Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1892-04-29
THE SEVEN WONDERS.
With the Exception Of the Pyramids
They have all Disappeared.
st. Louis Republic.

Different authors disagree in de
scribing the seven popular wonders o.
the olden times. At present the pyra
mids, the Colossus of Rhodes, the
Temple OF Diana, the Mausoleum, the
statute of Jupiter Olympus, the hang.
ing garden OF Babylon and the Pharos,
or watch tower OF Alexandria, are usu-
ally reckoned as the Original Seven
Wonders" With the single exception
of the pyramids all the above have
disappeared. One, two and three
thousand years ago, according to ira
ditions and authentic history, some of
them were wonders indeed.
The first of the wonders, the great
pyramid OF Cheops, is situated seven
miles from the bank of the Nile and
twelve miles from Cairo, Egypt. 1t
was built in the childhood of the hu-
man race, long before history began.
Yet it stands to-day monument to
wonderful people. The "great pyra-
mid of Cheops" is believed to have
been built by the monarch whose
name it bears about 5000 years B. C.
Its height is 4S0 feet 9 inches, and its
base 764 feet square. Many OF the
monster blocks of granite used in con-
structing it weigh thousands of tons.
Tradition tells us that 100000 men
were employed for a period of thirty
years in constructing it.
The Colossus of Rhodes, the second
in the list OF ancient wonders, was a
great brazen statue of Apollo, which
stretched its huge legs across the har-
Dor Of Rhodes, and was so large that
ships in full sail passed between. 1t
was los feet high and of most exact
proportions. The erection of the Co
losus was begun in the year 300 B.
c., but WAS not finished for 200 years.
1t was of brass, cast in sections, and
was Soverthrown by an earthquake in
the year 224 B. C. 1t weighed 227.-
$50 pounds.
The Temple of Diana is another OF
the seven wonders Of the world which
has entirely diappeared. 1t was a
magnificent structure, situated ON the
EvantiLe at Ephesus, and was con-
structed at the common cost of all
Asiatic countries. The lofty domed
roof was supported by 127 monster
columns of Parian marble-the tribute
to Diana of 127 kings. The facade OF
the temple occupied 200 feet upon the
Evantine, and the walls stretched
back 425 feet, all glittering with gems
and precious stones.>
Fourth in order of prominence was
Mausoleum-the tomb of Mausolus,
the first king of Caria. According to
Pliny, it had total height of 40 feet.
1t was erected by Artemisia, the widow
of Mausolus, about 1853 B. C. 1t con-
sisted Of a basement 65 feet high, on
which stood an ionic colonade 231
feet high, surmounted by a pyramid,
rising in steps to similar height, and
on the apex of the pyramid colossal
group of Mausolus and wife in a
chariot drawn by four horses of heroic
size. The Mausoleum endured until
about the year 14O4 A. D., when it
was partially destroyed by an earth
quake and finally torn down by the
knights of st. John.
The fifth wonder, the Olympian
Zeus, was statue of Jupiter Olym-
pus, said to have been GO feet high
and chiefly composed of ivory and
gold. 1t is usually located at Ellis,
but nothing certain is known of its To-
cation, or oil its reputed builder, Fhid-
las.
If possible, tradition and history
have told us less about the sixth won
der of the world-the hanging gardens
of Babylon-than they have of the
Fifth. Herodotus does not mention
them; Pliny only casually alludes to
their existence, and the Scriptural ac-
count OF the reign of Nebuchadnezzar
ignores the subject altogether. Popu-
lar accounts of the hanging gardens
say that they were huge baskets OF
brass and iron, 400 feet square, swung
on mammoth stone arches, which
were erected near the royal palace at
Babylon.
The seventh wonder was a combined
lighthouse and watch tower, situated
on the eastern end OF the Island of
Pharos, at Alexandria, Egypt. Its con-
struction was begun by Ptolemy Softer
about the year 332 B. C. 1t was 400
feet high, and cost a sum equal to 81, ;
240, 900 of the United States currency.