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For other uses, see Wonders of the World (disambiguation).
Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled over the ages to catalogue the most spectacular man-made constructions and natural things in the world.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of the most 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. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it to be magical.Anon. (1993)The Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia First Edition Oxford:Oxford University
Many similar lists have been made, including lists for the Medieval World and the Modern World.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as depicted by 16th-century Dutch artist Marten Heemskerk
The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only wonder of the ancient world still in existence
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. Their wonders 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. Today, the only ancient world wonder that still exists is the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Colosseum in Rome
Many lists were made of the wonders of the Middle Ages, and the items included vary from list to list.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. 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".
It is unlikely that these lists originated in the Middle Ages, 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. Brewer\'s refers to them as "later list[s]" suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages. Many of the structures found on these lists were not built during the Middle Ages, but much earlier, but the lists were not written by modern medieval historians, and academic standards did not apply.
Typically representative of the seven greatest wonders of the medieval world are: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.I H Evans (reviser), Brewer\'s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Centenary edition Fourth impression (corrected); London: Cassell, 1975), page 1163
Other sites included on such lists:
Many lists have been made of the greatest structures built during modern times or of the greatest wonders existing today. Some of the most notable of these lists are presented below.
British author Deborah Cadbury wrote Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, a book telling the stories of seven great feats of engineering of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 2003 the BBC made a seven-part documentary series on the book, with each episode dramatising the construction one of the wonders. The seven industrial wonders are:
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:American Society of Civil Engineers Seven Wonders
| Wonder | Date Started | Date Finished | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Channel Tunnel | December 1, 1987 | May 6, 1994 | Strait of Dover, between the United Kingdom 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, U.S. |
| Golden Gate Bridge | January 5, 1933 | May 27, 1937 | Golden Gate Strait, north of San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Itaipu Dam | January 1970 | May 5, 1984 | Paraná River, between Brazil and Paraguay |
| Delta Works | 1950 | May 10, 1997 | Netherlands |
| Panama Canal | January 1, 1880 | January 7, 1914 | Isthmus of Panama |
The Great Wall of China
| Wonder | Date of construction | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Great Wall of China | 5th century BCE – 16th century CE | China |
| Petra | 6th century BCE | 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 |
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.New Seven Wonders panel 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.The world\'s 8th wonder: Readers pick the Grand Canyon
| 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 |
The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights
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:CNN Natural Wonders
The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World was a creation of CEDAM International. The CEDAM acronym stands for: Conservation, Education, Diving, Awareness, Marine-Research. In 1989 CEDAM brought together a panel of distinguished marine scientists, including Dr. Eugenie Clark, to pick underwater areas which they considered to be worthy of protection. The results were announced at The National Aquarium in Washington DC by Lloyd Bridges of Sea Hunt fame.:Underwater Wonders of the World 2nd list of Underwater Wonder
Travel writer Howard Hillman is one of many such writers who has compiled lists of the top man-madeHillman, Howard. World\'s top 10 man-made travel wonders. Hillman Quality Publications. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. and naturalHillman, Howard. World\'s top 10 natural travel wonders. Hillman Quality Publications. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. tourist travel wonders of the world:
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