Something I’ve noticed is that there seems to be two different sets of wonders of the world, an old and a new version. In this week’s edition of pondering thoughts I’m going to go through each of the wonders starting with the old ones.

First up is the Colossus of Rhodes. The Colossus of Rhodes was a giant statue of the Sun God, Helios, and it is 107 feet tall. It used to be located on the Island of Rhodes; it fell due to an earthquake in 226 BC.

Next up is the Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was built on the Island of Pharos in the harbor of Alexandria. It was 384 feet tall and fell due to an earthquake.

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was built as a tomb for Mausolus, a Governor of the Persian Empire. The monument stood for nearly 17 centuries and was eventually destroyed by a series of earthquakes. 

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built in 2570 BC and is still standing today. It is believed to have taken 20 years and as many as 100,000 workers to complete the Great Pyramid, which was built as a tomb for the 4th dynasty Egyptian pharaoh named Khufu. It was built as part of a complex that included temples and many other pyramids.

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was built in 550 BC and was destroyed by fire in 356 BC. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was built and rebuilt over the course of many years. The most famous was built in about 550 BC and was funded by King Croesus of Lydia.

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was built in 430 BC and was destroyed by fire in 426 AD. Carved from ivory,  the statue was created by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 430 BC. In its right hand was a life-size statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, and in its left was a large scepter topped with an eagle. The statue, nearly 40 feet tall, was said to fill the entire width of one of the aisles of the Temple of Zeus, and its head nearly scraped the temple’s ceiling. 

And finally, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was built in 600 BC and was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC. The first and most interesting fact about the gardens is that there is significant controversy about whether the gardens existed at all.

Next week we’re going to go through the 7 modern wonders of the world stay tuned