Seven churches

86
M. M. NINAN
________________________________________________
The Seven Wonders of the World
The usual list consists of (1) the Pyramids; (2) the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; (3) the
Statue of Zeus at Olympia; (4) the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (5) the Mausoleum of
Halicarnassus; (6) the Colossus of Rhodes; and (7) the Lighthouse at Alexandria. The
Greek/Hellenistic ones (all but 1 & 2) date from the late 5th century BC through to the late
3rd BC, and three of these (4, 5, 6) are near to the coast of southern Turkey. Crudely, we
might say that all these monuments are in the list because of their great size and
enormous cost. Difficulty overcome is an additional criterion in the case of the Temple of
Artemis (the swampy site) and the Colossus of Rhodes (its height), whilst artistic value
singles out the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Mausoleum. Made with black marble
house the Altar of the Serpent which is referred to in the letter as the Throne of Satan.
This famous Altar of Zeus was constructed as a memorial of the victory against the
Galatians. This Altar has the shape of a horseshoe and its dimensions are 36.44 x 34.20
m. It is composed of four parts and the high reliefs on it describe the war between the
giants and the gods. The Altar which was taken away from Pergamon in 1871 and carried
to Germany by the German engineer Carl Humann, is exhibited at the Museum of
Pergamum in Berlin
On a coin of Septimus Severus, the altar at Pergamum is depicted, covered by a
baldachin, or canopy, supported by four columns.