1. Wonders of the World

2. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Pyramids at Giza (c BCE)
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (c. 600 BCE)
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (c. 550 BCE)
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia (c. 450 BCE)
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (c. 350 BCE)
The Colossus of Rhodes (c. 282 BCE)
The Lighthouse of Alexandria (c. 270 BCE)
The list of the seven wonders is often attributed to the Greek historian Herodotus, however other historians contributed. There were about 9 items that were found on about 5 different lists of Wonders of the World. Six of seven items were always listed, with the Walls of the City of Babylon and the Palace of Cyrus (king of Persia) also garnering votes for number seven, which eventually went to the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

3. Before Common Era
The expression B.C.E. is now generally used instead of B.C. and A.D.
The term B.C. stood for “before Christ.”
The term A.D. stood for “anno Domini.”
Since these terms make references to a religion with which others might be unfamiliar more generic terms were created: B.C.E. and C.E.
These stand for “Before Common Era” and “Common Era.”
This slide can be used to explain the term B.C.E. that was used in the last slide in case they are unfamiliar with it.
In the case that they have heard this term before this slide can be skipped.

4. The Great Pyramid at Giza
The Pyramids at Giza are the only of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that still exist. You can travel to Egypt to visit them!
Actually, the only pyramid to be included in the list of wonders was the Great Pyramid, known as the Pyramid of Cheops or the Pyramid of Khufu.
The Pyramid at Giza:
“The monument was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC to serve as a tomb when he dies. The tradition of pyramid building started in Ancient Egypt as a sophistication of the idea of a mastaba or "platform" covering the royal tomb. Later, several stacked mastabas were used.”

5. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon might have never existed. All of the historians who wrote about the gardens had never actually seen them, so their writings were pure speculation.
The gardens were supposedly built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife who missed the natural beauty of her homeland.
The Hanging Gardens employed a water pump system to water the terraced gardens off the Euphrates River.
Very little is known about the Hanging Gardens that can be considered fact, as the entire existence is speculation.

6. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Artemis was the Greek goddess of the wilderness, the hunt and fertility.
The temple erected at Ephesus was what we would now consider a museum, housing fine sculptures and artwork.
The Temple of Artemis was burnt down on July 21, 356 BCE, the same day Alexander the Great was born.
Ruins of the temple can still be seen in Ephesus.
The Temple of Artemis was burnt down by a man who wanted to forever “etch his name in history.” Ironically, it was burnt down on the same night that Alexander the Great was born, and later it was said that Artemis was too busy looking after the birth of the man who would reunite the empire to protect her own castle.

7. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Wanting to honor their god, Zeus, the Greeks devised the Olympic Games to bring the area together in celebration.
The Greeks also wanted to build a monument in honor of Zeus at Olympia where the Olympics were held, but they believed that a temple was not enough.
The sculptor Pheidias was selected to create a statue to the chief Greek god.
The statue was so large that it almost touched the ceiling of the temple. It stood 4 stories high at 13 meters.
Zeus’ robe and sandals were made of gold, and the remainder of the statue was made of other kinds of metals, ebony and ivory and inlaid with precious gems.
This work was called the greatest work of Greek statue, and quite appropriately so as it is of the chief Greek god in an act that rivals Michelangelo’s painting of the Sistine Chapel.

8. The Mausoleum at Halnicarnassus
Built as a tomb for King Maussollos, this monument is where we get the word “mausoleum.”
The Mausoleum stood for sixteen centuries until it was damaged by an earthquake and deconstructed by British knights during the Crusades to build a castle.
The castle still stands and the polished marble stones with the elaborate Greek frieze patterns can be found amongst the other stones used to build the castle.
Mausoleum is a vocabulary word in the India module. It is defined as a large stately tomb or a building housing a tomb. The Taj Mahal is another example of an elaborate mausoleum.

9. Colossus at Rhodes
The Colossus was erected to honor the Sun-god Helios. It was probably about 33m high.
The Colossus at Rhodes was the shortest-lived of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It stood at the entrance of a harbor on the island of Rhodes for only 56 years before toppling over due to an earthquake.
The statue was not rebuilt after an oracle advised against it.
About a thousand years later, Arabian invaders sold the broken portions of the statue to a private collector and transported the pieces out of Greece on the backs of 900 camels.
For height comparison, the Statue of Liberty stands 46.5m high from base to torch.
Originally, it was thought that the Colossus stood over the entryway to the harbor with its legs strattling either side of the port, but later historians logicked that this would be impossible because the amount of time that it would have taken to built that way and the amount of time that the port would have been blocked for the building and after the statue fell would be inconceivable.
Modern interpretations have the statue built off to the side by the port.

10. The Lighthouse at Alexandria
Standing 117m high, the Lighthouse at Alexandria was not only an elegant monument to Alexander the Great, but also the world’s first lighthouse.
Utilizing flames and mirrors, the lighthouse provided guidance to ships up to 35km away to the harbor off the island of Pharos.
Toppled by earthquakes, the lighthouse has remained hidden from nautical archeologists until recently when some artifacts believed to be from the lighthouse were discovered in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Lighthouse at Alexandria is our prototype for all lighthouses we see today. The Lighthouse at Alexandria on the Greek isle of Pharos was also said to be useful in defense. The mirror used during the day as a beacon for ships up to 35km away could also be used, it was fabled, to ignite enemy ships (using the magnifying glass-sun principle) before they were close enough to attack.

11. How Well Do You Know Your Wonders?
Take the Ancient Wonders Quiz to identify how well you know the Wonders of the Ancient World.
After learning about them, what trends do you notice? Are they all geographically related? Historically related?
Are there any wonders that you think are missing?

12. The Ancient Wonders
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were named by various Greek historians. The list we see today is a compilation of their lists, with the seven most-chosen.
The list was generated around 200 BCE before many of the monuments we consider wonders were even built.
The list is very ethno-centric—that is, since it was generated by Greek historians, much of the focus is on Greek culture.

13. Forgotten Wonders
Some of the forgotten wonders that have been included on modern lists:
Taj Mahal in India
Borobudur Temple in Indonesia
The Colosseum in Italy
The Great Wall of China
The Easter Island Statues
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
Machu Pichu in Peru
Stonehenge in Wales
Many more!!
Forgotten wonders are those that were around when the original list was made, or shortly thereafter that were not included.

14. Natural Wonders
Some people have generated lists of Natural Wonders of the World, which include:
Mount Fuji in Japan
Niagara Falls in US and Canada
Krakatoa Island
Mount Everest in Nepal
Angel Falls
Many other Natural Wonders exist throughout the world.
Natural Wonders can be included here if deemed necessary.
If planning to continue with the comparing/contrast activity, including the natural wonders might be confusing to the students when considering what makes their wonders different than the ancient wonders. It would probably not be a good idea to include natural wonders until after the compare-contrast activity unless you want the students to use natural wonders to compile their own lists.
Expansion on natural wonders, however, might be very beneficial to a geography class.

15. What Would You Change?
Can you think of things from more modern times that would belong on a list like the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World?
If you had to generate your own list, how would you choose seven items?
What criteria do you think something has to meet to be considered a “wonder?”
Have the students generate a list of their own seven wonders of the world. You might want to assign this as homework, or give the students access to the library, reference books or the internet so that they can properly research “wonders.”
If you so desire, you can generate your own “complete” list of possible wonders so that the students only have to choose seven and don’t have to come up with their own; however, this will limit the range of the choices and creativity of the students in generating their own lists.
It is important, however, that the students realize they’re choosing seven things that THEY feel are Wonders of the World and must be able to explain why they are thus.
After the students have generated their list, have them list the reasons why they chose it. This then will help them in generating their list of criteria for “wonders.”
You should compile a list of the class’ wonders so that they can all appreciate the different viewpoints and interesting wonders that their classmates discovered.

16. The Requirements to Wonder
What kinds of things did you come up with that make something a Wonder of the World?
Do they have to do with the wonder’s appearance? Its significance? Does the wonder have to be manmade?
Create two lists– the criteria that the Greeks used to decide the Wonders of the World and the criteria that you used to decide your Wonders of the World. Are they similar?
You can also do this in class either on the board or on the overhead. Either way, the students should be able to delineate why it is that something can be considered a wonder. If they’re having difficulty, have them compare a wonder, say the Wall of China, to something more mundane, like the fence around the school. When you ask how they differ, ask them if those things are what make them “wonders.”
As far as the criteria for the Greek historians that made something a world wonder, they might include, but are in no way limited to:
Religious significance—Artemis and Zeus were both gods in the Greek religion, as was Helios (Colossus statue built in his honor).
Cultural significance—aside from religious significance, the wonders were each important to their respective location’s culture or government/royalty.
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was built to house a dead king.
The Great Pyramid was built as a tomb for a pharaoh.
The Lighthouse at Alexandria was built to honor Alexander the Great.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built for a queen.
Stature—the size and grandeur of the monument or building obviously had a lot to do with the listing of wonders.
Beauty—the Hanging Gardens, the Colossus, the statue of Zeus, etc., were all marvels to see and highly touted for their splendor.
Another potentially fun class activity that you could do with the students would be to group the students in the class into groups, and have each group compile their list of wonders. You can then have the groups each take their turn presenting to the class why their wonders of the world should be selected as the class’ wonders (you’d need the groups to have some discrepancy here). After each group has presented, you can have the class vote on the wonders (with each student getting 7 votes) to determine what wonders your class wants. You can go from here, having the students use these wonders for the essay, or using these wonders as inspiration for further descriptive essays, etc.

17. Comparing and Contrasting
Using your lists of criteria and your new list of wonders, compare and contrast the two lists of wonders—ancient and yours.
How are they similar? How are they different? Why do you think this is?
Now, write an essay comparing and contrasting the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and your Wonders of the World.
Have the students compare and contrast the lists of wonders using points like their significance, their cultural background, their appearances… be creative.
For more information on writing compare-contrast essays see the PEER appendix entitled “Compar” under the English folder in the Appendix folder.