When he visited the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Antipater of Sidon described it as follows. He wrote: “I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the […]
Tag: Alexander the Great
The Lighthouse of Alexandria – More Costly Than the Parthenon?
“It can be seen for more than seventy miles, and is of great antiquity. It is most strongly built in all directions and competes with the skies in height. Description of it falls short, the eyes fail to comprehend it, and words are inadequate, so vast is the spectacle.” Thus wrote the Muslim pilgrim Ibn […]
The Colossus of Rhodes – The First Ancient Wonder Destroyed?
If you blinked, you might have missed it. Well, not quite. But the lifetime of the Colossus of Rhodes as a Wonder of the Ancient World was fleeting compared to some of the other six wonders. It’s reputation must’ve been very great, then, if 56 years was enough to earn everlasting fame. The Colossus is […]
The Battle of Thermopylae – Facts, Myths, and its Real Importance
The Battle of Thermopylae gained pop culture fame in 2006 when the movie 300 caught the attention of audiences. Although scholars had not neglected the battle prior to 2006, its popularity soared, at least temporarily. In the process, the Battle of Thermopylae (fought in 480 BCE) became a popular symbol of heroic resistance against overwhelming […]
Smallpox and the Columbian Exchange
In my last post about the Columbian Exchange, I mentioned in passing what happened to the Incas and Aztecs when they met with Europeans after 1492. Today, it is time to flesh out that story and how it relates to the Columbian Exchange by describing the importance of smallpox. You might have heard a version […]