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Sunday, February 5, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
The Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis
The
greatest temple of the ancient world, the Temple of Artemis once stood
as the most magnificent accomplishment of Greek civilization and
Hellenistic culture, built as a tribute to Artemis – the Greek goddess
of the hunt, mistress of Nature, protector of wild beasts and the sister
of Apollo. The Temple of Artemis was located in Ephesus (in modern-day
Turkey), which was to become the richest seaport in Asia Minor.
It once consisted of 127 marble columns each standing 20 meters (60
feet) tall. First built in the 6th century B.C., the temple was
destroyed by fire 200 years later and then rebuilt under the supervision
of Alexander the Great. The great temple was eventually destroyed
successively by invading Gothic hordes, earthquakes, and plunderers.
Today, only a solitary column remains of this once-glorious structure.
The Statue of Zeus
The Statue of Zeus
This
gold and bejeweled statue was commissioned in 438 B.C. by the Council
of Olympia in reverence for Zeus, the ruler and most powerful of the
Olympian gods. The great statue was the work of the Athenian sculptor
Phidias and was constructed inside the Parthenon, the great temple
overlooking the city.
According to Philo of Byzantium, this was the most inspiring of all
the seven wonders of the ancient world: ‘Whereas we greatly admire the
other six wonders, we kneel in front of this one in reverence…’. The
statue of Zeus was later destroyed along with its temple after an
earthquake in 170 B.C.
The Pyramids of Egypt
The Pyramids of Egypt
The
only surviving wonder of the ancient world, the Pyramids of Egypt
(Giza), were the phenomenal achievement of Egyptian construction and
engineering. Built between 2600 and 2500 B.C., the three pyramids at
Giza encompass more than 5 million limestone blocks which were
painstakingly transported via timber sleds and by being rolled over the
top of logs.
As cranes were as yet unheard of, each block had to be dragged via
ramps up to its designated place. According to Herodot, the largest of
the three pyramids, known as the Great Pyramid, (about 146 meters high)
took 20 years to complete and served as the tomb for the Egyptian
Pharoah Khufu. The pyramids represented the link between heaven and
earth and were a signal to Horus, God of the World.
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Built
between 370 and 351 B.C., this monumental tomb was dedicated to King
Mausolus of Caria by his grieving wife, Queen Artemisia, as a memorial
to their great love. According to Plinius the Mausoleum once stood 45
metres (135 feet) high and was surrounded by 36 columns, standing atop a
marble pedestal at the intersection of the two main streets of
Halicarnassus. The Mausoleum stood relatively intact until 1522 A.D.,
when it was ordered destroyed as an example of Pagan art.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Lighthouse of Alexandria
Built
to guide ships through the labyrinth of sandbars that created havoc for
merchants attempting to reach the port of Alexandria in Egypt, the
Lighthouse or Pharos of Alexandria was the only ancient wonder to have
served a practical purpose. Built between 299 and 79 B.C., the
lighthouse stood some 166 meters, or around 500 feet, above the city’s
western harbor and was financed by the Greek merchant Sostratus who
wanted to help ensure the safety of shipping traffic.
Polished bronze mirrors were specially devised to reflect sunlight
out to sea during daytime, and fires were lit at night to serve as a
beacon for lost ships at night. The tower stood relatively intact until a
series of earthquakes and gradual deterioration from natural elements
caused the structure to collapse and eventually be dismantled for its
stones.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
A
magnificent garden paradise said to have been built in 7th century B.C.
in the middle of the arid Mesopotamian desert, the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon were testimony to one man’s ability to, against all the laws of
nature, create a botanical oasis of beauty amid a bleak desert
landscape.
King Nebuchadnezzar created the gardens as a sign of esteem for his
wife Semiramis, who, legend has it, longed for the forests and roses of
her homeland. The gardens were terraced and surrounded by the city walls
with a moat to repel invading armies. There remains doubt, however,
amongst historians and archaeologists as to whether this lost paradise
ever existed, given that excavations at Babylon have left no definitive
trace of this mythical oasis.
The Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes
A
gigantic bronze statue that once stood 32 meters (110 feet) high on a
marble plinth, the Colossus of Rhodes was built by its citizens to
revere the Sun God Helios who supposedly helped Rhodes to ward off
Demetrius of Macedonia. Constructed by the engineer Chares of Lindos,
the Colossus of Rhodes was completed after ten years of meticulous work
so that the legs would sustain the enormous weight of the giant statue.
Unfortunately, in 227 B.C., an earthquake caused the Colossus to crack
at the knee and set it in motion so that it collapsed into pieces. Even
so, the statue was so admired that it was left lying in huge fragments
for over 900 years until its valuable parts were brought to Syria.
Christ Redeemer
Christ Redeemer (1931) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
This statue of Jesus stands some 38 meters tall, atop the
Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Designed by Brazilian
Heitor da Silva Costa and created by French sculptor Paul Landowski, it
is one of the world’s best-known monuments. The statue took five years
to construct and was inaugurated on October 12, 1931. It has become a
symbol of the city and of the warmth of the Brazilian people, who
receive visitors with open arms.
The Pyramid at Chichén Itzá
The Pyramid at Chichén Itzá (before 800 A.D.) Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Chichén Itzá, the most famous Mayan temple city, served as the
political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Its various
structures – the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall
of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners – can
still be seen today and are demonstrative of an extraordinary
commitment to architectural space and composition. The pyramid itself
was the last, and arguably the greatest, of all Mayan temples.
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