Name-dropping:
Ephesus (pronunciation: EH-fuh-suss).
Greek city no longer in existence.

Halicarnassus (pronunciation: Hal-ee-car-NASS-uss).
Asia Minor city no longer in existence.

Babylon (pronunciation: like Babylon 5 sans the 5).
Ancient Mesopotamian city and former seat of the Babylonian Empire. No longer in existence.

Rhodes (pronunciation: like roads).
Island chronologically controlled by the Greeks, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Turks, the Italians, Nazi Germany, and—finally—the Greeks again. .

Alexandria (pronunciation: al-eggs-ZAN-dree-uh).
Egyptian city (still exists!).

Olympia (pronunciation: like the town in Washington).
Greek home to the original Olympics.

Giza (pronunciation: GEE-zuh).
Ancient city known almost exclusively for its pyramids. Read on.

When to Drop Your Knowledge:
When complimenting your host on a hanging-gardens-of-spinach-dip display, or chatting about the Statue of Liberty, or attending a cocktail party hosted by a couple living in a lighthouse, or anytime mausoleums come up.

The Basics
For whatever reason, Greek historians made more lists than obsessive-compulsive housewives. And one of their favorite topics was Wonders of the World. The lists didn’t all include seven wonders, and didn’t always agree (some wonders, like the walls of the city of Babylon, just didn’t make the cut). By the sixth century CE, though, a standard list had emerged—the same one we use today:

THE GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA
The Empire State Building was the world’s tallest building for 40 years (from 1931 to 1971). That seems impressive until you consider that, at 481 feet high, the Great Pyramid of Giza was the world’s tallest building for more than 4,000 years (from around 2560 BCE until the 19th century CE).

Wonderment Level: ★★★★★ The Great Pyramid gets full marks, if only because it’s the only ancient wonder still standing.

Quotable
According to a popular Arab proverb, “Man fears time, but time fears only the Pyramids.”

THE LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA
The very first lighthouse, it guided ships to the port of Alexandria (named for, and by, Alexander the Great) using a constantly burning fire that was reflected out to sea by a large mirror. The lighthouse was damaged by an earthquake in 1303 CE and collapsed soon after.

Wonderment Level: ★★★★ It was, for a time, the world’s second-tallest structure

THE STATUE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA
One of those ancient wonders that seems to have been picked by the Greeks because it was created by the Greeks, the statue of the bearded, lightning-hurling king of the gods, was built near the site of the Olympic games.

Wonderment level: ★ We know the Greeks invented democracy and everything, but that doesn’t give them license to go and label their every statue a wonder.

THE TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS AT EPHESUS
Twice as big as the Parthenon, the Temple of Artemis is relatively unknown today. Its 127 columns, each 60 feet tall, were all destroyed in 262 CE by the Goths.

Wonderment Level: ★★★ Today, Ephesus is primarily remembered for a letter, which ended up in the Bible, written to its residents by the Apostle Paul. But it was also one heck of a temple.

THE HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON
Created by King Nebuchadnezzar II, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built atop cube-shaped columns, and comprised dozens of high, beautifully landscaped terraces. The green-thumbed touches all gave Babylon the illusion of topography, which was exactly the point: Supposedly, Nebuchadnezzar’s wife was homesick for the mountainous land of her childhood, so he built them to cheer her up.

Wonderment Level: ★★★★ While definitely remarkable, the gardens weren’t nearly as impressive as their irrigation system, which required huge and exceedingly complex water-wheels (if you’ve ever been to Disney World, think Swiss Family Robinson).

THE MAUSOLEUM AT HALICARNASSUS
In 323 BCE, a minor king of a minor kingdom in Asia Minor died. His name was Mausolus, and his wife, who, incidentally, was also his sister, was devastated. (You would be, too, if you lost your brother and your husband all at once.) She built him a huge stone tomb that was so impressive that Mausolus, who would have otherwise been forgotten, lived on as a word: mausoleum.

Wonderment Level: ★★ Three stars for the impressive tomb. Subtract one star for marrying your sister.

THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES
Another Greek statue passing as a wonder of the world because it was built by Greeks? Well, yes. In 282 BCE, the people on the island of Rhodes erected a 110-foot bronze monument to their patron god, Helios. With its pointy crown, the statue bears a striking resemblance to another famous statue situated near an island city: the Statue of Liberty, which was actually modeled on the Colossus.

Wonderment Level: ★★ It may have inspired Lady Liberty, but the Colossus only stood for 55 years.

The Wonders of the World didn’t exactly cover the earth:
The farthest apart (Zeus and the Hanging Gardens) were separated by only about 1,200 miles. That’s approximately the distance between Boston and St. Louis.

Lighthouse Legends
Remember killing ants with a well-aimed magnifying glass on a sunny day? Well, imagine that phenomenon on a much larger scale. Legend has it that he huge mirror of the Alexandrian Lighthouse was used to concentrate and reflect sunlight on enemy ships, causing them to burst into flames. (If you’re wondering whether that is actually possible: No. It isn’t. But good story, ancient Alexandria!)

Conversation Starters
◆ From head to toe, the modern-day Statue of Liberty is nearly the same height as the ancient Colossus of Rhodes.

◆ Although the Lighthouse of Alexandria was built on the island of Pharos, in its heyday, Pharos was sort of the Coney Island of Alexandria. Visitors could climb to the top of the lighthouse to enjoy the view, and could even purchase snacks on its ground floor.

◆ A pharaoh named Khufu ordered the building of the Great Pyramid in honor of, uh, himself. Khufu, incidentally, wasn’t the best pharaoh who ever came down the pike. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, he “brought the country into all kinds of misery.” Maybe, but he’s been great for tourism ever since!

◆ Crusaders occupied Halicarnassus in 1522. Fearing an attack from the Turks, however, the Crusaders showed the kind of Christian piety and kindness for which they are famous, and decided to reinforce the walls of the town by stealing stones. But where could they get such fine materials? From the ruins of the town’s famed mausoleum, of course! By the time their foraging was complete, the mausoleum’s foundation was completely unrecognizable.