Seven Wonders Part I – Pyramids of Giza

The Great Pyramids consist of the Pyramid of Khufu (or Cheops), the somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Chephren), and the relatively modest-sized Pyramid of Menkaure (or Mykerinos).

By far the most famous pyramid in Egypt, is the Pyramid of Khufu, the biggest, tallest, and most intact. For a period of 4300 years, the Pyramid was also the tallest building on earth, until the French built the Eiffel Tower in 1889.

Khufu reigned from around 2589 to 2566 BC and was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. He was the son of another great pyramid builder, King Sneferu. Although Sneferu was remembered as a benevolent and beneficent ruler, Khufu is believed to have been a more ruthless and cruel despot.

The Pyramid of Khufu is built entirely of limestone, and is considered an architectural masterpiece. It contains around 1,300,000 blocks ranging in weight from 2.5 tons to 15 tons and is built on a square base with sides measuring about 230m (755ft), covering 13 acres. Its four sides face the four cardinal points precisely and it has an angle of 52 degrees. The original height of the Pyramid was 146.5m (488ft), but today it is only 137m (455ft) high. The 9m (33ft) that is missing is due to the theft of the fine quality limestone covering, or casing stones, by the Ottoman Turks in the 15 Century A.D, to build houses and Mosques in Cairo.

The second great pyramid was built by Khafre, Khufu’s son. Khafre was the fourth ruler of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling from 2558-2532 BCE. His name means "Appearing like Ra.” Like his father Khufu, Khafre was depicted as a harsh, despotic ruler.

Despite this, Egypt was quite prosperous during his reign, with almost no military attacks or campaigns. The culture flourished, however, and the private tombs from his era are beautiful examples of art and architecture. In addition, the worship of the sun god Re was also prospering.

He built his pyramid at Giza next to that of his father. It’s easily recognisable by the layers of its original casing stones that still remain near its summit. This, along with the fact that it stands on a higher part of the plateau, gives the impression that it is taller than the Great Pyramid. This is an optical illusion as it is only 136m (446 ft) tall, with sides of 214.5m (704ft), a surface area of 11 acres and an angle of 53 degrees. It also has lost some of its original height through the years.

Khafre’s son, Menkaure, built the smallest of the three main pyramids on the Giza Plateau. Menkaure was a pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt (c. 2532 BC–2503 BC). His name means "Eternal like the Souls of Re".

He is reported by the Greek historian Herodotus to have been a just and pious ruler. He was thought to have disapproved of the conduct of his father and the Egyptians praised him more than any other monarch.

Menakure’s pyramid was only a mere 65.5m (215ft) tall, nowadays 62m (203ft), with sides of only 105m (344ft) and an angle of 51.3 degrees. It is thought that this pyramid was altered during its construction, and made a lot bigger than originally planned. The original, smaller pyramid had a simple descending corridor and burial chamber, but when it was enlarged, a new corridor was built with 3 portcullises and a small panelled chamber. Later still, another burial chamber, along with a storeroom were added at a lower level. This Pyramid, like its two neighbours, has a north facing entrance.

Wonders of the World – Introduction

After much deliberation, I finally decided on the Wonders of the World for my next non-fiction series. There is a plethora of lists of wonders – natural wonders, underwater wonders, engineering wonders, new wonders, city wonders, solar system wonders – to name but a few.

Seeing as I have a love of ancient history, I’m choosing to go with the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Scholars have debated for years over who compiled the first list of wonders – or as the Greeks called them, theamata, which translates as "things to be seen". It has been suggested that Callimachus of Cyrene drafted the list in the third century B.C. or Herodotus, who lived from around 484 to 425 B.C.

It’s generally agreed that Antipater, a Greek author living in the Phoenician port of Sidon came up with the original list in a poem where he lists the most remarkable creations of mankind:

I have gazed on the walls of impregnable Babylon along which chariots may race, and on the Zeus by the banks of the Alpheus, I have seen the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Helios, the great man-made mountains of the lofty pyramids, and the gigantic tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the sacred house of Artemis that towers to the clouds, the others were placed in the shade, for the sun himself has never looked upon its equal outside Olympus.
– Antipater, Greek Anthology IX.58

Somewhere around the 8th century AD the walls of Babylon were dropped off the list, to be replaced by the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Of the original seven wonders, only the Great Pyramid still exists. The others are in unrecognizable ruins, and the Hanging Gardens might not even have existed at all. What we know about the wonders comes from written accounts of ancient tourists and modern archaeological research. Much of our information about the monuments is conjecture or questionable second hand accounts.

These monuments may not have physically stood the test of time, but they thrive in our imaginations as some of the most magnificent manmade structures of the ancient world.

the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt.
the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece.
the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
the Colossus of Rhodes.
the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt.

Join me next week when I start with the Great Pyramids of Giza.