Myths and Legends of the World

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. 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, which stood over two thousand years ago at the entrance to another busy harbor on the Island of Rhodes. In the late 4th century BC, Rhodes, allied with Ptolemy I of Egypt, prevented a massive invasion staged by their common enemy, Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius. In 304 BC a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, and Antigonus's army abandoned the siege, leaving most of their siege equi...

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 (vassal king) 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 Artemisia, who was also his sister, broken-hearted (It was the custom in ...

The temple of Artemis is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. It has been built in the areas of Ephesus on a flat area which has over the centuries turned into a swamp. If you visit Ephesus today, you can only see the ruins of the foundations of this marvelous construction of the Hellenistic Age, entirely made of marble and full of sculptured columns' capitals and shafts. The most beautiful remaining of this temple is today exhibited in the London British Museum. The Temple of Artemis was located near the ancient city of Ephesus, about 75 km south from the modern port city of İzmir, in Turkey. Today the site lies on the edge of the modern town of Selcuk. The sacred site at Ephesus was far older than the Artemision itself. Pausanias was certain that it antedated the Ionic immigration by many years, being older even than the oracular shrine of Apollo at Didyma. He said that the pre-Ionic inhabitants of the city were Leleges and Lydians. Callimachus, in his Hym...

In the ancient world, there were many temples dedicated to Zeus, God of Gods and the King of the Gods. But there was only one temple to Zeus that housed one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was home to one of greatest sculptural achievements of ancient history. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia represented the pinnacle of Classical sculptural design. A sculpture of ivory plates and gold panels over a wooden framework, it represented the god Zeus sitting on an elaborate cedar wood throne ornamented with ebony, ivory, gold and precious stones. No copy of the statue has ever been found, and details of its form are known only from ancient Greek descriptions and representations on coins. The great seated statue as fashioned by Phidias occupied half the width of the aisle of the temple built to house it. The city-state of Olympia was a center of religious worship, and was also the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Believed to have begun in 776 BC, th...

The hanging gardens of Babylon are considered to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Although a lot has been said and written about these legendary gardens, it still remains mysterious and unidentified for thousands. There are two equally credible theories about who build the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, they are assumed to be the work either of semi legendary Queen Sammu-ramat (Greek Semiramis), the Assyrian queen who reigned from 810 to 783 BC, or of King Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of the Babylonian Empire, who reigned in 605 BC – 562 BC. Though there are no compelling arguments about the credibility of any of the assumptions, the hanging Gardens of Babylon are often called the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis. A few words about the first possible builder, Semiramis: Through the centuries the legend of Semiramis attracted not only the attention of Greek historians, but she also was the muse of novelists, poets and other storytellers. Great warrior queens in history hav...

I just come back from vacation: travel the US to see the sights and family. It dawn on me that great sights: monuments that test the man's ingenuity and technology he had the time. So I want show some of the original sight or wonders. The wonders I am talking about is the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  The Great Pyramid of Egypt The Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Statue of Zeus at Olympia The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus The Colossus of Rhodes The Lighthouse of Alexandria This wonders were the pinnacle of human technology. While there other great wonders that exist at time of the Seven Wonder that can rival them in beautiful and grandeur. The Greeks may or may not know about them. The first wonder is the Great Pyramid  The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt....