Monday, June 25, 2007

New Wonders of the World




I remember reading all about the seven wonders of the ancient world in 8th grade Latin class. The historians Herodotus, Callimachus of Cyrene ,Antipater of Sidon , all mention this list around 300 to 400 BC (though all describe the structures as kind of a tourist guide in the Mediterranean, a kind of "must see before you die" list". None are around to day except for the great pyramid in Giza, but all have proven to exist by consistent historian and scholarly mention and preserved artifacts (well apparently there is some debate over the Hanging Gardens, cause plants don't last all that long, but sculptures from the Mausoleum of Maussollos and the Temple of Artemis are featured in the British Museum in London).

The Seven Wonders were quite an obsession with me, even before playing Sid Meier's Civilization was. Now, there is a world wide vote to select seven new wonders and you only have ten days left to do it is. Log on to New7Wonders.com and cast your own votes.

All structure built before the year 2000, are eligible. For me, the Taj Mahal is a shoe in and the Statue of Liberty is a must (even if just to shake up all the Apes who will eventually conquer our planet.)

http://www.new7wonders.com/

1 comment:

  1. We've got two buildings in Metro Washington modeled after the Original Seven- the George Washington Masonic Memorial Lodge in Alexandria (after the Lighthouse at Alexandria), and the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple on 16th St. N.W. (after the tomb of King Mausolus at Halicarnassus).

    My vote for newbies is the Haya Sofia (as the Turks pronounce it) in Istanbul- for a local replica, see DC's Franciscan Monastery.

    (off the top of my head, the Parthenon, the Taj Mahal, Versailles, and La Tour d'Eiffel merit mention)

    BCB

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