The Statue Of Zeus
The Ancient Olympic games were
held in the honor of their god Zeus. The Olympics were one of the most important
festivals. Athletes traveled from near and far compete from places like Asia
Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily. The Olympics started in 776 BC. The statue was
made of ivory and gold. It stood forty feet high, (twelve meters). Earthquakes
hit Greece followed by a scorching fire, but the temple and statue was not
ruined. After about ten centuries the statue was again hit by another fire.
Except this time it destroyed the Temple with the statue in it. The only proof
we have that it existed is carvings of the statue on coins. Phidias sculpted
this gold and ivory statue. It was probably his greatest masterpiece every. This
was considered to be a beautiful and amazing work of art. That is why it is one
of the seven wonders of the world.
Temple Of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
was one of the most beautiful structures on the earth. It was for the Greek
goddess of hunting and nature. This temple was designed by the Greek architect
Cersiphron. It was decorated with bronze statues sculpted by the most skilled
artists. Merchants and people coming to worship their goddess traveled to the
temple. Recently archeologists have found gifts from worshipers, like little
statues of Artemis made of gold and ivory. On July twenty- first 356 BC, in the
night, a man named Herostratus burned the beautiful temple to the ground. He
wanted his name be known and remembered by people all over the world for a long
time, which he accomplished. On that same night something strange happened.
Alexander the Great was born. Autarch the historian later wrote that Artemis the
goddess was too busy making sure that Alexander would be born safely to save her
temple. Over the next two decades the temple was restored. When Alexander the
Great conquered Asia Minor, he also helped rebuild the temple.
The Mausoleum
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was
a burial place for an ancient king. It was like a pyramid, but it was also
different in certain ways. It was similar to the Temple of Artemis than a
pyramid, and it was its beauty that intrigued visitors for many years instead of
its size.
From 377 to 353 BC King Maussollos
of Caria ruled the land. There is no evidence of the king’s existence except
his tombs construction. His wife and sister Artemisia had the tomb built for
him. Possibly the tomb was being built while King Maussollos was still alive.
The Mausoleum was finished around 350 BC, three years after the king’s death,
and one year after his sister’s death.
For
sixteen centuries the Mausoleum stayed nice until an earthquake damaged the
roof. In the early 15th century the knights of St John of Malta took
over the region and then they built a huge crusader castle. In 1494 they decided
to make it stronger. They used stones from the Mausoleum. Twenty-eight years
later in 1522 almost every stone from the kings tomb had been taken and used for
their castle.
The Colossus of Rhodes
An island called Rhodes had three
city- states, Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos. The cities decided to unite in 408
BC. The people who lived in the cities wanted to be one big city instead of 3
little weak city-states. They also wanted one capital for their city, Rhodes.
The city grew larger in business and wealth thanks to Ptolemy the first Soter of
Egypt. 103 years later in 305 BC the Atigonids of Macedonia conquered the island
of Rhodes, so they could break the partnership between the Egyptians and the
people from Rhodes, but they never could get in the city. In 304 BC a peace
agreement was sighed between the People from Rhodes and the Egyptians with the
Antigonids, so the Antigonids stopped trying to conquer Rhodes. They left behind
valuable military equipment behind. The Rhodians sold the equipment and then
used the money to build a huge state of their sun god, Helios. It took 12 years
for Colossus to be built. It was finished 282 BC.
For many years the statue was at the entrance to the
harbor, until an earthquake hit the island in about 226 BC. The statue had
broken at its knee, its weakest point. The Ptolemy the third Eurgetes of Egypt
said he would restore the statue, but the offer was turned down because of a
prediction that said not to restore it.
For
almost 1,000 years the statue just lay on the ground broken. Then in 654 AD the
Arabs took over Rhodes. They took and sold the remains of the statue to a Jew
from Syria. It is thought that the parts were transported on camels.
