This Is What The Forgotten 7 Wonders Of The Ancient World Really Looked Like In Their Prime
What is the first thing you do before planning a trip? Hop on the convenient TripAdvisor or one of the thousands of other websites available for advice, must-see destinations, trip highlights, interesting facts, and candid travelers’ photos. Before the magical power of the Internet, people had to discover everything first-hand and sharing their experience on social media wasn’t an option. Ancient tourists had to turn to scholarly advice when it came to beautiful sights to behold. And here is when the ultimate “must-see” list of seven wonders of the World came about.
A list of the greatest examples of human ingenuity, amazing architecture and genius engineering conducted by various Hellenic authors in guidebooks and poems dates from 1st-2nd century BC. Contributors to the list of the Wonders of the World include Philo of Byzantium, Herodotus, Callimachus of Cyrene and Antipater of Sidon. But if you decide to base your holiday plans on this iconic historical sites list, you’re likely to be disappointed as only one of the original ancient history wonders survived the ruthless test of time – the mighty Great Pyramid of Giza.
Even though most of the Seven Wonders have fallen into disrepair, they continued to inspire masterful artists to use their imagination and turn the intangible relicts of Earth’s early civilizations to life. Budget Direct decided to give the modern culture-lovers a chance to visit the majestic ancient structures through a series of photo-realistic 3D renderings. After in-depth research, the exceptional work of architectural design duo Keremcan Kirilmaz and Erdem Batirbek, under the guidance of NeoMam’s art director, and motion graphic artists at Fractal Motion, lifelike recreations depict how the seven wonders would have looked in their heyday.
“Our goal was to inspire people to rediscover the long-forgotten wonders of the ancient world. We aim to spark the curiosity of frequent travelers and Internet users alike, showcasing areas of the world that perhaps they’ve not read about before and have considered visiting. Our focus was to bring these relics to life so that readers could get a better feel of what they really looked like in their prime. The result is seven beautiful animated reconstructions that bring these unique structures to life before your very eyes!” – said the authors of the project.
We grant you a ticket for an interesting historical journey through the seven wonders of the ancient world, so fasten your seatbelts!
More info: budgetdirect.com.au
Colossus of Rhodes
Image credits: Budget Direct
Image credits: Budget Direct
The Colossus was a 104ft tall triumphal statue of Greek sun god Helios built over Mandraki Harbour in Rhodes on 49ft marble pedestals allowing ships to pass between his legs. As if this wasn’t statement enough to mark the victory over Demetrius Poliorcetes’ long siege of Rhodes, the Rhodians built the statue from the melted-down remains of the recently-defeated Cypriot army’s arsenal. The Colossus, a symbol of unity, was sculpted during twelve years beginning in 304 BC by Chares of Lindos. Unfortunately, despite the gigantic size, the marvel couldn’t withstand a powerful earthquake a mere 56 years later. The statue remained in decline for almost a millennium until after the invasion of Arabs, when it was melted down by the Muslim caliph Muawiyah and sold for the scrap.
Great Pyramid of Giza
Image credits: Budget Direct
Image credits: Budget Direct
These days, a ‘new tallest building’ appears almost every month, and it doesn’t impress anyone, but it took modern man until the 19th century to build a taller building than the Great Pyramid of Giza which held the record of being world’s tallest man-made structure for more than four thousand years. The 481ft-tall pyramid was built on 13 acres as a tomb for the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu in 2560 BCE. It was discovered that up to 100,000 skilled Egyptians stayed at the temporary city while building pyramids, and this largest and most impressive construction of 2.3 million stone blocks weighing between 2.5-15 tons is the only ancient wonder left to admire for modern-day tourists.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Image credits: Budget Direct
Image credits: Budget Direct
There’s some speculation over whether this list’s entry existed in real life or just in a writer’s imagination. It certainly would’ve been a challenge to build – with its epic 65ft high terraces and complex machinery, it seems like an engineering masterpiece. Legend has it, that The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built near the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq as a gift from Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar to his wife, Amytis, who was homesick for the verdant mountains of the Median Empire. Whether a fairytale or true story – the gardens looked like a green paradise on Earth.
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Image credits: Budget Direct
Image credits: Budget Direct
The lighthouse that set the bar for all future lighthouses, the monumental Lighthouse of Alexandria, commissioned by Ptolemy I and built in 300 – 280 BCE by Sostratus of Cnidus, is believed to be the first lighthouse in the world. The spectacular 330ft tall building was for centuries the third tallest building in the world after the pyramids of Giza. A burning fire on top of the structure of three levels: a square level at the bottom, an octagonal level in the middle and a cylindrical top, guided men at sea until the lighthouse was gradually demolished by earthquakes between the 12th century and late 15th century and transformed into a medieval fortress by Mamlūk sultan Qāʾit Bāy.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Image credits: Budget Direct
Image credits: Budget Direct
You know you made a pretty outstanding building when there is a new term created after you. An elaborate tomb built for Mausolus, king of Caria, was so spectacular that the late ruler’s name became a word describing a large funeral monument. The massive 148ft mausoleum was built in present-day Bodrum around 350 BCE. Made of white marble, the structure reflected Greek, Egyptian and Lycian architectural features. It made the list thanks to the huge, spectacular sculptures, one of which was a statue of Mausolus riding a chariot. The Mausoleum gradually fell into disrepair from numerous earthquakes in 13th century.
Statue of Zeus
Image credits: Budget Direct
Image credits: Budget Direct
Wood will always be a true classic of all building materials. Unfortunately, the Elean culture’s Statue of Zeus at Olympia has not stood the test of time – or, more accurately, the test of fire. The 43ft tall remarkable piece, which depicted the God of Thunder on a throne, was an attempt to overshadow the Athenians, but it didn’t shine for long. Its wooden frame and cedar throne were destroyed in 426CE, and its rich gold, ivory, ebony decorations and precious stones are now missing, presumed pilfered.
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Image credits: Budget Direct
Image credits: Budget Direct
Say what you want about this tribute to the Greek goddess of chastity, hunting, wild animals, forests, and fertility, but it was certainly provocative. In fact, it was built and destroyed three times: Herostratus was first, in an act of attention-seeking arson; then the Goths, who destroyed the city on the run; and finally, in 401 CE, the Christians left behind only the foundations and a single column which can still be visited today in Turkey.
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Share on FacebookIf some billionaires tried to do that, people would be pissed. If governments tried to use tax money to do it, people would be pissed. It ain't gonna happen if the cathedral is any indication of how stupid people are. Mad it's gone, yet mad people are restoring it.
Load More Replies...Very nice! Thanks for these, Panda's been bringing their A game lately. Keep it up!
Nice effort to show us how huge these monuments were, and how they would have looked if preserved up to today! amazing! The size of Colossus of Rhodes, f.e. is stunning.
That cant be to scale. It looks about 800 ft high in the picture not 100 ft as stated
Load More Replies...With the exception that that is not the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It is the pyramid of Khafre. The Great Pyramid is being obscured by the pyramid of Khafre in this image.
Thank you. I came here to check if anyone had pointed out that the pyramid is not Khufu's. However, pyramids were NOT built by slaves but by salaried workers.
Load More Replies...Might have been better to actually show the great pyramid, rather than its smaller companion.
Some comments: A. The Colossus of Rhodes did NOT straddle the entrance. The metallurgy and crane technology required to build something like that did not exist. It was standing straight and to the side. B. The temple of Zeus and the Temple of Artemis were painted with bright colors, not bare marble. That is just how we imagine them, since that is how we have seen them - years after all the paint flaked off. However, the Greeks and the Italians had the same love of bright colors that they have today.
I like how they kept the new cities/ buildings. Great work. BTW the pyramid of Giza and the lighthouse of Alexandria are both in Assassin's Creed Origins. It was a surprisingly good game.
Did anyone else sometimes see the name of the Wonder, think "Ooh, what does this one look like?", scroll to the first image, and then think "Oh, that's not very impressive" before remembering to move on to the second image? I did that over and over... and over... again. :P I guess I'm a bit of a slow learner.
As cool as the Colossus or Rhodes sounds, in reality, it wasn't quite like that. It didn't straddle the harbor as it's often shown. That's a popular misconception. It was however huge and bronze, and did stand right next to the harbor as a greeting... just not astride it. Unfortunately. ...Still very cool though.
When I was a kid I often wondered if the pyramids were once covered in something else, as they looked so rough, compared to all the beautiful things inside (King Tut exhibition), but it wasn't until many years later I found out that they used to be covered in alabaster. They must have glowed in the desert sun for miles!
Hidreley, thanks so much for the time traveling experience, it´s nice to "see" these wonders again. Fantastic job.
One could make an app with the 3d models of these wonders, when you look through your phone screen you would see the actual buildings. That would be impressive.
If you've played Civilization, you know this already ;) Thanks, Sid Meier, for extending my history knowledge!
The Colossus in that picture is waaaaay taller than 104 feet. The tower near his left foot is probably 60 feet tall, and it doesn't even reach his knee. Nice try though.
Unfortunately the idea that the Colossus of Rhodes had one foot on either side of the harbour entrance is highly unlikely. The inconvenience of closing the harbour with scaffolding whilst constructing it would have been problematic to say the least. Much more likely that it was a large conventional statue on the landward side.
Woow we actually need more and this kind of statues and temples to be build again, they are so majestic and huge and interesting to look at, why not build now with our technology now its more easy , not like 3000 years ago, but no now we building only supermarkets thats are just like boxes and all looks same or glasshouses thats it
This is purely conjecture and grandstanding. With the exception of the Pyramid of Giza, there is zero proof that any of these sites looked like this. It's not written anywhere, there are no drawings or blueprints to suggest how these architectures looked on there day and time. Interesting depictions, but depictions of a elaborate mind. Nothing more, nothing less.
Actually there are excellent written descriptions. I encourage you to read Pausanias, who died circa 180AD. He wrote what amounts to a travel guide. There are many ancient written texts providing great descriptions.
Load More Replies...I enjoyed seeing the before and felt sad seeing the after. However, you missed one of the great wonders that is still here, The Great Wall of China. Amazing really that is has stood the test of time.
so history is telling us to stop building big things, like..."The Wall"
There are examples of stone pottery made from the earlier era made out of some of the hardest stones on earth, yet they are carved with a smoothness that couldn't be duplicated today without burning out many drills unless the drills had diamond points. Yet it is claimed the artisans had mere hand tools! That's all that was found. But the writings and drawings on the walls indicate the makers used a different kind of technology - either a laser effect from the sun using golden parabolas and/or sound waves. There are some YT videos made by "Ancient Architects" and others that propose different theories that are quite fascinating for anyone interested in exploring more.
The greek statue "The Colossus" must be A LOT bigger on the picture, than it really was? 100 feet? that's about 30 meters, and 30 meters ain't that high. It looks more like 130 meters, or close to 400 ft.
I've always wondered why the Second Temple (Herod's Temple) in Jerusalem never made the list. Considering how important it was to Judaism and Christianity you'd think that it would have been a shoo-in...
How sad to realize that both the Lighthouse and the Mausoleum stood for over 1000 years, and there was no attempt to restore them.
I like these and would like to see more. I have a question about the lighthouse though. How'd they build it in that style? I thought buildings with openings like that were only made possible with the development of steel beams.
We still don't know truly how the Romans made their concrete, though theories include seawater. What we do know is that the ancients were amazing engineers. I've been to the Great Theatre at Epidaurus, which seats 13,000 to 14,000 people and has perfect acoustics. How did they do it? No computers? Gods only know. (though maybe they did have computers - check out the Antikythera mechanism!)
Load More Replies...Loved the before and afters! Thank you! BTW, what we were taught in schools about the pyramids grew out of one questionable report of a single manufactured artifact by an English explorer about 150 years ago. Fraud in his reporting is highly suspected, even provable. The pyramids were built many thousands of years prior what is taught. They were built over an underground spring and were laid out with great precision to magnetic north and laid out to represent Orion's Belt. The sheen on the surface was so bright that the pyramids's light could be seen in what is now Israel. The water has a significant role because the building were designed to generate electricity using a different type of knowledge than what we use today. We have no equipment even today to lift 15-ton stones, let alone to cut them and to place them with the precision that is found in the pyramids. The fits are so precise that a piece of paper could not be stuck between them. Etc, etc.
Please stop with these unfounded claims. There is no proof (only speculation) that the pyramids align with Orion's belt. The distance from the pyramids to Egypt is over 400km - impossible to see no matter how bright they might have been. Your average tow-truck can handle over 15-tons - large construction cranes can do an order of magnitude more than that. And finally, I have not been to the pyramids, but my former college roommate has, and he has assured me the stones are not "so precise" - there are many places he could insert his hand between the stones.
Load More Replies...Babylon is nowhere near Baghdad; I was stationed there. It's a couple hours to the south.
Are you aware that GoT is a work of (brilliantly written) fiction?
Load More Replies...You mean they didn't actually time travel to take these photos? I feel so cheated.
Load More Replies...If some billionaires tried to do that, people would be pissed. If governments tried to use tax money to do it, people would be pissed. It ain't gonna happen if the cathedral is any indication of how stupid people are. Mad it's gone, yet mad people are restoring it.
Load More Replies...Very nice! Thanks for these, Panda's been bringing their A game lately. Keep it up!
Nice effort to show us how huge these monuments were, and how they would have looked if preserved up to today! amazing! The size of Colossus of Rhodes, f.e. is stunning.
That cant be to scale. It looks about 800 ft high in the picture not 100 ft as stated
Load More Replies...With the exception that that is not the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It is the pyramid of Khafre. The Great Pyramid is being obscured by the pyramid of Khafre in this image.
Thank you. I came here to check if anyone had pointed out that the pyramid is not Khufu's. However, pyramids were NOT built by slaves but by salaried workers.
Load More Replies...Might have been better to actually show the great pyramid, rather than its smaller companion.
Some comments: A. The Colossus of Rhodes did NOT straddle the entrance. The metallurgy and crane technology required to build something like that did not exist. It was standing straight and to the side. B. The temple of Zeus and the Temple of Artemis were painted with bright colors, not bare marble. That is just how we imagine them, since that is how we have seen them - years after all the paint flaked off. However, the Greeks and the Italians had the same love of bright colors that they have today.
I like how they kept the new cities/ buildings. Great work. BTW the pyramid of Giza and the lighthouse of Alexandria are both in Assassin's Creed Origins. It was a surprisingly good game.
Did anyone else sometimes see the name of the Wonder, think "Ooh, what does this one look like?", scroll to the first image, and then think "Oh, that's not very impressive" before remembering to move on to the second image? I did that over and over... and over... again. :P I guess I'm a bit of a slow learner.
As cool as the Colossus or Rhodes sounds, in reality, it wasn't quite like that. It didn't straddle the harbor as it's often shown. That's a popular misconception. It was however huge and bronze, and did stand right next to the harbor as a greeting... just not astride it. Unfortunately. ...Still very cool though.
When I was a kid I often wondered if the pyramids were once covered in something else, as they looked so rough, compared to all the beautiful things inside (King Tut exhibition), but it wasn't until many years later I found out that they used to be covered in alabaster. They must have glowed in the desert sun for miles!
Hidreley, thanks so much for the time traveling experience, it´s nice to "see" these wonders again. Fantastic job.
One could make an app with the 3d models of these wonders, when you look through your phone screen you would see the actual buildings. That would be impressive.
If you've played Civilization, you know this already ;) Thanks, Sid Meier, for extending my history knowledge!
The Colossus in that picture is waaaaay taller than 104 feet. The tower near his left foot is probably 60 feet tall, and it doesn't even reach his knee. Nice try though.
Unfortunately the idea that the Colossus of Rhodes had one foot on either side of the harbour entrance is highly unlikely. The inconvenience of closing the harbour with scaffolding whilst constructing it would have been problematic to say the least. Much more likely that it was a large conventional statue on the landward side.
Woow we actually need more and this kind of statues and temples to be build again, they are so majestic and huge and interesting to look at, why not build now with our technology now its more easy , not like 3000 years ago, but no now we building only supermarkets thats are just like boxes and all looks same or glasshouses thats it
This is purely conjecture and grandstanding. With the exception of the Pyramid of Giza, there is zero proof that any of these sites looked like this. It's not written anywhere, there are no drawings or blueprints to suggest how these architectures looked on there day and time. Interesting depictions, but depictions of a elaborate mind. Nothing more, nothing less.
Actually there are excellent written descriptions. I encourage you to read Pausanias, who died circa 180AD. He wrote what amounts to a travel guide. There are many ancient written texts providing great descriptions.
Load More Replies...I enjoyed seeing the before and felt sad seeing the after. However, you missed one of the great wonders that is still here, The Great Wall of China. Amazing really that is has stood the test of time.
so history is telling us to stop building big things, like..."The Wall"
There are examples of stone pottery made from the earlier era made out of some of the hardest stones on earth, yet they are carved with a smoothness that couldn't be duplicated today without burning out many drills unless the drills had diamond points. Yet it is claimed the artisans had mere hand tools! That's all that was found. But the writings and drawings on the walls indicate the makers used a different kind of technology - either a laser effect from the sun using golden parabolas and/or sound waves. There are some YT videos made by "Ancient Architects" and others that propose different theories that are quite fascinating for anyone interested in exploring more.
The greek statue "The Colossus" must be A LOT bigger on the picture, than it really was? 100 feet? that's about 30 meters, and 30 meters ain't that high. It looks more like 130 meters, or close to 400 ft.
I've always wondered why the Second Temple (Herod's Temple) in Jerusalem never made the list. Considering how important it was to Judaism and Christianity you'd think that it would have been a shoo-in...
How sad to realize that both the Lighthouse and the Mausoleum stood for over 1000 years, and there was no attempt to restore them.
I like these and would like to see more. I have a question about the lighthouse though. How'd they build it in that style? I thought buildings with openings like that were only made possible with the development of steel beams.
We still don't know truly how the Romans made their concrete, though theories include seawater. What we do know is that the ancients were amazing engineers. I've been to the Great Theatre at Epidaurus, which seats 13,000 to 14,000 people and has perfect acoustics. How did they do it? No computers? Gods only know. (though maybe they did have computers - check out the Antikythera mechanism!)
Load More Replies...Loved the before and afters! Thank you! BTW, what we were taught in schools about the pyramids grew out of one questionable report of a single manufactured artifact by an English explorer about 150 years ago. Fraud in his reporting is highly suspected, even provable. The pyramids were built many thousands of years prior what is taught. They were built over an underground spring and were laid out with great precision to magnetic north and laid out to represent Orion's Belt. The sheen on the surface was so bright that the pyramids's light could be seen in what is now Israel. The water has a significant role because the building were designed to generate electricity using a different type of knowledge than what we use today. We have no equipment even today to lift 15-ton stones, let alone to cut them and to place them with the precision that is found in the pyramids. The fits are so precise that a piece of paper could not be stuck between them. Etc, etc.
Please stop with these unfounded claims. There is no proof (only speculation) that the pyramids align with Orion's belt. The distance from the pyramids to Egypt is over 400km - impossible to see no matter how bright they might have been. Your average tow-truck can handle over 15-tons - large construction cranes can do an order of magnitude more than that. And finally, I have not been to the pyramids, but my former college roommate has, and he has assured me the stones are not "so precise" - there are many places he could insert his hand between the stones.
Load More Replies...Babylon is nowhere near Baghdad; I was stationed there. It's a couple hours to the south.
Are you aware that GoT is a work of (brilliantly written) fiction?
Load More Replies...You mean they didn't actually time travel to take these photos? I feel so cheated.
Load More Replies...
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