The seven wonders of the ancient world

The seven wonders are the architectural and artistic monuments considered as perfect by the Greeks and the Romans.

Six of the seven wonders of the ancient world were described by Philon of Byzance, a II century before Jesus Christ ingeneer, in a manuscript entitled "Péri tôn hépta théamatôn" (About the seven wonders of the world). This manuscript including six layers only described six constructions. The seventh, the mosoleum of Halicarnassus, is only described in the introduction of the manuscript because the last layer disappeared.
However, the final list, also called canonical list, describing the seven wonders of the ancient world has been adopted after the reign of Alexandre the Great according to fourteen lists from differents authors. The selected monuments have to meet standard of beauty, size and technical prowess.

The canonical list refers to the seven following wonders : :
The Great Pyramid of Giza
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