Die Sieben Weltwunder

by Peter A. Clayton

The seven wonders of the ancient world have long been hotly debated, from the question of which great works comprise the seven, to whether some of them even existed. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World brings together several lively, detailed & engrossing discussions by noted authorities on each of the famed seven wonders, these the Great Pyramid of Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, The Colossus of Rhodes & the Lighthouse of Alexandria

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, Architecture, Mythology, Ancient History, Art

Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief summary of the little remaining knowledge we have of the Seven Wonders. At least we still have the Great Pyramid, but as for the rest there are foundations, some statues and other stonework, and a few brief written descriptions from antiquity or in the case of the Pharos, medieval times. I enjoyed this book and did not realize how old it was until the author mentioned that a stone was recovered underwater by “frogmen”, which is a word that is not used as much these days.

[Iset · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming popular history of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Each chapter is written by a different author, an expert in their field, to tackle each of the wonders. But the text is very accessible and lucid; clearly written for the intelligibility and engagement with a general audience. Some chapters are better than others – Finkel undoubtedly has the most difficult task, since as of yet we lack solid evidence that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon even existed, but that is not his fault. Since this is a short book covering several topics, you may surmise that what we get is merely an overview of each wonder in question. However, it’s a fun read, and designed to be merely the hook to further study. A caveat is that, originally published in 1988, the book may be a little outdated by now, as new discoveries are coming to light.

7 out of 10

[Destanee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for class. Very text heavy with interesting information, but extremely boring. It was nice learning about the wonders though

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The seeds for the list of the Seven Wonders were sown in the middle of the fifth century BC, in the Histories of Herodotus, often called the father of history. He was born about 484 BC in the city of Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum) on the south-west coast of Turkey, and he devoted his life to describing the clash of the two great civilisations of his day. In the east were the Persians, who had conquered the whole of the area in which Herodotus was born nearly a hundred years before. Around the basin of the Aegean Sea were the Greeks, many of them, like Herodotus himself, now subject to the Great King of Persia. The Greeks were concerned to ward off any attempt by the Persians to extend their empire westwards. In 480 BC the Greeks were victorious at the great sea-battle of Salamis. They drove back the expedition of the Persians led y Xerxes, the Great King, but only after Athens itself had been destroyed. Miraculously, the city, like the phoenix of legend, was born anew from the ashes, and the wonderful buildings now on the Acropolis arose from this very destruction.

"Herodotus marvelled, as did many of his contemporaries, at the enormous achievements of the Persians and the great civilisations of the east." (5)

[Christopher Obert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seven Wonders is a great book to introduce anyone to the wonders of the ancient world. I have always been fascinated with history and the technologies of the ancients. This book brings together true architectural wonders. Each of the seven is given its own chapter to fully describe the structure and its history. I was shocked to read that the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was found over 1,800 years after its construction in fairly good shape but was destroyed on purpose! Another oddity was that the Colossus of Rhodes lay where it fell for almost 900 years without anyone ever repairing it. Imagine the Statue of Liberty lying broken in New York for nine centuries and you have a good example for the Colossus which was similar in size and structure. The Seven Wonders is not just the story of seven things but the story of mankind!

[Vince · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent short intro to the ancient seven wonders. The seven chapters are written by six different authors, so as is usual in such compendiums, the writing style varies quite a bit from tediously academic to very engaging for the non-specialist. Nicely illustrated with photos, maps, temple plans, etc., as well as some of the fanciful "reconstructed" drawings and prints by Romantic era European travelers which make for a nice contrast. The bibliography looks like a good reference for further readings, and for myself, the writings by the "ancients" looks inviting.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, mostly readable review of the seven wornders of the ancient world. With an introduction about how the seven were likely chosen and then a chapter devoted to each "wonder," the book is a quick read. All of the chapters were enjoyable except the one on the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, which assumed that readers had a lot of knowledge of classic history, and because I don't have a lot of that knowledge, it was tough for me to follow.

[No Magic Pill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World describes - you guessed it - the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesos, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, and Pharos (Lighthouse) at Alexandria. The epilogue discusses other "wonders" left off this exclusive list.

Each wonder has its own chapter. Clayton discusses in great detail the history leading up the construction and what has happened since. A variety of sources are consulted and compared against one another, from ancient authors (such as Pliny the Elder's Natural History ) to modern-day researchers and excavators. Note: some histories are definitive, others just theories. Clayton distinguishes as needed.

Architecture takes up a significant portion of each chapter. Specific dimensions are listed down to the meter and decorations are described in vivid detail.

Supplemental illustrations and photographs are included throughout each chapter to give a better idea of what these structures looked like. (At least to some peoples' imaginations: some we have no idea what they looked like besides ancient drawings and engravings. For example, there is little evidence to suggest that they existed at all, much less in Babylon.)

This book would serve better as a reference than a pleasure read, even for non-fiction fans. A writer reconstructing the ancient city of Alexandria could easily use this to help their imagery. A researcher can use the book itself or its selected bibliography to find more sources.

Overall, the book was quite bland (read: factual), well-researched, and well-organized.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fortuitously, just after having been asked to review Stephanie Dalley's 'The Mystery of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon' (Oxford, 2013), I came upon this title at a used bookstore in Evanston. Since Dalley's thesis is that the gardens weren't in Babylon and since this book works from the assumption that they were, I thought that reading it might give me some perspective as I'm not an expert on the Assyrian or Babylonian cultures.

Although this book is geared for a lay public and skirts many of the complicating facts about the "Seven Wonders" (such as there being many alternative listings of such differing from the ones their authors address), the individual essays aren't bad. Indeed, Irving L. Finkel, author of the essay on the gardens, makes it pretty clear that he doesn't think the Babylonian surmise is a strong one even though he plays it out as much as he can.

Dalley's book is also geared for a lay public, but she has a lot more room to spin her hypotheses and arguments than the six herein (Clayton does two essays). She'll get a higher rating.

[Amy Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been fascinated by the Seven Wonders & this little book gives you a great deal of information about each one. Great reconstructions (since all but one are gone) so you can envision what the Colussus of Rhodes or the great statue of Zeus really looked like. A very informative little history!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. This is the second time I've read it and it just makes me want to go out and do more research on the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. It also makes me itch to travel to see the ones that are still in exsistence in some form.

[Weinz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always wanted to know more. I don't know if I wanted as much info as it goes into but I learned things I didn't know before and that IS the point.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. I knew the wonders, but didn't have an understanding of the story behind them....this book is a quick read.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with lots of information and excellent sense of time. It quotes original writers rather then giving an overview. It would be 5 star if it had pictures to match.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A readable description of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This book is pure narrative history which is just fine from time to time.

[Cool]

LIBRARY SHELVES

[Eagle Watcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew most of what they said, from the other books I've read.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit outdated having first been published in 1988, but interesting nonetheless - the Wonders, I mean. The writing was dry so that made it sometimes difficult to continue.

[Amr Gawish · Rating 4 out of 5]

thanks to the man who let me know this book and give it to me to read it

thank you Dr/AHMED ADEL