The Hanging Gardens of Babylon Patatoukou Maria Tsoulfa Sophia Saroukou Anna-Maria Teacher in charge: Arsenikou Stamatia

The hanging gardens of Babylon are one of the 7 wonders of the world. Their actual location is disputed, but experts suggest that the gardens were not actually in Babylon, but 350 miles north in the city of Nineveh. The gardens were made out of an extraordinary structure which was 24 metres high. It was built around 600 BC and was destroyed by an earthquake in the 2nd century BC. But why were the gardens built? Legend tells us that in the ancient city of Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar married a new queen, Amytis, who was born in a land which was fertile and green. Unfortunately her new home, Babylon, wasn't like this, and the dry, arid terrain left her homesick and miserable. The king decided to relieve her depression by recreating her homeland and came up with an ambitious idea. He decided to build a multi level, man made mountain consisting of beautiful tree filled terraces, plants and flowers. He called his vision, " The Hanging Gardens of Babylon" which comes from the Greek word 'kremastos'.

The kings engineers were faced with difficulties from the beginning as Babylon had few stones which could be used for building. They had a lot of clay however, and this was mixed with straw and left to harden. Another problem they encountered was how to keep the gardens irrigated with water. The engineers decided to use the clay slabs and cover them with tiles followed by lead and soil and they hoped this would be enough to support the huge trees and plants.

Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough, he said, to allow two four-horse chariots to pass each other. The city also had inner walls which were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong." Inside these double walls were 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. While archaeological excavations have disputed some of Herodotus's claims (the outer walls seem to be only 10 miles long and not nearly as high) his narrative does give us a sense of how awesome the features of the city appeared to those ancients that visited it. Strangely, however, one of the city's most spectacular sites is not even mentioned by Herodotus: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Seven Quick Facts Location: City State of Babylon (Modern Iraq) Built: Around 600 BC Function: Royal Gardens Destroyed: Earthquake, 2nd Century BC Size: Height probably 80 ft. (24m) Made of: Mud brick waterproofed with lead. Other: Some archeologists suggest that the actual location was not in Babylon, but 350 miles to the north in the city of Nineveh.

If they did exist, what happened to the gardens? There is a report that they were destroyed by an earthquake in the second century B.C.. If so, the jumbled remains, mostly made of mud-brick, probably slowly eroded away with the infrequent rains.

The hanging gardens of Babylon.

A gift for the Queen.

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