SUBJECT:ENGLISH THEME:SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD DONE BY: EGLI TAFA
SUBJECT:ENGLISH
THEME:SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE ANCIENT
WORLD
DONE BY: EGLI TAFA
Great Wall of
China
Great Wall of China is a series
of fortications made of
stone,brick,tamped earth wood
and other materials,generally
built along an east-to-west line
across historical northern
borders of China in part to
protect the Chinese Empire or
its prototypical states against
intrusionsby various nomadic
groups .The wall built from
220-260BC by the first
Emeperor of China , Qin Shi
Huang.The main Great Wall
line stretches from
Shanhaiguan in the east, to
Lop Lake in the west.This is
made up of 6.259 km.
History of Great
Wall
The Chinese were already familiar
with the techniques of wall bulding
by the time of spring and autumn
between the 8th and 5th
centuries.During this time the
states of Qin,Wei,Zhao,Yan all
constructed extensive fortifications
to defend their own borders .Qin
Shi Huang conquered all opposing
states and unifed China.To potion
the empire against the Xiongnu
people from the north, he ordered
the building of new walls to
connect the remaining fortifications
along the empire’s northern
frontier.Transporting the large
material required is difficult.
Egyptian
pyramidsThe ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008.Most were built tombs for the country’s Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kindomperiods.The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Saqqara , northwest of Memphis.The earliest among these is the Pyramid of Djoser which was build during the third dynasty.The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza, on the outskirts of CarioSeveral of the Giza pyramids.Theestimate of the number of workers to build the pyramids range from a few thousand, twenty thousand and up to 100.000.
All Egyptian pyramids were built on the west the Nile, which as the site of the setting sun was associated with the realm of the dead Egyptian mythology.In 1842 Karl Richard Lepsius produced the firt modern list of pyramids-see Lepsius list of pyramids-in which he counted 67.A great many more have since been discovered.As of November 2008, 118 Egyptian pyramids have been identified.The location of Pyramid 29, which Lepsiuscalled the ‘Headless Pyramid’ was lost for a second time when the structure was buried by desert sands.
Lighthouse of
Alexandria
The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria was a lofty tower between 280 and 247 BC and between 393 and 450 ft (120 and 137 m) tall. Pharos was a small island just off the coast of the Nile Delta’s western edge. In 332 BC when Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria opposite to Pharos, he caused the island to be united to the coast by a mole more than three-quarters of a mile long (1260 m/4,100+ feet) The east side of the mole became the Great Harbour
The lighthouse was constructed in the 3rd century BC. After Alexander the Great died of a fever at age 32, the first Ptolemy announced himself king in 305 BC, and commissioned its construction shortly thereafter. The building was finished during the reign of his son, the second Ptolemy . It took 12 years to complete, at a total cost of 800 talentns and served as a prototype for all later lighthouses in the world. Judith McKenzie writes that "The Arab descriptions of the lighthouse are remarkably consistent, although it was repaired a number of times especially after earthquake damage. In 796, the lighthouse may have lost its upper tier, which apparently went without repair for about a century.
Hanging Gardens of
Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one whose location has not been definitely established. Traditionally they were said to have been built in the ancient city of Babylon. According to one legend, Nebuchadnezzar II built the Hanging Gardens for his Median wife, Queen Amytis, because she missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland. He also built a grand palace that came to be known as 'The Marvel of the Mankind'.
To date, no archaeological
evidence has been found at
Babylon for the Hanging
Gardens. It is possible that
evidence exists beneath the
Euphrates, which cannot be
excavated safely at present.
The river flowed east of its
current position during the
time of Nebuchadnezzar II,
and little is known about the
western portion of Babylon. A
recent theory proposes that the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
were actually constructed by
the
Assyrian king Sennacherib (rei
gned 704 – 681 BC) for his
palace at Nineveh.
SphynksA sphinx is a mythical creature with, as a minimum, the body of a lion and a human head. Greek tradition, it has the haunches of a lion, sometimes with the wings of a great bird, and the face of a human. It is mythicised as treacherous and merciless.The largest and most famous sphinx is the Great Sphinx of Giza, situated at the Giza Plateau adjacent to the Great Pyramids of Giza on the west bank of the Nile River and facing due east (29°58′31″N 31°08′15″E). The sphinx is located to the east of and below the pyramids.
What names their builders gave
to these statues is not known.
the Great Sphinx site, the
inscription on
a stele by Thutmose IV in 1400
BCE, lists the names of three
aspects of the local sun deity of
that period, Khepera–Rê–
AtumPerhaps .The first sphinx
in Egypt was one
depicting Queen Hetepheres II,
of the fourth dynasty that lasted
from 2723 BCE to 2563. She
was one of the longest-lived
members of the royal family of
that dynasty. The Great Sphinx
has become an emblem of
Egypt, frequently appearing on
its stamps, coins, and official
documents
ColoseumThe Colosseum or Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of concrete and stone, it was the largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire, and is considered one of the greatest works of Romam architecture and engineering. It is the largest amphitheatre in the world. The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.
The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, following the reign of Nero. This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name AmphitheatrumCaesareum (adjective pertaining to the title Caesar), but this name may have been strictly poetic as it was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli). Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of the Emperor Vespasian in around 70–72 AD, funded by the spoils taken from the Jewish Temple after the Siege of Jerusalem.
ParthenonThe Parthenon Ancient Greek Modern Greek is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered the zenith of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and western civilization, and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments.
The Parthenon itself replaced an older
temple of Athena, which historians
call the Pre-Parthenon or Older
Parthenon, that was destroyed in
the Persian invasion of 480 BC. The
temple is archaeoa
stronomically aligned to the Hyades.
While a sacred building dedicated to
the city's patron goddess, the
Parthenon was actually used primarily
as a treasury. For a time, it served as
the treasury of the Delian League,
which later became the Athenian
Empire. In the 5th century AD, the
Parthenon was converted into
a Christian church dedicated to
the Virgin Mary. The origin of the
Parthenon's name is from the Greek
word (parthenon), which referred to
the "unmarried women's apartments"
in a house and in the Parthenon's case
seems to have been used at first only
for a particular room of the temple. It
is debated which room this is and how
the room acquired its name.