Ireland's OWN: Myths & Magic The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Hanging gardens of Babylon King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled for over 43 years from 605 B.C. onwards, had the Hanging Gardens of Babylon built as a present to his wife, Amyitis, who was said to miss the natural surroundings of her homeland. A large part of the gardens were destroyed in the fifth and the sixth centuries during a series of wars and invasions. Most of the garden's relics remained buried.   Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza, also called Khufu's Pyramid or the Pyramid of Cheops, is the oldest and the largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now Cairo, Egypt. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for Egyptian King Khufu (Cheops in Greek) of the Fourth Dynasty and constructed over a 20-year period, concluding around 2,560 B.C. Colossus of Rhodes The 32-meter tall statue of the Greek god Helios was erected on the Greek island of Rhodes in 281 B.C. It was depicted holding a torch to the sky. Today, the Statue of Liberty in New York resembles the Colossus of Rhodes, which stood for only 50 years before it was destroyed in an earthquake. Locals of Rhodes believed the statute protected the island. Statue of Zeus at Olympia The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was built in Olympia, Greece in around 432 B.C. Dedicated to Greek god Zeus, the statue, according to one narrative, was moved to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) and was ruined in a great fire in 462 B.C. However, French archaeologists unearthed some remnants of the statue in 1829. These remnants are exhibited today at the Louvre Museum. Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus The mausoleum was a tomb built in the memory of King Mausolos by his wife and sister Artemisia in Halicarnassus (present day Bodrum, Turkey) around 355 B.C. Remnants of the mausoleum and the sculpture of Artemisia were discovered during excavations held in the 1840s and the 1850s, which were then moved to London. Lighthouse of Alexandria The tower was built on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt, in the third century B.C. The light spread by the 120-meter tall lighthouse, made of white marble, could be seen for a distance of 50 kilometers. Remnants of the lighthouse, destroyed in a number of earthquakes, were later used in the construction of the Kayıtbay Castle.   Source: From The Turkish News, 6 Nov 2008 Page last updated 9 Nov 2008 Website Design and Myths & Magic logo by Míchealín Daugherty Copyright © 2008 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.