The architectural wonders of the Ancient World are unique structures that are still interesting to many researchers. Although most of the monuments have not survived to this day, they are being studied, trying to learn and convey something new and unusual to modern man.
Semiramis Gardens
The legendary gardens of Semiramis were created in the 6th century. BC. Historians claim that this miracle has nothing to do with the queen, she lived 200 years earlier.
According to research, the gardens were ordered to be built by Nebuchadnezzar II for the daughter of the Medes king Amitis as a wedding gift.
The structure was a four-level building with fortified terraces. A layer of earth was laid on them and plants, including trees and shrubs, were planted. On each floor there were spacious rooms where the royal family lived.
Although the building itself was not unique, an interesting method of water supply was invented for it - water was pumped using a special mechanism from the Euphrates. This hard work was done by slaves, they turned a huge wheel and the stream flowed to the upper terraces, providing moisture to the plants.
Unfortunately, the miracle did not last long, it was destroyed by a severe flood. If the gardens had survived to our time, they could have been admired by visiting modern Iraq - there, presumably, the ruins of a building were found.
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Temple of Artemis
The ancient city of Ephesus, in which the temple of Artemis was located, was located on the territory of modern Turkey, in the province of Izmir.
This unique cult center was built in the 6th century of the last millennium. To become famous, the temple was burned by the Greek Herostratus, this was done at the time when the future commander Alexander the Great was born. He subsequently allocated funds to restore the center to its original form.
The width of the building is 52, height 18, length 105 meters, the roof was supported by 127 massive columns.
The temple was not only a religious building, but also a cultural, economic and business center, where all residents of the city gathered.
When pagan religions were banned, the temple of Artemis was destroyed and a church was erected in its place in the fifth century. But it didn’t last long either - it burned down during the fire.
During the excavations, only insignificant parts of the palace were found, only one whole column survived, testifying to the greatness of the temple.
Temple of Zeus
The main pagan Greek god was Zeus. In the V century dn. in Olympia, a temple was erected in his honor, and after a while a grandiose statue of Zeus was installed in it. Shocked Greeks saw this splendor in 435 BC.
The construction was entrusted to the Athenian architect and sculptor Phidias. The 17 meter high statue was made of ivory and mounted on a slab six meters wide and about one meter high.
For a greater impression, by order of the architect, a rectangular pool was dug, filled with water, and on top with a layer of olive oil. The result was a magnificent optical effect - the rays of the sun were reflected from the finished sculpture in such a way that it seemed to people that the light came from God himself.
The temple existed until the 5th century AD. Destroyed with the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire. The statue itself was transported to Constantinople, but it was not possible to save it - it was destroyed by a fire that happened in 425.
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
The ruins of the Halicarnassus mausoleum can be seen in the Turkish resort town of Bodrum.
The mausoleum was built in the 4th century BC by order of Mavsol and his wife, Queen Artemisia, who, like the Egyptian pharaohs, decided to erect tombs for themselves.
The construction of the mausoleum began during the ruler's lifetime, when he died (359), Queen Artemisia began to control the progress of the work. In 350, the building appeared in all its glory to the residents.
According to documents left by Pliny the Elder, the building was three-tiered. The basement is made of bricks and faced with marble. Above it is a temple with 36 columns, which supported a pyramidal roof, to which 24 steps led. Along the entire perimeter, there are statues depicting the heroes of the Greek epic.
At the top there is a sculpture of a king and a queen in a chariot drawn by 4 horses. The lower part of the mausoleum was intended for the installation of the tombs of the royal couple.
Surprisingly, the chariot, the figures of the king and kings are well preserved to this day - the artifacts are kept in one of the British museums.
Alexandrian lighthouse
The Alexandria lighthouse was built on the island of Foros in the 3rd century BC. In this place in the Mediterranean there was a bay of great importance for the passage of merchant ships, which made it necessary to install this structure.
At night, so that the ships did not stray from the correct course, they burned fires and the flame reflected by the mirrors was seen at a distance of 60 kilometers or more, in the daytime a column of smoke indicated the path.
The lighthouse was built by order of the then ruling Ptolemy II. The construction was supposed to take 20 years, but it took only 5 years thanks to the talent of the architect Sostratus of Knidos.
The Alexandria lighthouse consisted of several towers. In the lower, rectangular one, soldiers and workers lived, utility rooms were located.
The next one was octagonal, along a ramp that skirted this part of the building, they delivered fuel for fires. On the third, cylindrical shape, a system of mirrors was installed, reflecting the light of fires for many kilometers.
The height of the lighthouse is up to 140 meters. Above was a statue of Poseidon, the sea god. Travelers were surprised by the statues placed at the top of the structure: one of them always pointed to the Sun during the day. The second played the role of a weather vane, the third emitted a sound signal every hour.
The lighthouse stood for almost 1000 years until it was destroyed by a powerful earthquake in the 8th century.
The Colossus of Rhodes
The colossus was built in the Aegean Sea on the island of Rhodes in the year 280 of the last millennium.
After the collapse of the empire of Alexander the Great, King Demetrius attacked the island of Rhodes with an army of 40,000, and did not lift the siege from the port city for more than a year.
Then he suddenly left the city. Residents of the city decided to build a grandiose monument to the sun god Helios, who was considered the creator of the island, as a token of gratitude.
The monument was designed by Jerez, one of the outstanding sculptors of antiquity.
It took 12 years to build a 36 m high monument. It was made of clay and bronze, and a metal frame fastened the structure. Installed near the harbor and was visible from nearby islands. The building stood for only 65 years - an earthquake destroyed it.
It is not known exactly how the monument looked. There are rumors about the reconstruction of the masterpiece, but there is no exact information about this.
The Pyramid of Cheops
The only unique structure that has survived to this day is the Cheops pyramid. Therefore, scientists know a lot about her, but she still keeps mysteries. Scientists even doubt the age of the building - there are assumptions that it is not 4 thousand years old, as indicated in all textbooks, but more than 10 thousand.
She amazes with the accuracy of engineering calculations, which suggested that ancient people possessed knowledge in sciences. But at that time such laws were not yet discovered.
Many scientists believe that this is not just the resting place of the pharaohs, but scientific observatories, energy generators, beacons for aliens, etc.
There are many interesting and unusual things in our common history, but the wonders of the world will always amaze and amaze people.