![]() ![]() ![]() Get a room full of people to name the Seven Wonders and most would name the Great Pyramid of Giza first. How the Pyramids of Giza were built remains a subject of debate – but it almost certainly wasn't built by slaves (Photo by Sipley/ClassicStock/Getty Images) ![]() What made their list relied on where they travelled and, of course, their personal opinion, so while we recognise the Lighthouse of Alexandria as a Wonder today, some left it out, favouring the Ishtar Gate of Babylon instead. The best-known versions come from the second-century-BC poet Antipater of Sidon, and mathematician Philo of Byzantium, but other names include Callimachus of Cyrene and the great historian Herodotus. The Seven Wonders we know today are an amalgamation of all the different lists from antiquity. They called the landmarks that bewildered and inspired them theamata (‘sights’), but this soon evolved to the grander name of thaumata – ‘wonders’. ![]() As Greek travellers explored the conquests of other civilisations, such as the Egyptians, Persians and Babylonians, they compiled early guidebooks of the most remarkable things to see, meant as recommendations for future tourists – which is why the Seven Wonders are all around the Mediterranean Rim. ![]()
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