Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, in order to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural features and human-built structures. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the oldest known list of this type, documenting the most iconic and remarkable human-made creations of classical antiquity; the canonical list was established in the 1572 Octo Mundi Miracula, based on classical sources which varied widely. The classical sources only include works located around the Mediterranean rim and in the ancient Near East. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it represented perfection and plenty, and because it reflected the number of planets known in ancient times (five) plus the Sun and Moon.
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The canonical Seven Wonders established in the 1572 Octo Mundi Miracula are:
Great Pyramid of Giza, in Giza, Egypt, the earliest of the wonders to be completed, as well as the only one that remains to the modern day. Colossus of Rhodes, in the harbor of the city of Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name. Hanging Gardens of Babylon, in Babylon, near modern Hillah, Babylon Governorate, Iraq; or Nineveh, Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. Lighthouse of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, in Halicarnassus, a city of the Achaemenid Empire in modern Turkey. Statue of Zeus at Olympia, in Olympia, Greece. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, in the city of Ephesus, near modern Selçuk, Turkey.
Lists from other eras In the 19th and early 20th centuries, some writers emulated the classical list by creating their own lists with names such as "Wonders of the Middle Ages", "Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages", "Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind", and "Architectural Wonders of the Middle Ages". It is unlikely that any of these lists actually originated in the Middle Ages since the concept of a "Middle Age" did not become popular until at least the 16th century and the word "medieval" was not invented until the Enlightenment era. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable refers to them as "later list[s]", suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages. Many of the structures on these lists were built much earlier than the Middle Ages but were well known throughout the world. Typically representative of such lists are:
Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa, a 2nd-century funerary complex in Alexandria, Egypt. Colosseum, a 1st-century amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Great Wall of China, a series of defensive fortifications built across the historical northern borders of China, with some segments dating to as early as the 7th century BC. Hagia Sophia, a 6th-century cathedral and mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Leaning Tower of Pisa, a 12th-century bell tower in Pisa, Italy. Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, a 15th-century pagoda on the south bank of the external Qinhuai River in Nanjing, China. Stonehenge, a Neolithic henge monument in Wiltshire, England dated to the 3rd millennium BC. Other structures sometimes included on such lists include:
Cairo Citadel, a 13th-century Islamic fortification in Cairo, Egypt. Cluny Abbey, a 10th-century Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. Ely Cathedral, a (currently Anglican) cathedral originally built in the 11th century in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. Khawarnaq, a palace constructed in the 5th century by the Lakhmid kingdom, from pre-Islamic Arabia The Fortifications of Derbent, a Sasanian defense line in Caucasus
Recent lists Following in the tradition of the classical list, modern people and organizations have made their own lists of wonderful things, both ancient and modern, natural and artificial. Some of the most notable lists are presented below.
American Society of Civil Engineers
In 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers compiled a list of Seven Wonders of the Modern World, paying tribute to the "greatest civil engineering achievements of the 20th century".
USA Today's New Seven Wonders
In November 2006, the American national newspaper USA Today and the American television show Good Morning America revealed a list of the "New Seven Wonders", both natural and human-made, as chosen by six judges. The Grand Canyon was added as an eighth wonder on November 24, 2006, in response to viewer feedback.
Seven Natural Wonders of the World
Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the world. One of many existing versions of this list was compiled by CNN in 1997:
Aurora, in the Earth's high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic) Grand Canyon, in Arizona, United States Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland, Australia Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Mount Everest, on the border of Nepal and China Parícutin volcano, located in the state of Michoacán, Mexico Victoria Falls, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe
New 7 Wonders of the World
In 2001, an initiative was started by the Swiss corporation New7Wonders Foundation to choose the New 7 Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments through online votes. The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only remaining wonder of the traditional Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was not one of the winners announced in 2007 but was added as an honorary candidate.
New 7 Wonders of Nature
A similar contemporary effort to create a list of seven natural (as opposed to human-made) wonders chosen through a global poll, called the New 7 Wonders of Nature, was organized from 2007 to 2011 by the same group as the New 7 Wonders of the World campaign.
Iguazu Falls, on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná Hạ Long Bay, in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam Jeju Island, in the Jeju Province of South Korea Puerto Princesa Underground River, in Palawan, Philippines Table Mountain, overlooking the city of Cape Town, South Africa Komodo Island, one of the 17,508 islands that comprise the Republic of Indonesia Amazon rainforest, located in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana
New 7 Wonders Cities
New 7 Wonders Cities, a third list organized by New7Wonders and determined by another global vote, includes entire cities:
Durban, South Africa Vigan, Philippines Havana, Cuba Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Beirut, Lebanon Doha, Qatar La Paz, Bolivia
Seven Wonders of the Underwater World
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