The original “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” was compiled by a Greek travel writer around 225BC. There were seven defined themato, Greek for “things to be seen”. I guess you could call this the first “Bucket List”.
The original Seven Ancient Wonders were:
- Great Pyramid of Giza
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- Statue of Zeus at Olympia
- Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
- Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
- Colossus of Rhodes
- Lighthouse of Alexandria
Naturally, people being people, there was disagreement at the time whether these were the top seven. Or the number seven – why not eight or ten? But, this list of seven did endure through the ages. Only the Great Pyramid remains today.
During the Middle Ages, there came an “updated” list: I’m not sure how this one was compiled, but it was generally accepted at the time.
- Stonehenge
- Colosseum
- Catacombs of Kom el
- Great Wall of China
- Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
- Hagia Sophia
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
Probably the most debatable, albeit most well-known, today is the “New” Seven Wonders list that was determined by a global vote initiated by a Swiss marketing group in 2007. Controversially, the finalists didn’t include the Great Pyramid and the voting itself was unscientific with no limitation set on number of votes by individuals or entities.
- Chichen Itza
- Christ the Redeemer
- Colosseum
- Great Wall of China
- Machu Picchu
- Petra
- Taj Mahal
The Great Pyramid was granted “honorary” status, so now there are eight New Seven Wonders. Really?
The lists of ‘Seven Wonders’ are numerous: Natural Wonders, Engineering Wonders, Underwater Wonders, Man-made Wonders, etc.
It has become traditional to limit the list to seven (or eight!?) And, any list is going to be subjective. But, regardless of the number or your perspective, they’re great for conversation starters and dreams of adventure.
Here is my list, in no particular order, other than a general regional grouping. Some I’ve “checked off”, some are yet to come. I didn’t attempt limiting it to seven!
What’s on YOUR list?
- Great Pyramid
- Petra
- Jerusalem Old City
- Serengeti Migration
- Victoria Falls
- Hagia Sophia
- Roman Colosseum
- Acropolis
- Stonehenge
- St Basil’s Cathedral
- Great Wall of China
- Taj Mahal
- TerraCotta Warriors
- Angkor Wat
- Great Barrier Reef
- Antarctica
- Easter Island
- Machu Picchu
- Amazon Rainforest
- Galapagos Islands
- Chichen Itza