Wonders Of The Ancient World

SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER • From the award-winning historian and broadcaster comes an immersive, awe-inspiring tour of the ancient sites that kindle our imagination and afford us a glimpse into our shared history “This fascinating book is brimming with stories of people and places, all told with Bettany’s natural sense of wonder and adventure.” —Simon Sebag Montefiore, New York Times bestselling author of The World For millennia, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have been known for their aesthetic sublimity, ingenious engineering, and sheer, audacious magnitude: The Great Pyramids of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus, the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse at Alexandria. Echoing down time, each of these persists in our imagination as an emblem of the glory of antiquity, but beneath the familiar images is a surprising, revelatory history. Guiding us through it is historian Bettany Hughes, who has traveled to each of the sites to uncover the latest archaeological discoveries and bring these monuments and the distinct cultures that built them back to breathtaking life. Spellbinding, richly illustrated, and full of insight, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is a journey into the indomitable ambition and creativity of the human spirit.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and all sorts of mysteries attaching to them, have intrigued people since the second century BCE. Why were these particular creations chosen and when? And why did the ancients want to draw up such a list in the first place? What were the technical and cultural factors involved in the creation and listing of the Wonders? The Seven Wonders still rival many of the phenomenal products of both nature and mankind in their size, majesty, and beauty. Six of them no longer stand, having been destroyed by natural disaster or by human intervention. From the Pyramids at Giza to the Colossus of Rhodes, from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, from the Temple of Ephesus to the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have never ceased to fascinate down the ages.

The Colossus of Rhodes, the majestic Pyramids of Giza, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the spellbinding Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the breathtaking Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Just one of them survives today. But with the book How the Wonders of the World Were Built you can go back in time and learn the secrets of how these gems of ancient architecture were created. They shine from the past... and their light is not diminishing. The gems of antiquity are proof of human endeavours to cope with the wonders of nature. People have always wanted more: to improve existing process and methods and find new opportunities. They want to create something new, something that evokes a feeling of amazement and admiration. A masterpiece that will provide the creators with immortality and fame during their lives.

First published in 1988. Can you name the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World? Did they even exist? The Pharos at Alexandria survived into the Middle Ages, but the Hanging Gardens of Babylon exist only in references by ancient authors and the Colossus of Rhodes if too improbable to have existed in the form and place traditionally ascribed to it. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World sets the record straight, with an attractive account of each Wonder in the context in which it was built. The authors combine ancient sources with the results of modern scholarship and excavations to recreate a vivid picture of the Seven Wonders. All experts in their specialist fields, the contributors bring together facts and background that are remarkably difficult to find from any other single source and establish for the fist time the archaeology and location of each Wonder.

SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER • From the award-winning historian and broadcaster comes an immersive, awe-inspiring tour of the ancient sites that kindle our imagination and afford us a glimpse into our shared history “This fascinating book is brimming with stories of people and places, all told with Bettany’s natural sense of wonder and adventure.” —Simon Sebag Montefiore, New York Times bestselling author of The World For millennia, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have been known for their aesthetic sublimity, ingenious engineering, and sheer, audacious magnitude: The Great Pyramids of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus, the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse at Alexandria. Echoing down time, each of these persists in our imagination as an emblem of the glory of antiquity, but beneath the familiar images is a surprising, revelatory history. Guiding us through it is historian Bettany Hughes, who has traveled to each of the sites to uncover the latest archaeological discoveries and bring these monuments and the distinct cultures that built them back to breathtaking life. Spellbinding, richly illustrated, and full of insight, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is a journey into the indomitable ambition and creativity of the human spirit.

Describes the seven wonders of the ancient world, including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the statue of Zeus, the temple of Artemis, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, and the colossus of Rhodes.

"Discover and Learn about the Seven fascinating wonders of the Ancient World"--Provided by publisher.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and all sorts of mysteries attaching to them, have intrigued people since the second century BCE. Why were these particular creations chosen and when? And why did the ancients want to draw up such a list in the first place? What were the technical and cultural factors involved in the creation and listing of the Wonders? The Seven Wonders still rival many of the phenomenal products of both nature and mankind in their size, majesty, and beauty. Six of them no longer stand, having been destroyed by natural disaster or by human intervention. From the Pyramids at Giza to the Colossus of Rhodes, from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, from the Temple of Ephesus to the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have never ceased to fascinate down the ages.