The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
See the famous Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Walk through the lush Hanging Gardens of
Babylon. Climb the great Lighthouse at Alexandria. Stand before the immense statue of Zeus at
Olympia. Marvel at the beauty of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus...
The ancient Greeks loved to compile lists of the marvellous structures in their world. Though we think
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as a single list today, there were actually a number of lists
compiled by different Greek writers. Antipater of Sidon, and Philon of Byzantium, drew up two of the
most well-known lists.
Why seven? The Greeks thought that the number had mystical significance. Perhaps because it was
the total of the known planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) along with the Sun and Moon.
Many of the lists agreed on six of the seven items. The final place on some lists was awarded to
the Walls of the City of Babylon. On others, the Palace of Cyrus, king of Persia took the seventh
position. Finally, toward the 6th century A.D., the final item became the Lighthouse at Alexandria.
Since the it was Greeks who made the lists it is not unusual that many of the items on them were
examples of Greek culture. The writers might have listed the Stonehenge if they'd seen it, but this
place was beyond the limits of their world.
It is a surprise to most people to learn that not all the Seven Wonders existed at the same time. Even if
you lived in ancient times you would have still needed a time machine to see all seven. While
the Great Pyramid of Egypt was built centuries before the rest and is still around today (it is the only
"wonder" still intact) most of the others only survived a few hundred years or less. The Colossus of
Rhodes stood only a little more than half a century before an earthquake toppled it.
REFERENCES:
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The statue of Zeus at Olympia, http://www.unmuseum.org/ztemp.htm
The Great Pyramid of Egypt, http://www.unmuseum.org/kpyramid.htm
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm
The Colossus of Rhodes, http://www.unmuseum.org/colrhode.htm
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, http://www.unmuseum.org/ephesus.htm
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, http://www.unmuseum.org/maus.htm
The Lighthouse of Alexandria, http://www.unmuseum.org/pharos.htm
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, http://www.unmuseum.org/wonders.htm
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF EGYPT
It's 756 feet long on each side, 450 feet high and is composed of 2,300,000 blocks of stone, each averaging 2 1/2 tons in
weight. Despite the makers' limited surveying tools, no side is more than 8 inches different in length than another, and the
whole structure is perfectly oriented to the points of the compass. Even in the 19th century, it was the tallest building in the
world and, at the age of 4,500 years, it is the only one of the famous "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" that still stands.
Even today it remains the most massive building on Earth. It is the Great Pyramid of Khufu, at Giza, Egypt.
Some of the earliest history of the Pyramid comes from a Greek the
historian and traveler Herodotus of Halicanassus. He visited Egypt around
450 BC and included a description of the Great Pyramid in a history book
he wrote. Herodotus was told by his Egyptian guides that it took twenty
years for a force of 100,000 oppressed slaves to build the pyramid (with
another 10 years to build a stone causeway that connected it to a temple in
the valley below). Stones were lifted into position by the use of immense
machines. The purpose of the structure, according to Herodotus's sources,
was as a tomb for the Pharaoh Khufu (whom the Greeks referred to as
Cheops).
Seven Quick Facts
Location: Giza, Egypt
Built: Around 2560 BC
Function: Tomb of Pharoah Khufu
Destroyed: Still stands today.
Size: Height 480 ft. (146m)
Made of: Mostly limestone
Other: Tallest building in the world till 1311
AD and again from 1647 to 1874.
Herodotus, a Greek from the democratic city of Athens, probably found the
idea of a single man employing such staggering wealth and effort on his tomb an incredible act of egotism. He reported that
even thousands of years later the Egyptians still hated Khufu for the burden he had placed on the people and could hardly
bring themselves to speak his name.
However, Khufu's contemporary Egyptian subjects may have
seen the great pyramid in a different light. To them the
pharaoh was not just a king, but a living god who linked their
lives with those of the immortals. The pyramid, as an eternal
tomb for the pharaoh's body, may have offered the people
reassurance of his continuing influence with the gods. The
pyramid wasn't just a symbol of regal power, but a visible
link between earth and heaven.
Indeed, many of the stories Herodotus relates to us are
probably false. Engineers calculate that fewer men and less
years were needed than Herodotus suggests to build the
structure. It also seems unlikely that slaves or complicated
machines were needed for the pyramid's construction. It isn't
surprising that the Greek historian got it wrong, however. By
the time he visited the site, the structure was already 20
The three large pyramids at Giza: From left to right,
centuries old, and much of the truth about it was shrouded in
Menkaure, Khafre, Khufu. The far pyramid is the "Great the mists of history.
Pyramid" and the largest structure on the site. The
middle one may look larger, but only because it is built
Certainly the idea that it was a tomb for a Pharaoh, though,
on higher ground.
seems in line with Egyptian practices. For many centuries
before and after the construction of the Great Pyramid, the Egyptians had interned their dead Pharaoh-Kings, whom they
believed to be living Gods, in intricate tombs. Some were above-ground structures, like the pyramid, others were cut in the
rock underground. All the dead leaders were outfitted with the many things it was believed they would need in the afterlife to
come. Many were buried with untold treasures.
THE HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON
The city of Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, must have been a wonder to the ancient traveler's eyes. "In addition to
its size," wrote Herodotus, a Greek historian in 450 BC, "Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world."
Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough, he said, to allow
two four-horse chariots to pass each other. The city also had inner walls which were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less
strong." Inside these double walls were fortresses and temples containing immense statues of solid gold. Rising above the city
was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk, that seemed to reach to the heavens.
While archaeological excavations have disputed some of
Herodotus's claims (the outer walls seem to be only 10 miles long
and not nearly as high) his narrative does give us a sense of how
awesome the features of the city appeared to those ancients that
visited it. Strangely, however, one of the city's most spectacular
sites is not even mentioned by Herodotus: The Hanging Gardens of
Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Seven Quick Facts
Location: City State of Babylon (Modern Iraq)
Built: Around 600 BC
Function: Royal Gardens
Destroyed: Earthquake, 2nd Century BC
Size: Height probably 80 ft. (24m)
Gift for A Homesick Wife
Made of: Mud brick waterproofed with lead.
Other: Some archeologists suggest that the actual
Accounts indicate that the garden was built by King
location was not in Babylon, but 350 miles to the
Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled the city for 43 years starting in 605 BC
north in the city of Nineveh.
(There is an alternative story that the gardens were built by the
Assyrian Queen Semiramis during her five year reign starting in 810 BC). This was the height of the city's power and
influence and King Nebuchadnezzar is known to have constructed an astonishing array of temples, streets, palaces and walls.
According to accounts, the gardens were built to cheer up Nebuchadnezzar's homesick wife, Amyitis. Amyitis, daughter of
the king of the Medes, was married to Nebuchadnezzar to create an alliance between the two nations. The land she came
from, though, was green, rugged and mountainous, and she found the flat, sun-baked terrain of Mesopotamia depressing. The
king decided to relieve her depression by recreating her homeland through the building of an artificial mountain with rooftop
gardens.
The Hanging Gardens probably did not really
"hang" in the sense of being suspended from cables
or ropes. The name comes from an inexact
translation of the Greek wordkremastos, or the Latin
word pensilis, which means not just "hanging", but
"overhanging" as in the case of a terrace or balcony.
The Greek geographer Strabo, who described the
gardens in first century BC, wrote, "It consists of
vaulted terraces raised one above another, and
resting upon cube-shaped pillars. These are hollow
and filled with earth to allow trees of the largest size
to be planted. The pillars, the vaults, and terraces are
constructed of baked brick and asphalt."
The Hanging Gardens were said to have been built to please
King Nebuchadnezzar's wife, Amyitis. (Copyright Lee Krystek,
2010)
"The ascent to the highest story is by stairs, and at
their side are water engines, by means of which
persons, appointed expressly for the purpose, are
continually employed in raising water from the Euphrates into the garden."
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
In ancient times one of the Greeks most mportant festivals, the Olympic Games, was held every four years in honor of the
King of their gods, Zeus. Like our modern Olympics, athletes traveled from distant lands, including Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt
and Sicily, to compete. The Olympics were first started in 776 B.C. and held at a shrine to Zeus located on the western coast
of Greece in a region called Peloponnesus. The games helped to unify the Greek city-states and a sacred truce was declared.
Safe passage was given to all traveling to the site, called Olympia, for the season of the games.
The Temple at Olympia
The site consisted of a stadium - where the competitions were actually done - and a sacred grove, or Altis, where a number of
temples were located. The shrine to Zeus here was simple in the early years, but as time went by and the games increased in
importance, it became obvious that a new, larger temple, one worthy of the King of the gods, was needed. Between 470 and
460 B.C., construction on a new temple was started. The designer was Libon of Elis and his masterpiece, The Temple of
Zeus, was completed in 456 B.C..
This temple followed a design used on many large Grecian
Seven Quick Facts
temples. It was similar to the Parthenon in Athens and the
Location: Peloponnesus (Modern Greece)
Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. The temple was built on a
Built: Around 432 BC
raised, rectangular platform. Thirteen large columns supported
Function: Shine to Greek God Zeus
the roof along the sides and six supported it on each end. A
gently-peaked roof topped the building. The triangles, or
Destroyed: Fire 5th Century A.D.
"pediments," created by the sloped roof at the ends of the
Size: Height around 40 ft. (12m)
building were filled with sculpture. Under the pediments, just
Made of: Ivory and gold-plated plates on wooden
above the columns, was more sculpture depicting the twelve
frame.
labors of Heracles, six on each end of the temple.
Other: Remains of the workshop where it was built
was found during an excavation in the 1950's
Though the temple was considered one of the best examples of
the Doric design because of its style and the quality of the workmanship, it was decided the temple alone was too simple to be
worthy of the King of the gods. To remedy this, a statue was commissioned for the interior. It would be a magnificent statue
of Zeus that would become one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The statue of Zeus in the temple at Olympia stood more than 40 feet high (Copyright Lee Krystek, 2011)
The Colossus of Rhodes
Travelers to the New York City harbor see a marvelous sight. Standing on a
small island in the harbor is an immense statue of a robed woman, holding a
book and lifting a torch to the sky. The statue measures almost one-hundred
and twenty feet from foot to crown. It is sometimes referred to as the "Modern
Colossus," but more often called the Statue of Liberty.
This awe-inspiring statue was a gift from France to America and is easily
recognized by people around the world. What many visitors to this shrine to
freedom don't know is that the statue, the "Modern Colossus," is the echo of
another statue, the original colossus, that stood over two thousand years ago at
the entrance to another busy harbor on the Island of Rhodes. Like the Statue of
Liberty, this colossus was also built as a celebration of freedom. This amazing
statue, standing the same height from toe to head as the modern colossus, was
one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The Island of Rhodes
Historians believe the Colossus of Rhodes
stood at the harbor entrance of the ancient
port city. (Copyright LeeKrystek, 2011)
The island of Rhodes was an important economic center in the ancient world.
It is located off the southwestern tip of Asia Minor where the Aegean Sea
meets the Mediterranean. The capitol city, also named Rhodes, was built in
408 B.C. and was designed to take advantage of the island's best natural
harbor on the northern coast.
In 357 B.C. the island was conquered by Mausolus of Halicarnassus
(whose tomb is one of the other Seven Wonders of the Ancient World)
but fell into Persian hands in 340 BC and was finally captured by
Alexander the Great in 332 BC. When Alexander died of a fever at an
early age, his generals fought bitterly among themselves for control of
Alexander's vast kingdom. Three of them, Ptolemy, Seleucus, and
Antigous, succeeded in dividing the kingdom among themselves. The
Rhodians supported Ptolemy (who wound up ruling Egypt) in this
struggle. This angered Antigous who in 305 BC sent his son Demetrius
to capture and punish the city of Rhodes.
The War with Demetrius
Seven Quick Facts
Location: Island of Rhodes (Modern Greece)
Built: Between 292 - 280 BC
Function: Commemorate War Victory
Destroyed: 226 BC by an earthquake
Size: Height without 50 foot pedestal was 110
ft. (30m)
Made of: Bronze plates attached to iron
framework
Other: Made in the shape of the island's patron
god Helios
The war was long and painful. Demetrius brought an army of 40,000
men. This was more than the entire population of Rhodes. He also augmented his force by using Aegean pirates.
The city was protected by a strong, tall wall and the attackers were forced to use siege towers to try and climb over it. Siege
towers were wooden structures that could be moved up to a defender's walls to allow the attackers to climb over them. While
some were designed to be rolled up on land, Demetrius used a giant tower mounted on top of six ships lashed together to
make his attack. This tower, though, was turned over and smashed when a storm suddenly approached, causing the battle to
be won by the Rhodians.
Demetrius had a second super tower built and called it theHelepolis which translates to "Taker of Cities." This massive
structure stood almost 150 feet high and some 75 feet square at the base and weight 160 tons. It was equipped with many
catapults and skinned with wood and leather to protect the troops inside from archers. It even carried water tanks that could
be used to fight fires started by flaming arrows. This tower was mounted on iron wheels and it could be rolled up to the walls
under the power of 200 soldiers turning a large capstan.
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
1100 A.D.: A troop of Crusaders stops at a muddy little village in Asia Minor. Their leader looks around. Confused he
dismounts. This place is not what he expected. He read in the ancient texts that this was a large seaport with many ships
docked in its bay. It isn't. The sea is almost three miles away. The village is located in a swamp. There are no ships to be
seen. The leader accosts a nearby man.
Seven Quick Facts
Location: Ephesus (Present day Turkey)
Built: Around 323 BC
Function: Temple to Goddess Artemis
Destroyed: 262 AD by Goths
Size: Length 425 ft. (129m)
Made of: Mostly marble
Other: Largest in a series of temples to
Artemis on this site.
"Sir, is this the city of Ephesus?"
"It was called that once. Now it is named Ayasalouk."
"Well, where is your bay? Where are the trading ships? And where is the
magnificent Greek temple that we have heard about?"
Now it is the man's turn to be confused."Temple? What temple, Sir? We
have no temple here..."
And so 800 years after its destruction, the magnificent Temple of Artemis
at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, had been
completely forgotten by the people of the town that had once held it in such pride.
And there is no doubt that the temple was indeed magnificent. "I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient
Babylon," wrote Philon of Byzantium, "the statue of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high
Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were
put in the shade."
So what happened to this great temple? And what happened to the city that hosted it? What turned Ephesus from a busy port
of trade to a few shacks in a swamp?
Construction of the Great Temple
Shortly after the fire, a new temple was commissioned. The architect was Scopas of Paros, one of the most famous sculptors
of his day. By this point Ephesus was one of the greatest cities in Asia Minor and no expense was spared in the
reconstruction. According to Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian, the new temple was a "wonderful monument of Grecian
magnificence, and one that merits our genuine admiration."
The temple was built in the same wet location as before. To prepare the ground, Pliny recorded that "layers of trodden
charcoal were placed beneath, with fleeces covered with wool upon the top of them." Pliny also noted that one of the reasons
the builders kept the temple on its original marshy location was that they reasoned it would help protect the structure from the
earthquakes which plagued the region.
The great temple is thought to be the first building completely constructed with marble. Like its predecessor, the temple had
36 columns whose lower portions were carved with figures in high-relief. The temple also housed many works of art
including four bronze statues of Amazon women. The Amazons, according to myth, took refuge at Ephesus from Heracles,
the Greek demigod, and founded the city.
Pliny recorded the length of this new temple at 425 feet and the width at 225 feet. Some 127 columns, 60 feet in height,
supported the roof. In comparison the Parthenon, the remains of which still stand on the Acropolis in Athens today, was only
230 feet long, 100 feet wide and had 58 columns.
According to Pliny, construction took 120 years, though some experts suspect it may have only taken half that time. We do
know that when Alexander the Great came to Ephesus in 333 B.C., the temple was still under construction. He offered to
finance the completion of the temple if the city would credit him as the builder. The city fathers didn't want Alexander's name
carved on the temple, but didn't want to tell him that. They finally gave the tactful response: "It is not fitting that one god
should build a temple for another god" and Alexander didn't press the matter.
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
In 377 B.C., the city of Halicarnassus was the capitol of a small kingdom along the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor. It was
in that year the ruler of this land, Hecatomnus of Mylasa, died and left control of the kingdom to his son, Mausolus.
Hecatomnus, a local satrap to the Persians, had been ambitious and had taken control of several of the neighboring cities and
districts. Then Mausolus during his reign extended the territory even further so that it eventually included most of
southwestern Asia Minor.
Mausolus, with his queen Artemisia, ruled over Halicarnassus and the surrounding territory for 24 years. Though he was
descended from the local people, Mausolus spoke Greek and admired the Greek way of life and government. He founded
many cities of Greek design along the coast and encouraged Greek democratic traditions.
Mausolus's Death
Then in 353 B.C. Mausolus died, leaving his queen
Seven Quick Facts
Artemisia, who was also his sister, broken-hearted (It was
Location: Halicarnassus (Modern Bodrum, Turkey)
the custom in Caria for rulers to marry their own sisters).
Built: Around 350 B.C.
As a tribute to him, she decided to build him the most
Function: Tomb for the City King, Mausolus
splendid tomb in the known world. It became a structure so
famous that Mausolus's name is now associated with all
Destroyed: Damaged by earthquakes in 13th century
stately tombs throughout the world through the
A.D. . Final destruction by Crusaders in 1522 A.D.
word mausoleum. The building, rich with statuary and
Size: 140 feet (43m) high.
carvings in relief, was so beautiful and unique it became
Made of: White Marble
one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Other: Built in a mixture of Egyptian, Greek and Lycian
styles
Artemisia decided that no expense was to be spared in the
building of the tomb. She sent messengers to Greece to find the most talented artists of the time. These included architects
Satyros and Pytheos who designed the overall shape of the tomb. Other famous sculptors invited to contribute to the project
were Bryaxis, Leochares, Timotheus and Scopas of Paros (who was responsible for rebuilding the Temple of Artemis at
Ephesus, another of the wonders). According to the historian Pliny Bryaxis, Leochares, Timotheus and Scopas each took one
side of the tomb to decorate. Joining these sculptors were also hundreds of other workmen and craftsmen. Together they
finished the building in the styles of three different cultures: Egyptian, Greek and Lycian.
The tomb was erected on a hill overlooking the city. The whole structure sat in the center of an enclosed courtyard on a stone
platform. A staircase, flanked by stone lions, led to the top of this platform. Along the outer wall of the courtyard were many
statues depicting gods and goddesses. At each corner stone warriors, mounted on horseback, guarded the tomb.
At the center of the platform was the tomb itself. Made mostly of marble, the structure rose as a square, tapering block to
about one-third of the Mausoleum's 140 foot height. This section was covered with relief sculpture showing action scenes
from Greek myth/history. One part showed the battle of the Centaurs with the Lapiths. Another depicted Greeks in combat
with the Amazons, a race of warrior women. On top of this section of the tomb thirty-six slim columns rose for another third
of the height. Standing in between each column was another statue. Behind the columns was a solid block that carried the
weight of the tomb's massive roof.
The roof, which comprised most of the final third of the height, was in the form of a stepped pyramid with 24 levels. Perched
on top was the tomb's penultimate work of sculpture craved by Pytheos: Four massive horses pulling a chariot in which
images of Mausolus and Artemisia rode.
The Great Lighthouse at Alexandria
In the fall of 1994 a team of archaeological divers donned scuba equipment
and entered the waters off of Alexandria, Egypt. Working beneath the
surface, they searched the bottom of the sea for artifacts. Large underwater
blocks of stone and remnants of sculpture were marked with floating masts
so that an electronic distance measurement station on shore could obtain
their exact positions. Global positioning satellites were then used to further
fix the locations. The information was then fed into computers to create a
detailed database of the sea floor.
Ironically, these scientists were using some of the most high-tech devices
available at the end of the 20th century to try and sort out the ruins of one
of the most advanced technological achievements of the 3rd century, B.C..
It was the Pharos, the great lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World.
The great lighthouse at Alexandria, Egypt, stood
Alexander the Great
on the island of Pharos. (Copyright Lee Krystek, 2011)
Seven Quick Facts
The story of the Pharos starts with the founding of the city of Alexandria
by the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.. Alexander
started at least 17 cities named Alexandria at different locations in his vast
domain. Most of them disappeared, but Alexandria in Egypt thrived for
many centuries and is prosperous even today.
Location: Alexandria, Egypt.
Built: Around 290 - 270 BC
Function: Guide Ships to Alexandria's
Harbor.
Destroyed: 1303 AD by earthquake.
Alexander the Great chose the location of his new city carefully. Instead of Size: Height 450 ft. (140m)
building it on the Nile delta, he selected a site some twenty miles to the
Made of: Stone faced with white marble
west, so that the silt and mud carried by the river would not block the city blocks with lead mortar.
harbor. South of the city was the marshy Lake Mareotis. After a canal was
Other: Said to be the only ancient wonder
constructed between the lake and the Nile, the city had two harbors: one for
with a practical application.
Nile River traffic, and the other for Mediterranean Sea trade. Both harbors
would remain deep and clear and the activity they allowed made the city very wealthy.
Alexander died in 323 B.C. and the city was completed by Ptolemy Soter, the new ruler
of Egypt. Under Ptolemy the city became rich and prosperous. However, it needed both
a symbol and a mechanism to guide the many trade ships into its busy harbor. Ptolemy
authorized the building of the Pharos in 290 B.C., and when it was completed some
twenty years later, it was the first lighthouse in the world and the tallest building in
existence, with the exception of the Great Pyramid. The construction cost was said to
have been 800 talents, an amount equal today to about three million dollars.
Construction of the Lighthouse
The lighthouse's designer is believed to be Sostratus of Knidos (or Cnidus), though
some sources argue he only provided the financing for the project. Proud of his work,
Sostratus desired to have his name carved into the foundation. Ptolemy II, the son who
ruled Egypt after his father, refused this request, wanting only his own name to be on
the building. A clever man, Sostratus supposedly had the inscription:
SOSTRATUS SON OF DEXIPHANES OF KNIDOS ON BEHALF OF ALL
MARINERS TO THE SAVIOR GODS
A modern lighthouse often is chiseled into the foundation, then covered it with plaster. Into the plaster was carved
designed as just a single, slim Ptolemy's name. As the years went by (and after both the death of Sostratus and
column, unlike the Pharos.
Ptolemy) the plaster aged and chipped away, revealing Sostratus' dedication.
The lighthouse was built on the island of Pharos and soon the building itself acquired that name. The connection of the name
with the function became so strong that the word "Pharos" became the root of the word "lighthouse" in the French, Italian,
Spanish and Romanian languages.
There are two detailed descriptions made of the lighthouse in the 10th century A.D. by Moorish travelers Idrisi and Yusuf Ibn
al-Shaikh. According to their accounts, the building was 300 cubits high. Because the cubit measurement varied from place to
place, however, this could mean that the Pharos stood anywhere from 450 (140m) to 600 (183m) feet in height, although the
lower figure is much more likely.
The design was unlike the slim single column of most modern lighthouses, but more like the structure of an early twentieth
century skyscraper. There were three stages, each built on top of one other. The building material was stone faced with white
marble blocks cemented together with lead mortar. The lowest level of the building, which sat on a 20 foot (6m) high stone
platform, was probably about 240 feet (73m) in height and 100 feet (30m) square at the base, shaped like a massive box. The
door to this section of the building wasn't at the bottom of the structure, but part way up and reached by a 600 foot (183m)
long ramp supported by massive arches. Inside this portion of the structure was a large spiral ramp that allowed materials to
be pulled to the top in animal-drawn carts.
On top of that first section was an eight-sided tower which was probably about 115 feet (35m) in height. On top of the tower
was a cylinder that extended up another 60 feet (18m) to an open cupola where the fire that provided the light burned. On the
roof of the cupola was a large statue, probably of the god of the sea, Poseidon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHqxmvx5yy4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJCEVIiuiPc