Various Wonders of the World lists have been compiled over the ages in order to catalogue the most spectacular natural and man-made constructions. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of remarkable man-made creations of classical antiquity, and was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. Later lists include those for the Medieval World, the Modern World, the Natural World and others.
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The historian Herodotus (484 BC–ca. 425 BC), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305–240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of "Seven wonders" but their writings have not survived, except as references. They included the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria.
The Greek category was not "Wonders" but "theamata", which translates closer to "must-sees". The list that we know today was compiled in the Middle Ages—by which time many of the sites were no longer in existence.
Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages
Seven Wonders lists about the Middle Ages are existing historical lists for which there is no unanimity of opinion about origin, content or name.[1] These historical lists go by names such as "Wonders of the Middle Ages" (implying no specific limitation to seven), "Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages", "Medieval Mind" and "Architectural Wonders of the Middle Ages". The lists are more properly seen as a continuing type or genre in the Seven Wonders tradition than a specific list.
It is unlikely the lists originated in the Middle Ages. Brewet's calls them "later list[s]"[2] suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages. This is supported because the word medieval was not even invented until the Enlightenment-era, and the concept of a "Middle Age" did not become popular until the 16th century. Further, the Romanticism movement glorified all things related to the Middle Ages, or more specifically anything pre-Enlightenment era, suggesting such lists would have found a popular audience in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Some items found on some of the lists are not technically from the Middle Ages (according to modern historical standards), but we know the lists were not created by modern medieval historians, so such standards did not apply.
Typically representative of the seven:[1][3][4][2]
- Stonehenge
- Colosseum
- Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
- Great Wall of China
- Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
- Hagia Sophia
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
Other sites that have been mentioned include:
American Society of Civil Engineers Seven Wonders of the Modern World
In the tradition of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, many other lists of wonders have been proposed, including both human feats of engineering and wonders of Nature. However, these lists are rather informal, and there is no consensus on any particular list.
The American Society of Civil Engineers compiled another list of wonders of the modern world:[9]
| Wonder | Date Started | Date Finished | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Channel Tunnel | December 1, 1987 | May 6, 1994 | Strait of Dover, between England and France |
| CN Tower | February 6, 1973 | June 26, 1976 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Empire State Building | January 22, 1930 | May 1, 1931 | New York, NY, USA |
| Golden Gate Bridge | January 5, 1933 | May 27, 1937 | Golden Gate Strait, north of San Francisco, California, USA |
| Itaipu Dam | January 1970 | May 5, 1984 | Paraná River, between Brazil and Paraguay |
| Delta Works | 1950 | May 10, 1997 | Netherlands, Europe |
| Panama Canal | January 1, 1880 | January 7, 1914 | Isthmus of Panama, Central America |
Travel wonders
Noted travel writer Howard Hillman has compiled lists of the top man-made[10] and natural[11] tourist travel wonders of the world:
Man-made travel wonders
- Great Pyramids of Giza
- Great Wall of China
- Taj Mahal
- Machu Picchu
- Bali
- Angkor Wat
- Forbidden City
- Bagan Temples & Pagodas
- Karnak Temple
- Teotihuacán
Natural travel wonders
- Serengeti Migration
- Galápagos Islands
- Grand Canyon
- Iguazu Falls
- Amazon Rainforest
- Ngorongoro Crater
- Great Barrier Reef
- Victoria Falls
- Bora Bora
- Cappadocia
Natural wonders
Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the world, as there has been debate over how large the list should be. One of the many lists was compiled by CNN:[12]
- Grand Canyon
- Great Barrier Reef
- Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
- Mount Everest
- Aurorae
- Parícutin volcano
- Victoria Falls
Underwater wonders
This list of underwater wonders is of unknown origin, but has been repeated sufficiently often to acquire a degree of notability:[13] [14]
- Palau
- Belize Barrier Reef
- Great Barrier Reef
- Deep-Sea Vents
- Galápagos Islands
- Lake Baikal
- Northern Red Sea
New Open World Corporation New Seven Wonders of the World
In 2001 an initiative was started by Swiss corporation New Open World Corporation (NOWC) to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments for profit.[15] Twenty-one finalists were announced January 1, 2006.[16] Egypt was not happy with the fact that the only original wonder would have to compete with the likes of the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House, the Taj Mahal, and other landmarks; and called the project absurd. To solve this, Giza was named an honorary Candidate.[17] The results were announced on July 7 2007[18] and are:
| Wonder | Date of construction | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Great Wall of China | 5th century BC – 16th century | China |
| Petra | unknown | Jordan |
| Christ the Redeemer (statue) | Opened 12 October 1931 | Brazil |
| Machu Picchu | c.1450 | Peru |
| Chichen Itza | c.600 | Mexico |
| Colosseum | Completed 80 AD | Italy |
| Taj Mahal | Completed c.1648 | India |
| Great Pyramid (Honorary Candidate) | Completed c.2560 BC | Egypt |
USA Today's New Seven Wonders
In November 2006 the American national newspaper USA Today in conjunction with the American television show Good Morning America revealed a list of "New Seven Wonders" as chosen by six judges.[19] The wonders were announced one per day over a week on Good Morning America. An eighth wonder was chosen on November 24 from viewer feedback.[20]
| Number | Wonder | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Potala Palace | Tibet, China |
| 2 | Old City of Jerusalem | Israel |
| 3 | Polar ice caps | Polar regions |
| 4 | Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument | Hawaii, United States |
| 5 | Internet | N/A |
| 6 | Mayan ruins | Yucatán Peninsula, México |
| 7 | Great Migration of Serengeti and Masai Mara | Tanzania and Kenya |
| 8 | Grand Canyon (viewer-chosen eighth wonder) | Arizona, United States |
National lists of Seven Wonders
See also
References
- ^ a b Hereward Carrington (1880-1958), "The Seven Wonders of the World: ancient, medieval and modern", reprinted in the Carington Collection (2003) ISBN 0-7661-4378-3, page 14.
- ^ a b I H Evans (reviser), Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Centenary edition Fourth impression (corrected); London: Cassell, 1975), page 1163
- ^ Edward Latham. A Dictionary of Names, Nicknames and Surnames, of Persons, Places and Things (1904), page 280.
- ^ Francis Trevelyan Miller, Woodrow Wilson, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt. America, the Land We Love (1915), page 201.
- ^ Palpa, as You Like it, page 67)
- ^ The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Crusades (2001, page 153))
- ^ The Rough Guide To England (1994, page 596))
- ^ The Catholic Encyclopedia, v.16 (1913), page 74
- ^ American Society of Civil Engineers Seven Wonders
- ^ Hillman, Howard. "World's top 10 man-made travel wonders". Hillman Quality Publications. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
- ^ Hillman, Howard. "World's top 10 natural travel wonders". Hillman Quality Publications. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
- ^ CNN Natural Wonders
- ^ Underwater Wonders of the World
- ^ 2nd list of Underwater Wonder
- ^ New Seven Wonders
- ^ Finalist Page
- ^ Egypt Angered at New Wonders Idea
- ^ Reuters via ABC News Australia "Opera House snubbed as new Wonders unveiled" 7 July 2007
- ^ New Seven Wonders panel
- ^ The world's 8th wonder: Readers pick the Grand Canyon
Further reading
- Cox, Reg, and Neil Morris, "The Seven Wonders of the Modern World". Chelsea House Publications: Library. October 2000. ISBN 0-7910-6048-9
- Cox, Reg, Neil Morris, and James Field, "The Seven Wonders of the Medieval World". Chelsea House Publications: Library. October 2000. ISBN 0-7910-6047-0
- D'Epiro, Peter, and Mary Desmond Pinkowish, "What Are the Seven Wonders of the World? and 100 Other Great Cultural Lists". Anchor. December 1, 1998. ISBN 0-385-49062-3
- Morris, Neil, "The Seven Wonders of the Natural World". Chrysalis Books. December 30, 2002. ISBN 1-84138-495-X
External links
- The World's Top 100 Wonders - a list of architectural, engineering and natural wonders by Howard Hillman, a renowned travel writer.
- WonderClub.com - a "list of lists", with information about most wonders.
- Seven Wonders of the Modern World - a list of modern wonders compiled by the American Society of Civil Engineers
- Video about the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, a virtual satellite tour made with Google Earth [02:38]
- Seven Wonders of Chicago - A list compiled by the Chicago Tribune and voted on by readers.
- Europe's Greatest Wonders - a website searching for the greatest human construction achievements in Europe.
- The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World - a website presenting the seven wonders of the ancient world and the genius of our ancestors.
- The New 7 Wonders of the World - vote for a new list of seven wonders of the world, promoted for purposes of profit, to be announced on July 7, 2007.
- 7 Wonders of the World Collections - sets of seven abandoned, deserted, underwater and underground wonders of the world.