggest feature is that there are two rows of columns at least 106, and each row is about 12 to 18 meters high. The base of the temple is about 60 times 120 meters.
Historical origin:
It was destroyed by a fire in 356 BC, and it was built after the original site caught fire again in 262 AD. The Temple of Al themis has been rebuilt seven times. The first themis Temple was designed by architects Samos, Qiao Xihong and his son Meta janus in 550 BC, supported by Ionian marble columns, and it was the first building built entirely of marble at that time. The ruins of Al themis Temple in the whole building are decorated with bronze, silver, gold and ivory reliefs of famous artists at that time, such as phidias, Cletus, keresey Ras and Vladmont. The statue of Al themis was placed on the U-shaped altar in the center for people to worship. Finally, because people who love free souls converted to Christianity, the temple was destroyed by St. John Christom in 40 1 year.
6. Mausoleum of King Mo Solas
The temple of Mao Solas's tomb in Halicarnassus is about 45 meters high, and the upper part of the pedestal is in the shape of a stepped pyramid. The statue of King Solas of the Kingdom of Caria may stand at the top. This mausoleum was destroyed in an earthquake in the third century.
Construction time: about 353 BC
Construction site: Southwest Turkey
Architectural features:
This huge white marble mausoleum was built for Mo Solas and his wife. The whole building was designed by two Greek designers, decorated with strange carving patterns, and the statue of Mo Solas was carved on the top. Fu Yijian's achievement is well known, but it was destroyed by a great earthquake in the early 3rd century. The British Museum in London still retains some remaining sculptures. Mao Solas's Tomb Temple is located in Halicarnassus. The ground floor building is rectangular, with an area of 40m by 30m and a height of 45m. The pier wall is 20m high, the column is12m high, the pyramid is 7m high, and the top carriage statue is 3m high. The building is surrounded by pier walls. The sculpture of Mausoleum Temple was made by four famous sculptors, Briasis, Leo Chales, Scopas and Timothy, each of whom was responsible for one side of the tomb temple.
Historical origin:
/kloc-At the beginning of the 5th century, Halicarnassus was occupied. In order to build a huge castle, the new ruler used some stones from the Mausoleum of Mo Solas as building materials in 1494. Many sculptures still survive and are kept in museums in London, England. Since the19th century, the Mo Solas Mausoleum has been excavated, providing a lot of information about the Mo Solas Mausoleum.
7. Alexandria lighthouse
Following the orders of Ptolemy (the first Ptolemy Pharaoh who ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great (King of Macedonia)), the Faros Lighthouse in Alexandria was built on an artificial island in 300 BC. Due to vague historical records, the estimated height is between115-150m (377-492ft), and it is made of shiny white limestone or marble.
Construction time: about 300 BC
Construction site: Faross Island near Alexandria.
Historical origin:
Shortly after the death of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy Soter, one of his subordinates, ruled Egypt and made Alexandria its capital. In view of the dangerous sea lanes near Alexandria, Ptolemy Soter ordered the architect soste Lars to cooperate with the Alexandria Library/Mouse to build the Alexandria Lighthouse, which was completed in 290 BC.
When the Alexander Lighthouse was completed, its height deserved to be the tallest building in the world at that time. His designer is Chattus of Sotheby's, a Greek architect. An Arab traveler wrote in his notes: "The lighthouse was built on three steps. At its top, a mirror reflects sunlight during the day and guides the ship with fire at night. " /kloc-for 0/500 years, the Alexandria lighthouse has been guiding sailors to the harbor in the dark. It is also the latest of the six wonders (except the pyramids of Giza in Egypt). /kloc-it was completely destroyed by the earthquake in the 0/4th century. After the collapse, the foundation was used as a fortress until Alexandria sank.
The Fallot Lighthouse is completely different from the other six wonders, because it has no religious color, and it is built purely for people's real life. The light of the Fallot lighthouse shines all over Alexandria at night, protecting the ships at sea. In addition, it was the tallest building in the world at that time.