Seven Wonders
About a hundred years after the Statue of Zeus came the Temple of Artemis. It was built in the ancient city of Ephesus, or modern day Turkey. The architect Theodorus probably built the incredible temple, and he most likely did so to honor the Greek Goddess of the Moon, Artemis. Tragically, a man named Herostratus set the Temple of Artemis on fire along with a group of Goths in an attempt to have his name go down in history. He managed to do so and city officials tried to enforce a new law stating that if any one citizen of Ephesus mentioned his name, they would receive the death penalty; the attempt failed.
All of religion at this point declined because Artemis did not protect her temple. The structure as well as the story is terrific. Measuring about three hundred feet by one hundred fifty feet, and the one hundred twenty seven columns each having a heighth of about sixty feet, one can easily see how the Temple of Artemis’ means of construction are a complete mistery. Theodorus built the columns so that they had proportions to the human body. Aside from that, it was completed around 440 B. C. and took approximately one hundred twenty years to build.
Such strenuous man labor classify this temple as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Contemporary to the Temple of Artemis was the Mausoleum, which was located in Halicarnassus, or present day Turkey. It all began when Mausolus took over with Artemisia. In 353 B. C. , Mausolus died, leaving his wife Artemisia, who was also his sister, incredibly depressed. In honor of Mausolus, she decided to build him the “most splendid tomb in the known world. ” The Mausoleum surprisingly managed to remain intact after over sixteen centuries.
It went through many hardships and risky situations, one being the reign of Alexander the Great, and yet somehow never fell apart. It did, however, eventually collapse when a severe sequence of earthquakes passed in the fifteenth century. Unlike the other “Wonders of the World,” this building did not rely on size, but rather on beauty to catch the eyes of modern people. That is to say, the Mausoleum was so beautiful and unique that it became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
