Seven Wonders of the World Lighthouse of Alexandria

A drawing of the lighthouse by German archaeologist Prof. H. Thiersch (1909), later used as an illustration in The House of Ptolemy by E. R. Bevan published by Methuen Publishing, London, 1927. Some of which is quoted below. High Resolution Image

"On the island of Pharos, the famous lighthouse, reckoned one of the wonders of the world, was built by the architect Sostratus of Cnidos, begun, no doubt, under Ptolemy I and finished early in the reign of Ptolemy II. "The material used in its construction was chiefly nummulitic limestone. The sculptural decoration as well as other accessory ornamentation was partly in marble and partly in bronze. The innumerable columns were for the most part of Aswan granite.

The lantern was formed of eight columns, surmounted by a cupola above which was raised a bronze statue (probably of Poseidon) about seven metres high. The flame was obtained by burning resinous wood. It is believed that convex mirrors made of metal were used to give a longer p96range to the light."31 This huge building has perished so utterly that we can now guess what it looked like only by incidental inscriptions in ancient books, by coins, and by the analogy of ancient remains in other places. Putting all the available material together, Professor Thiersch has made a conjectural restoration of it, which is reproduced on page 95.

The dedicatory inscription ran "Sostratus son Dexiphanes of Cnidos to the Saviour Gods on behalf of sea-farers." It is questionable who are meant by the "Saviour Gods" (Sotēres Theoi). That was the way in which Ptolemy I and Berenice were described officially after their deification, and one would naturally suppose that in a work of this kind, done by the king's order at Alexandria, Ptolemy I and Berenice were meant. On the other hand, "Saviour Gods" was also the way in which Castor and Pollux, the special gods of sailors, were regularly described, and it may be that the dedication was inscribed on the lighthouse before the official deification of Ptolemy I and Berenice. It may be again that there was an ambiguity which was intentional.

It is certainly remarkable that the architect was allowed by the king to dedicate a work of this kind in his own name. A story was afterwards invented to account for the dedication. Sostratus, it was said, had covered his own name (sunk, like the rest of the inscription, into the stone in huge letters of lead) with a thin layer of plaster, which looked like the stone, and had inscribed on this plaster the name of Ptolemy. He had counted on the plaster scaling off after his death." The House of Ptolemy by E. R. Bevan

A fanciful 16th century interpretation is depicted in this hand-coloured engraving of the Pharos by Martin Heemskerck.

These images are a faithful reproduction of two-dimensional works of art and thus not copyrightable in themselves in the U.S. as per Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.; the same is also true in many other countries, including Germany.The original two-dimensional works shown in these images are free content because: These images (or other media files) are in the public domain because their copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" from the U.S. Copyright Office. Works published before 1923 are now in the public domain. and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.

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Seven Wonders of the World Colossus of Rhodes

Image by Athanasius Kircher (sometimes erroneously spelled Kirchner) (May 2, 1602–November 27 or 28, 1680) was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology and medicine. He made an early study of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

One of the first people to observe microbes through a microscope, he was thus ahead of his time in proposing that the plague was caused by an infectious microorganism and in suggesting effective measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

Kircher has been compared to Leonardo da Vinci for his inventiveness and the breadth and depth of his work. A scientific star in his day, towards the end of his life he was eclipsed by the rationalism of René Descartes and others. In the late 20th century, however, the aesthetic qualities of his work again began to be appreciated. One scholar, Edward W. Schmidt, has called him "the last Renaissance man". This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Athanasius Kircher

Colossus of Rhodes, imagined in a 16th-century engraving by Martin Heemskerck, part of his series of the Seven Wonders of the World The Colossus of Rhodes was a huge statue of the Greek god Helios, erected on the Greek island of Rhodes

(approximate coordinates 36°27'04"N, 28°13'40"E) by Chares of Lindos, a student of Lysippos, between 292 and 280 BC. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Before its destruction, the Colossus of Rhodes stood 70 cubits tall, over 30 metres (100 feet), making it the tallest statue of the ancient world.

The statue stood for only fifty-six years until Rhodes was hit by an earthquake in 226 BC. The statue snapped at the knees and fell over onto the land. Ptolemy III offered to pay for the reconstruction of the statue, but the oracle of Delphi made the Rhodians afraid that they had offended Helios, and they declined to rebuild it. The remains lay on the ground as described by Strabo (xiv.2.5) for over 800 years, and even broken, they were so impressive that many traveled to see them. Pliny the Elder remarked that few people could wrap their arms around the fallen thumb and that each of its fingers was larger than most statues.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Colossus of Rhodes

These images are a faithful reproduction of two-dimensional works of art and thus not copyrightable in themselves in the U.S. as per Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.; the same is also true in many other countries, including Germany.The original two-dimensional works shown in these images are free content because: These images (or other media files) are in the public domain because their copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" from the U.S. Copyright Office. Works published before 1923 are now in the public domain. and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.

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Seven Wonders of the World Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

A fanciful interpretation of the Mausoleum of Maussollos, from a 1572 engraving by Marten Heemskerk (1498–1574), who based his reconstruction on descriptions

Mausoleum of Maussollos, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Tomb of Maussollos, Mausoleum of Maussollos, or Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (Ancient Greek: Μαυσωλεῖον Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, Μαυσωλεῖον τοῦ Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ (Ἀλικαρνασσοῦ)), was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire, and Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister. The structure was designed by the Greek architects Satyrus and Pythius. It stood approximately 45 meters (135 feet) in height, and each of the four sides was adorned with sculptural reliefs created by one of four Greek sculptors — Bryaxis, Leochares, Scopas and Timotheus.

The finished structure was considered to be such an aesthetic triumph that Antipater of Sidon identified it as one of his Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The word mausoleum has since come to be used generically for any grand tomb, though "Mausol – eion" originally meant "[building] dedicated to Mausolus".

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Mausoleum of Maussollos

This image is a faithful reproduction of a two-dimensional work of art and thus not copyrightable in itself in the U.S. as per Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.; the same is also true in many other countries, including Germany.The original two-dimensional work shown in this image is free content because: This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" from the U.S. Copyright Office. Works published before 1923 are now in the public domain.

Grant's Tomb in New York is based on a more scholarly reconstruction of the Mausoleum

TITLE: [Bird's-eye view of Grant's Tomb, New York] CALL NUMBER: U.S. GEOG FILE - New York--New York City--Monuments--Grant's Tomb [P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER: LC-USZ62-118686 (b&w film copy neg.) MEDIUM: 1 photographic print. CREATED/PUBLISHED: c1915.

Digital ID: cph 3c18686 Source: b&w film copy neg. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-118686 (b&w film copy neg.) Retrieve higher resolution JPEG version (142 kilobytes)

NOTES: J206162 U.S. Copyright Office (EXPIRED). DIGITAL ID: (b&w film copy neg.) cph 3c18686 hdl.loc.gov/cph.3c18686 CARD #: 97506556

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [reproduction number, LC-USZ62-118686]

Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" from the U.S. Copyright Office. Works published before 1923 are now in the public domain.

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Seven Wonders of the World Statue of Zeus

TITLE: Olympieum or Temple of Jupiter Olympus, CALL NUMBER: LOT 7738 [P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER: LC-USZ62-108916 (b&w film copy neg.) No known restrictions on publication.

Digital ID: cph 3c08916 Source: b&w film copy neg. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-108916 (b&w film copy neg.) Retrieve higher resolution JPEG version (138 kilobytes)

SUMMARY: Southeast view of Olympieum (Temple of Olympian Zeus) with men standing and sitting at tables before the ruins. MEDIUM: 1 photographic print : albumen. CREATED, PUBLISHED: [between 1850 and 1880]

NOTES: In album: Athens, Egypt, Rhine, Switzerland, Tyrol, Salzburg, opposite p. 7. SUBJECTS: Archaeological sites--Greece--Athens--1850-1880. Temples--Greece--Athens--1850-1880.

FORMAT: Albumen prints 1850-1880. DIGITAL ID: (b&w film copy neg.) cph 3c08916 hdl.loc.gov/cph.3c08916 CARD #: 94513388

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [reproduction number, LC-USZ62-108916]

MARC Record Line 540 - No known restrictions on publication.

A fanciful reconstruction of Phidias' statue of Zeus, in an engraving made by Philippe Galle in 1572, from a drawing by Maarten van Heemskerck.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the classical Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was carved by the famed Classical sculptor Phidias (5th century BC) circa 432 BC in Olympia, Greece

The seated statue occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple that was built to house it, and was 40 feet (12 meters) tall. "It seems that if Zeus were to stand up," the geographer Strabo noted early in the 1st century BC, "he would unroof the temple." Zeus was a chryselephantine sculpture, made of ivory and accented with gold plating. In the sculpture, he was seated on a magnificent throne of cedarwood, inlaid with ivory, gold, ebony, and precious stones. In Zeus' right hand there was a small statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, and in his left hand, a shining sceptre on which an eagle perched. Plutarch, in his Life of the Roman general Aemilius Paulus, records that the victor over Macedon “was moved to his soul, as if he had beheld the god in person,” while the Greek orator Dio Chrysostom wrote that a single glimpse of the statue would make a man forget his earthly troubles.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Statue of Zeus at Olympia

This image is a faithful reproduction of a two-dimensional work of art and thus not copyrightable in itself in the U.S. as per Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.; the same is also true in many other countries, including Germany.The original two-dimensional work shown in this image is free content because: This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" from the U.S. Copyright Office. Works published before 1923 are now in the public domain.

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Seven Wonders of the World Temple of Artemis

TITLE: Jerash, pillars of Temple of Artemis CALL NUMBER: LC-M33- 13570-B[P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER: LC-DIG-matpc-12977 (digital file from original photo) No known restrictions on publication. MEDIUM: 1 negative : safety film ; 4 x 5 in. CREATED, PUBLISHED: 1946 July. CREATOR: Matson Photo Service, photographer.

Digital ID: matpc 12977 Source: digital file from original photo Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-matpc-12977 (digital file from original photo) Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA Retrieve higher resolution JPEG version (166 kilobytes)

NOTES: Caption from catalog: taken July 11, 1946. Gift; Episcopal Home; 1978. Title and date from: photographer's logbook: Matson Registers, v. 2, [1940-1946]. SUBJECTS: Jordan--Gerasa (Extinct city). FORMAT: Safety film negatives.

PART OF: G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection. REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. DIGITAL ID: (digital file from original photo) matpc 12977 hdl.loc.gov/matpc.12977, CARD #: mpc2005009414/PP

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [reproduction number, LC-DIG-matpc-12977]

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Fantastic reconstruction of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, depicted here in a hand-coloured engraving by Martin Heemskerck. The Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus was one of the "Seven Wonders" of the Ancient World.

Heemskerck's drawing, from which this engraving was made, dates from the 16th century and is entirely imaginery. Heemskerck had visited Rome. He had seen and drawn St Peter's Basilica under construction. He would have seen buildings in the new Renaissance style, reviving the Classical Orders of ancient Rome. He has tried to imitate that style in his reconstruction of what the Temple of Ephesus might have looked like. It was common practice to show the latest style in building within artworks of a different period, for example the Queen of Sheba might be shown coming out the door of a Renaissance palace.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Temple of Artemis

This image is a faithful reproduction of a two-dimensional work of art and thus not copyrightable in itself in the U.S. as per Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp.; the same is also true in many other countries, including Germany.The original two-dimensional work shown in this image is free content because: This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, where Works published prior to 1978 were copyright protected for a maximum of 75 years. See Circular 1 "COPYRIGHT BASICS" from the U.S. Copyright Office. Works published before 1923 are now in the public domain.

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