Wonders of the world: how many were and how many survived. A brief history of the seven ancient wonders of the world (8 photos) 7 wonders of the world that have survived

At the initiative of Bernard Weber, a project to renovate the seven ancient wonders of the world began with the help of the non-profit organization New Open World Corporation. More than 100 million people cast their votes through a poll, internet and telephone, after which the final list of the new seven wonders of the world was approved. The voting results were announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Petra in Jordan

200 km south of the Jordanian capital, deep in the sandy mountains near the valley of Wadi Musa (“Valley of Moses”), the ruins of ancient Petra are hidden. It is believed that the temples and palaces of Petra were carved into the rocks 2000 years before the birth of Christ by the ancient Arab nomadic tribe of the Nabataeans. The city was built for about 500 years and turned into a major trading center.

Petra was located at the crossroads of important trade routes between the Red and Mediterranean Seas. There are over 800 attractions in Petra. Temples and crypts, Roman colonnades and an amphitheater for 3000 seats, palaces of nobles, baths and canals - all this is carved out of stone.

Chichen Itza in Mexico

The ancient Mayan city - Chichen Itza, located in Mexico in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula. The name of the ancient city of Chichen Itza is translated as "The well of the Itza tribe." The city was founded in the 7th century AD. e. as the religious center of the Maya, and by the 10th century it was captured by the Toltecs, who came to the Yucatan from central Mexico, and by the 11th century it became the capital of the Toltec kingdom. In 1178, the Indian ruler Hunak Keel destroyed the Mayan sanctuary, turning it into a miserable heap of ruins. The city fell into decay and became depopulated.

Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil

The giant statue of Christ the Redeemer, crowning the 710-meter-high Corcovado mountain, has been rightfully considered a symbol of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil as a whole for 80 years. The statue of Christ with outstretched arms rises above the city of 10 million, as if blessing and embracing it. The statue reaches 38 meters in height and weighs 1145 tons. At the foot of the monument there is an observation deck, which offers amazing views of the sandy beaches, the huge bowl of the Maracana stadium, Guanabara Bay and Sugar Loaf Peak, similar in shape to a piece of sugar.

Roman Colosseum in Italy

The Colosseum - one of the most monumental monuments of the Roman era - is a symbol of Italy to the same extent as the Eiffel Tower for France or the Kremlin for Russia. The amphitheater was built in 8 years - the construction was started by Emperor Vespasian in 72 and completed in 80 by his son Titus. The walls of the Colosseum were erected from large blocks of travertine, fastened together with steel brackets with a total weight of about 300 tons. The opening of the Colosseum was marked by 100 days of entertainment events. During this time, several thousand warriors and 5 thousand predatory animals brought from Africa died in gladiatorial tournaments.

The great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a chain of defensive structures stretching across northern China from the Liaodong Gulf of the Yellow Sea to the sands of the Gobi Desert. The length of the Chinese wall in a straight line, from edge to edge, is 2450 km, and if we take into account all the bends and branches, then, according to various estimates, it turns out from 6000 to 8850 km. Construction, begun in 210 BC, continued with short interruptions until the end of the Ming dynasty, that is, until the 1640s. The average height of the wall reached 7.8 meters, and its width allowed five infantrymen to march in a row or five horse riders to gallop in a line.

Machu Picchu in Peru

The ruins of Machu Picchu - the "lost city of the Incas" - are hidden in the thickets of the jungle high in the Peruvian Andes and are surrounded on three sides by the stormy mountain river Urubamba. The city was built as a sanctuary in 1438 by the ninth ruler of the Inca Empire - Pachacutec Yupanqui. For more than 400 years, only legends circulated about the existence of the city, and only 100 years ago (1911), the Inca stronghold again “resurrected from oblivion” thanks to the American archaeologist Hiram Bingham. The city prospered, at an altitude of 3000 meters its inhabitants grew maize, potatoes and other vegetables. Right in the rocks, the Incas cut down terraces, covered them with earth from the Urubamba river valley and erected massive retaining walls that protected the beds from the sun, wind and sand drifts. Around 1532, the inhabitants of Machu Picchu left the city for unknown reasons, leaving beautiful architectural creations to their descendants.

Taj Mahal in India

Facts and legends are closely intertwined in the history of the white marble masterpiece, but most historians agree that the tomb was built in the 1630s. by order of the Mughal emperor - Shah Jahan in memory of the untimely deceased wife Mumtaz Mahal. Construction continued for 22 long years. More than 20,000 people participated in it, among them builders from all over the empire, craftsmen from

For centuries, people have compiled a variety of lists of the wonders of the world in order to single out from the total number the most outstanding creations of the architectural genius of man or the most amazing manifestations of natural perfection. Most often, such lists were limited to seven laureates, following the ancient Greek seven wonders of the world, but there are also more extended or narrow lists.

Seven Wonders of the World (or Seven Wonders of the World of the Ancient World) - a list of the most famous sights of the Oikoumene culture. Compiling a list of the most famous poets, philosophers, generals, great kings, as well as monuments of architecture and art, is a traditional "small" genre of Greek Hellenistic poetry and a kind of exercise in rhetoric. The choice of the number itself is consecrated by ancient ideas about its completeness, completeness and perfection, the number 7 was considered the sacred number of the god Apollo (Seven against Thebes, Seven Wise Men, etc.). Like collections of sayings of famous sages, collections of anecdotes, and tales of curiosity, writings on the Seven Wonders of the World were popular in antiquity and included descriptions of the grandest, most magnificent, or technically the most amazing buildings and monuments of art. That is why they were called miracles, while many genuine masterpieces of ancient architecture and art are missing from the list - the Acropolis in Athens with the creation of Phidias - the statue of Athena Parthenon, the famous statue of Aphrodite of Cnidus by Praxiteles, etc.

Mentions of the Seven Wonders appear in the writings of Greek authors, starting from the Hellenistic era. They should have been known already at school, scientists and poets wrote about them. In the text of one Egyptian papyrus, which was a kind of textbook, the names of famous legislators, painters, sculptors, architects, inventors, which are obligatory for memorization, are mentioned, then the largest islands, mountains and rivers, and, finally, the seven wonders of the world. The "selection" of miracles took place gradually, and one miracle replaced another.

Herodotus

The walls of Babylon were included in the list of seven wonders of the world, but later they were replaced by the Lighthouse of Alexandria

Samos Island today

Aqueduct

"I saw your walls, Babylon, on which it is spacious
And chariots; I saw Zeus at Olympia,
The Miracle of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Colossus of Helios
And the pyramids are the work of many hard labors;
I know Mausolus a huge tomb. But I just saw
I am the chamber of Artemis, who raised the roof to the clouds,
Everything else faded before him; outside of Olympus
The sun sees no beauty equal to it anywhere.

The description of Antipater follows the work of Philo of Alexandria (an orator of the 4th century AD or a famous mechanic of the 3rd century BC) “On the Seven Wonders”. Probably, after the construction of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, this miracle of engineering replaces the walls of Babylon in the list (Pliny the Elder mentions it as a wonder of the world in Natural History). In a number of works, instead of hanging gardens, the walls of Babylon reappeared, and the lighthouse on about. The Pharos was replaced by the Library of Alexandria; the list was also supplemented by the Pergamon altar of Zeus, the palace of Cyrus in Persepolis, the “singing” statues of Memnon near Egyptian Thebes and Thebes themselves, the temple of Zeus in Cyzicus, the statue of Asclepius in Epidaurus, Athena Parthenos by Phidias on the Athenian Acropolis, in the Roman period - the Colosseum and the Capitol. Subsequently, the list in various combinations was also supplemented by the Temple of Solomon, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, the Temple of Sophia in Constantinople, etc.

classic list

Approximately in the III century BC. a classic list of the seven wonders of the world was formed:

Pyramid of Cheops (Gizeh, 2550 BC),
Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Babylon, 600 BC),
Statue of Zeus at Olympia (Olympia, 435 BC),
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Ephesus, 550 BC),
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Halicarnassus, 351 BC),
Colossus of Rhodes (Rhodes, between 292 and 280 BC),
Lighthouse of Alexandria (Alexandria, 3rd century BC).

The Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) is the largest of the Egyptian pyramids, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World of the Ancient World that has survived to this day. An Eastern proverb says: "Everything in the world is afraid of time, but time is afraid of the Pyramids." It is assumed that the construction, which lasted twenty years, ended around 2540 BC. e. The architect of the Great Pyramid is Hemiun, the vizier and nephew of Cheops. He also bore the title "Manager of all construction sites of the pharaoh." For more than three thousand years (before the construction of the cathedral in Lincoln, England, around 1300), the pyramid was the tallest building on Earth.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. A more correct name for this building is the Hanging Gardens of Amitis (according to other sources - Amanis): that was the name of the wife of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, for whose sake the gardens were created. Presumably located in the ancient city-state of Babylon, near the modern city of Hilla. Hanging gardens existed for about two centuries. After the death of Amitis, the garden was no longer looked after, then powerful floods destroyed the foundation of the columns, and the entire structure collapsed. Hanging Gardens of Babylon - the most mysterious structure of all the Wonders of the World. Scholars even doubt whether they were real or whether they were just a figment of someone's imagination, diligently rewritten from annals to annals.

The statue of Zeus at Olympia is the work of Phidias. An outstanding work of ancient sculpture, one of the seven wonders of the world. It was located in the temple of Zeus, in Olympia - a city in the region of Elis, in the north-west of the Peloponnese peninsula, where from 776 BC. e. to 394 AD e. Every four years, the Olympic Games were held - competitions of Greek, and then Roman athletes. The Greeks considered unfortunate those who did not see the statue of Zeus in the temple. The Olympic Games, held for 300 years in honor of the god Zeus, were very popular among the people. Despite this, there was no main temple of Zeus in Greece, and only in 470 BC. began to collect donations for its construction. According to legend, the temple was magnificent. The entire temple, including the roof, was built of marble. It was surrounded by 34 massive shell rock columns. Each was 10.5 meters high and over 2 meters thick. The area of ​​the temple was 64 × 27 m. On the outer walls of the temple there were slabs with bas-reliefs depicting 12 Labors of Hercules. Bronze doors, 10 meters high, opened the entrance to the cult room of the temple. In the 5th century BC e. The citizens of Olympia decided to build a temple to Zeus. The majestic building was erected between 466 and 456 BC. e. It was built from huge stone blocks, and it was surrounded by massive columns. For several years after the completion of construction, the temple did not have a worthy statue of Zeus, although it was soon decided that it was necessary. The famous Athenian sculptor Phidias was chosen as the creator of the statue. About 40 AD. e. Roman emperor Caligula wanted to move the statue of Zeus to his place in Rome. Workers were sent for her. But, according to legend, the statue burst out laughing, and the workers fled in horror. The statue was damaged after an earthquake in the 2nd century BC. e., then it was restored by the sculptor Dimofont. In 391 a.d. e. The Romans, after the adoption of Christianity, closed the Greek temples. Emperor Theodosius I, who affirmed Christianity, banned the Olympic Games as part of a pagan cult. Finally, only the base, some columns and sculptures remained from the temple of Olympian Zeus. The last mention of it refers to 363 AD. e. At the beginning of the 5th century A.D. e. The statue of Zeus was transported to Constantinople. The statue burned down in the fire of the temple in 425 AD. e. or in the fire at Constantinople in 476 AD. e.

Ancient ruins at Olympia

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, was located in the Greek city of Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor (now the city of Selchuk in the south of the province of Izmir, Turkey). The first major temple was built in the middle of the VI century BC. e., burned by Herostratus in 356 BC. e., soon restored in a rebuilt form, in the III century plundered by the Goths. In the 4th century it was closed by Christians in connection with the ban on pagan cults and destroyed. The church built in its place was also destroyed.

Artemis of Ephesus

Model of a temple in Turkey in the Miniaturk park

View of the temple ruins

This is what the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus looked like

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus is a tombstone of the Carian ruler Mausolus (Greek Μαύσωλος), built in the middle of the 4th century BC. e. by order of his wife Artemisia III in Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum, Turkey), one of the ancient wonders of the world. The mausoleum stood for 19 centuries. In the XIII century, it collapsed from a strong earthquake, and in 1522 the remains of the Mausoleum were dismantled by the Knights of St. John for the construction of the fortress of St. Peter. In 1846, the British Museum expedition led by Charles Thomas Newton explored the ruins. Based on the results of the research, several options for reconstructing the original appearance were drawn up, one of which was used as the basis for the Grant mausoleum in Manhattan.

Carian King Mausolus

Perhaps this is what the Colossus of Rhodes looked like

The Colossus of Rhodes (Greek Κολοσσός της Ρόδου, lat. Colossus Rhodi) is a giant statue of the ancient Greek sun god Helios, which stood in the port city of Rhodes, located on the island of the same name in the Aegean Sea, in Greece. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. For twelve years, the sculptor Chares, a student of Lysippus, worked on the creation of an almost 36-meter bronze giant. When the work on the statue was completed, a tall and slender youth-god with a radiant crown on his head appeared before the eyes of the amazed Rhodians. He stood on a white marble pedestal, leaning slightly back, and peered tensely into the distance. The statue of the god stood right at the entrance to the harbor of Rhodes and was visible from the nearest islands. The statue was made of clay, it had a metal frame at its base, and it was covered with bronze sheets on top. It took 500 talents of bronze and 300 talents of iron to make the grandiose monument (about 13 and about 8 tons, respectively). The colossus also gave rise to a kind of fashion for giant statues, on Rhodes already in the 2nd century. BC e. about a hundred colossal sculptures were installed. The colossus stood for sixty-five years. In 222 B.C. e. the statue was destroyed by an earthquake. As Strabo writes, "the statue lay on the ground, overthrown by an earthquake and broken at the knees." But even then, the Colossus was surprising for its size. Pliny the Elder mentions that only a few could wrap both hands around the thumb of the statue (given the natural proportions of the human body, this indicates the height of the statue at 200 feet or 60 m). The fragments of the Colossus lay on the ground for more than a thousand years, until they were finally sold by the Arabs, who captured Rhodes in 977, to a merchant who, according to one of the chronicles, loaded 900 camels with them.

Lighthouse of Alexandria (Faros) - one of the 7 wonders of the world, was built in the 3rd century BC. e. in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, so that the ships could safely pass the reefs on their way to the Alexandrian Bay. At night they were helped in this by the reflection of the flames, and during the day by a column of smoke. It was the first lighthouse in the world, and it stood for almost a thousand years. The lighthouse was built on the small island of Pharos in the Mediterranean off the coast of Alexandria. This busy port was founded by Alexander the Great during his visit to Egypt in 332 BC. e. The building was named after the island. It was supposed to take 20 years to build, and it was completed around 283 BC. e., during the reign of Ptolemy II, king of Egypt. The construction of this gigantic structure lasted only 5 years. Architect - Sostratus of Cnidus. The Pharos lighthouse consisted of three marble towers, standing on a base of massive stone blocks. The first tower was rectangular, it contained rooms in which workers and soldiers lived. Above this tower was a smaller, octagonal tower with a spiral ramp leading to the top tower. The upper tower was shaped like a cylinder in which a fire burned. By the 12th century A.D. e. the bay of Alexandria was so silted up that ships could no longer use it. The lighthouse fell into disrepair. The bronze plates that served as mirrors were probably melted down into coins. In the 14th century, the lighthouse was completely destroyed by an earthquake. A few years later, its fragments were used to build a fortress. The fortress was subsequently rebuilt several times. Interestingly, before the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the walls of Babylon were the seventh wonder of the world. Before its construction, the walls of Babylon were considered the second wonder of the world. When a 130-meter lighthouse was built at the mouth of the Nile, contemporaries were so amazed by this outstanding technical achievement that they simply crossed out the walls of Babylon from the list of the Seven Wonders of the World and included the lighthouse as the latest, newest miracle.

The Colosseum was also added to the list of wonders of the world of the Ancient World.

The first mention of the Seven Wonders in Rus' is found by Simeon of Polotsk, who was familiar with their description from some Byzantine source. In modern Europe, they became widely known after the publication of Fischer von Erlach's (1656-1723) book Sketches on the History of Architecture, which also contains the first reconstructions of famous monuments of ancient architecture known to us.

There are many mysterious and mysterious places in the world. But only a few of them are recognized as genuine miracles, which were no longer equal on Earth! From this article you will find out which of the 7 wonders of the world have survived to this day, and which ones have sunk into oblivion forever. We present to your attention the 7 wonders of the world - the list consists of the following items:

This exclusive complex is included in the list of 7 wonders of the world. The basis of the gardens of Babylon was a monumental building in four tiers, erected in the shape of a pyramid. Hanging green spaces combined with fountains and ponds have turned it into a true oasis. According to an old legend, these gardens were created for the wife of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II named Amitis.

To keep the green miracle in a viable state, a large amount of water was required. The problem was solved at the expense of the human resource, or rather, slave labor. The slaves kept turning the wooden wheel, to which the skinskins were tied. This wheel took water from the river (according to another version - from some underground sources). Water was pumped to the uppermost tier, and from there it flowed down through a complex system of numerous channels.

After the death of the ruler Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon for some time became the residence of Alexander the Great. After the death of the great commander, the city began to gradually fall into disrepair, the gardens of Babylon were also left without proper care. After some time, a nearby river overflowed its banks, which led to the erosion of the foundation of the building.

Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops

This now existing geographical feature, which is also included in the list of 7 wonders of the world, is sometimes called the Great Pyramid of Giza. It serves as the tomb of the Egyptian ruler Cheops (Khufu). The pyramid was built near Giza, a suburb of Cairo. It took the combined efforts of 100,000 people to create this miracle. According to the calculations of archaeologists, the work lasted about twenty years.

Zeus statue in Olympia

A truly monumental structure was erected in honor of the God of Thunder. The temple of Zeus was built entirely of marble, including even the roof. Around the perimeter of the sanctuary there were 34 columns made of limestone. The walls of the temple were covered with picturesque bas-reliefs with images, as well as the exploits of Hercules.

But the list of 7 wonders of the world included not a temple complex, but a statue of Zeus. The ancient Greek sculptor Phidias worked on the realization of this masterpiece. The body of the god was created from ivory, a great variety of rare gems and about 200 kg of gold without the slightest admixture of ligature also took to decorate the statue. The eyes of the Thunderer seemed to be throwing lightning, and the head and shoulders shimmered with an unearthly light.

According to legend, lightning struck the center of the marble floor of the temple. This was regarded as an expression of approval from Zeus. An altar of copper was erected at the site of the blow. The statue of Zeus was destroyed in a fire that broke out in the temple in 425. There is another version, according to which it was transported to Istanbul, where the figure of the Thunderer burned down in 476.

The ancient city of Halicarnassus was famous for its residences of nobles, theaters and green gardens. But the list of 7 wonders of the world did not include these architectural beauties, but the tomb of the cruel ruler Mausolus. There were 3 levels in the mausoleum, the total height of the building was 46 meters. This man-made masterpiece mixed several architectural trends.

Traditional columns, as well as statues of horsemen and lions were used as decoration of the mausoleum. At the very top was a sculpture of King Mausolus, proudly seated in a horse-drawn chariot. The mausoleum stood for about 19 centuries, the reason for its destruction was a strong earthquake. An interesting fact - some fragments of the mausoleum went to the construction of the fortress of St. Peter.

The Pharos lighthouse was built in the 3rd century BC and is also included in the world famous list of 7 wonders of the world. This facility was supposed to help seagoing ships safely navigate offshore reefs and avoid shipwreck. During the day, sailors were led by a column of smoke, and at night they could focus on flames.

The lighthouse of Alexandria towered 120 meters above sea level, its signals could be seen at a distance of up to 48 km. The upper part of the structure was decorated with a statue of Isis-Faria, who was revered as the patroness of navigators. To make the light flow as efficient as possible, the builders used an original system of curved mirrors.

The Pharos lighthouse, like many other objects from the list of 7 wonders of the world, was destroyed in a rather trivial way. It was destroyed by a powerful earthquake that occurred in the middle of the 14th century. Some fragments of the Lighthouse of Alexandria were discovered by scientists at the bottom of the sea during research in 1996.

The Colossus of Rhodes

This statue was made in honor of Helios (the sun god). It was assumed that the height of the figure would be 18 meters, but later it was decided to make it 36 ​​meters. The statue in the form of a god-youth was cast in bronze; it is located on a marble pedestal. Construction was carried out on a hill created artificially. Stones were placed inside the figure, which was done to increase the stability of the structure.

The sculptor Hares, who worked on the Colossus of Rhodes, made a miscalculation in determining the amount of materials needed. The master had to borrow a lot of money to be able to complete his masterpiece. Hares was completely ruined and surrounded by creditors, the sculptor committed suicide.

The Colossus of Rhodes was destroyed by an earthquake that occurred in 222 or 226 BC. The statue broke at the knees, and its fragments continued to lie in place for about 1000 years. The fragments of the Colossus were sold by the Arabs who captured Rhodes in 977. To take out parts of the sculpture, it was necessary to equip a caravan consisting of 900 camels.

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The only one of the 7 wonders of the world of the Ancient World that has survived to this day is the Great Pyramid of Giza - the Pyramid of Cheops. In the suburbs of the capital of Egypt, Cairo, this ancient monument was designed and built as the tomb of the most famous pharaoh Cheops (Khufu) and is recognized as the tallest building of its time. It's hard to believe, but the height of this miracle of art is almost 147 meters (imagine five nine-story buildings stacked on top of each other). Initially, the pyramid occupied an area larger than seven football fields, and the length of one of the sides of its base was over 230 meters.

The construction of the Great Pyramid, according to the official version of Egyptologists, was completed in 2540 BC. It took the combined efforts of 100,000 people to create this truly extraordinary miracle. According to the calculations of archaeologists, the work lasted about 20 years.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

It is generally accepted that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which, according to one of the many versions, were built around 600 BC by order of the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife, the Median princess Amitis. In the future, the daughter of King Cyaxares began to be called the name of the Assyrian queen.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was a four-story building resembling a pyramid in shape, the tiers of which, held by powerful columns, were both balconies and terraces. Hanging unique plants, combined with fountains and ponds, turned the Babylonian structure into a real oasis.

To supply the gardens with water, a special irrigation system was designed: hundreds of slaves turned wheels with buckets for days on end. When Babylon fell into decay, there was no one to irrigate, the unique flora of the hanging gardens perished. Finished the job - finally destroyed the palace - frequent earthquakes. Babylon disappeared from the face of the earth, and with it the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the most beautiful monuments of antiquity, disappeared into oblivion.

Zeus statue in Olympia

In the 5th century BC, the sports and religious center of ancient Greece was Olympia, where the god Zeus was most revered. It was to him, the head of the ancient Greek Pantheon, that the Olympians unanimously decided to build a majestic temple. To implement the plan, the Athenian sculptor Phidias, known for his sculptures, was invited to Olympia. The task before the master was not easy: to create a structure that surpasses all his previous creations in its monumentality. Phidias gave the go-ahead. Work has begun.

It took the sculptor and his apprentices ten years for the Ancient World to see this wonder of the world. The temple was entirely made of marble. Columns made of limestone were installed along its perimeter. On the walls of the temple there were picturesque bas-reliefs depicting Zeus and the twelve labors of Hercules.

The thunder god himself, called "the embodiment of male beauty", was made of ivory and reached a height of 13 meters. He sat majestically on a throne carved from ebony and covered with chased gold plates, and almost touched the ceiling of the temple.

The masterpiece of Phidias did not go unnoticed. For many years, writers and philosophers admired him, referring the statue of Olympian Zeus to the best creations of mankind. But in 476 there was a fire during which this wonder of the world was lost.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

The initiator and "sponsor" of the latest version of Artemision, the temple of Artemis of Ephesus, was. The construction of this wonder of the world, which began in 323 BC, from limestone and marble, continued for many years. The "highlight" of the temple, its main distinguishing feature, was 127 giant columns installed in nine rows. The interior decoration of Artemision was fascinating. Everything was here: marvelous statues made by the best architects of that time, and beautiful paintings by famous artists. And in the center of this splendor stood a statue of the goddess Artemis - the patroness of love relationships and the family hearth.

Artemision, rebuilt by Alexander, lasted six centuries. It was robbed and destroyed by the Goths, flooded by numerous floods. Today, the existence of this wonder of the world is evidenced by only one single column, restored from the wreckage.

mausoleum in Halicarnassus

Ancient Halicarnassus, in which the "father of history" Herodotus was born, was known for its architectural beauties. White marble temples built in honor of Ares and Aphrodite, Salmakin's fountain, theaters and palaces attracted foreign guests to the city. But the real "pearl" of Halicarnassus, a wonder of the world, was the tomb of the despotic king, which he began to build during his lifetime.

Pytheas and Satyros, the best architects of that time, worked on the tomb, which consisted of three tiers and reached a height of 46 meters. Decorating the building - creating marble figures of gods, animals and horsemen - was entrusted to Leohar and Skopas.