The Seven Wonders of the World (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a well known list of remarkable constructions of classical antiquity.^[1] It was based on guidebooks popular among the ancient Hellenic tourists. The most prominent of these, the versions by Antipater of Sidon and an observer identified as Philon of Byzantium, is composed of seven works located around the Mediterranean rim. In turn, this original list has inspired innumerable versions through the ages, often in keeping with the limited number of seven entries.

Background

Alexander the Great's conquest of much of the known world in the 4th century BC gave Hellenistic travelers access to the civilizations of the Egyptians, Persians, and Babylonians.^[2] These visitors, smitten by the landmarks and marvels of the various lands, began to list what they saw.^[3] As a way of organizing, a compendium of these places made it easier to remember.^[4] Indeed, in place of the contemporary usage of the word "wonder", the Greeks actually used the word theamata, which translates to "things to be seen" or "must-sees".^[5] Hence, the list was meant to be the Ancient World's counterpart of a travel guidebook.^[2]

Each person had his own version of the list, but the best known and earliest surviving was from a poem by Greek-speaking epigrammist Antipater of Sidon from around 140 BC.^[4] He named seven sites on his list, but was primarily in praise of the Temple of Diana Patetus at Ephesus:

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (from left to right, top to bottom): Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria as depicted by 16th-century Dutch artist Marten Heemskerk.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.