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Example research essay topic: Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World - 1,892 words

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Throughout earths history hundreds of thousands of great structures have been built. Due to fires, earthquakes, conquests, and the ravages of time (cnn) most of them, unfortunately, have been destroyed. However, there are a select few that have made a significant impact in history by either withstanding the test of time or imprinting its memory within the majority of todays cultures. The seven Wonders of the ancient world are a large part of this extremely selective group. Though built in ancient times, these Wonders are beautiful, yet mysterious, pieces of art. Inspired by mythology, religion and art, ancient civilizations undertook these seven imposing projects from about 2700 BC to about 270 BC (cnn).

The original list of these ancient Wonders was composed by the Greeks and Romans and completed sometime during the Middle Ages. To this day, this original list is still being disputed since the Greeks and Romans were not aware of many of the other Wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, etc. Over time it has been seen that the original seven Wonders, determined by the Greeks and Romans, were commonly included in other seven wonder lists. Thus, the original list of the Pyramids of Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus at Rhodes, and the Pharos of Alexandria are the true seven Wonders of the ancient world.

The Great Pyramids of Egypt are gigantic stone structures near the ancient city of Memphis, Egypt, serving as a tomb for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu (ce. eng. usf). These pyramids are the one and only wonder to withstand the test of time. The permanence of the pyramids, built to last forever, was related to the Egyptian concept of an afterlife and the mummification of their dead (Benton-Diyanni 39). These three magnificent pyramids were believed to have been built over a twenty year period during the Fourth Dynasty, 2500 BC through 2480 BC.

The pyramids are often called the first wonder of the world (infoplease), because of the size and durability of the structures. The most impressive artistic achievement of these works of art is that the three pyramids are perfectly aligned, their corners are oriented toward the north, south, east, and west, and, the maximum error within the placement of the stones is less than 0. 1 % (ce. eng. usf). The historical significance of these structures are clearly stated in a quote by Napoleon when he invaded Egypt in 1798, Soldats! Du haut de ces Pyramids, 40 species nous contemp lent. (Soldiers!

From the top of these Pyramids, 40 centuries are looking at us. ) (ce. eng. usf). Today, people can see the influence of these pyramids all around the world. There are hundreds of buildings with the pyramid structure incorporated into their architecture. For example, the historical museum Le Louvre in Paris, France has a modern, glass pyramid as its focal point in one of its many courtyards.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is a legendary garden built on the banks of the Euphrates river by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon for his queen, Amuhia. Archaeologists are still trying to pinpoint the exact location of the gardens, but know the general area to be approximately fifty kilometers south of Baghdad, Iraq (ce. eng. usf). The best description of these beautiful gardens comes from the ancient Greek Philo of Byzantium, The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above the ground level, and the root of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns.

Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels. These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence, the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches. This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is suspended above the head of spectators (ce. eng.

usf. edu). Though not as massive as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the influence of this piece of art can be seen throughout the world in atrium's, zoos, hotel lobbies, museums, and shopping malls. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was located in the ancient town of Olympia on the West Coast of modern Greece. The town of Olympia erected a great temple to worship Zeus, but the temple was too mundane; thus, the great Greek sculptor Phidias was assigned the sacred task of designing and sculpting the likeness of Zeus (unused).

This is the statue the original Olympians worshipped when the Olympic games were held in the ancient town of Olympia, Greece. At the time of the games, wars stopped, and athletes came from Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily to celebrate the Olympics and to worship their king of gods: Zeus (ce. eng. usf). The best description of the extraordinary statue comes from Pausanias the Greek, In his right hand a figure of Victory made from ivory and gold.

In his left hand, his scepter inlaid with all metals, and an eagle perched on the scepter. The sandals of the god are made of gold, as is his robe (ce. eng. usf). Unfortunately, all traces of the wonder are lost due to fires, earthquakes, landslides, and floods. There are reproductions of the figure on ancient Greek coins, which are viewable at the Olympic museum in Greece.

Even though the mythological God Zeus is no longer worshipped as a real God, his influence, as well as all the other mythical Greek and Roman Gods, is seen all over the world in buildings, paintings, and books. The television and film industries have also used the almighty Greek God to advance their products in movies and television shows such as Jason and the Argonauts, Xena: Warrior Princess, and Hercules. Destroyed by the Goths in 262 AD, the Temple of Artemis may have been the most beautiful structure on earth (infoplease). The temple was shaped like most other Greek temples of its time, however, was made of marble and surrounded by golden columns and silver statuettes. It was used as a market place and a place of worship for those who catered to the Goddess Artemis, the goddess of hunting and wild nature.

To understand the temples grandeur, a quote from Antipater of Sidon states, But when I saw the sacred house of Artemis that towers to the clouds, the [other Wonders] were placed in the shade, for the Sun himself has never looked upon it equal outside Olympus (ce. eng. usf). Throughout history, and to this day, the artistic columns and pillars of the Greek temples can be seen surrounding houses, building, and memorials of all kinds. This shrine, dedicated to King Mausolus of Caria in Asian Minor, is the source of the modern word mausoleum (infoplease). The mausoleum itself was located in the city of Halicarnassus in south-west Turkey, built around 350 BC, and survived sixteen centuries until the crusaders dismantled it and built a castle using everyone of its stones. (ce.

eng. usf). According to King Maussollos himself in Lucian's Dialogues of the Dead, I have lying, over me Halicarnassus, a gigantic monument such as no other dead person has, adorned in the finest way with statues of horses and men carved most realistically from the best quality marble (ce. eng. usf). The beauty of the shrine came from the decorations and statues that proudly stood surrounding and protecting the mausoleum.

Hundreds of statues of people, lions, horses and other animals also made this Wonder unique. Since all the statues were of people and animals and not of Greek Gods and Goddesses, it is one of the only buildings erected during its time not dedicated to the Gods of Ancient Greece. Since the world is still using the word mausoleum and people are still erecting these shrines in the memory of their loved ones, the influence of this Wonder is easily understood. The Colossus of Rhodes was a 110 -foot bronze statue of the Greek sun god Helios, erected to protect the entrance to the Mandraki harbor on the island of Rhodes in ancient Greece (encarta.

msn). This Wonder is a marvel since, technologically speaking; the construction of this statue should have been impossible during this time period. It took twelve years to complete, but when it was done this giant, brilliant statue guarded the harbor of Mandraki for decades until an earthquake destroyed it. The significance of this Wonder is that it has given the art world opportunities to enhance its own technologies based on how Colossus was built. To build his statue, his workers cast the outer bronze skin parts.

The base was made of white marble, and the feet and ankle of the statue were fixed first. The structure was gradually erected as the bronze form was fortified with an iron and stone framework. To reach the higher parts, an earth ramp was built around the statue and was later removed (ce. eng. usf) The Lighthouse of Alexandria is the seventh, and final, Wonder of the Ancient World. It was a famous, possibly the first, lighthouse standing more than 440 feet tall, located on an island in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt (encarta.

msn). Of the Seven Wonders, this is the only one that had any practical use in addition to its artistic and architectural elegance. For sailors, it ensured a safe return to the Great Harbor. For architects, it meant even more: it was the tallest building on Earth. And for scientists, it was the mysterious mirror that fascinated them most. The mirror which reflection could be seen more that 35 miles off-shore (ce.

eng. usf). Even to this day people can see the influence of this Wonder across the world. This architectural first has been used as model for many prototypes of lighthouses, and, from a linguistics standpoint, it gave its Egyptian name, Pharos, to all the lighthouses in the world just look up the French, Italian, and Spanish word for lighthouse (ce. eng. usf).

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World include fascinating monuments and structures that changed the world, including the artistic world. Buildings, houses, paintings, places of business have all been influenced by these Wonders. Without these beautiful structures, the cities of this planet would be extremely mundane. A beautiful temple in Asia Minor erected in honor of the Greek goddess of hunting and wild nature A fascinating tomb constructed for King Maussollos, Persian satrap of Caria A colossus of Helios the sun-god, erected by the Greeks near the harbor of a Mediterranean Island A lighthouse built by the Ptolemies on the island of Pharos off the coast of their capital city Pictures and sayings from web Destinations: The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

n. pag. 15 November 2000: web Record-Benton, Janet and Di Yanni, Robert. Arts and Culture: An Introduction to Humanities. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. n. pag. 15 November 2000: web The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. n. pag. 15 November 2000: web Seven Wonders of the World.

n. pag. 15 November 2000: web The Seven wonders of the World. n. pag. 15 November 2000: web Bibliography:


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Research essay sample on Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World

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