A Historian in 450 BC says, "Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world."
Some stories say that the Hanging Gardens towered hundreds of feet into the air, but explorations indicate a more modest, but still impressive, height.
If they existed, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon would be the second oldest of the ancient wonders. Built in the 6th century, the gardens are long gone. Some scholars argue that the reason there's no record of them is because they were gardens. Plants and flowers are living things that eventually die. Even if the structure that the gardens were in remains, it could be in unrecognizable ruins.
The city of Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, must have been a wonder to the ancient travelers. "In addition to its size, Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world." wrote Herodotus, a Greek historian in 450 BC. He means that, in addition to the size of Hanging Gardens, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Some say the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough to allow two four-horse chariots to pass each other. The city also had inner walls which were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong." Inside the double walls were fortresses and temples which held huge statues of solid gold. In the city, there was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk, that seemed to reach to the heavens.
Nebuchadnezzar II built the Hanging Gardens for his wife, Queen Amytis, because she missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland. He also built a palace that is known as 'The Marvel of the Mankind'.
Because of the lack of evidence it has been suggested that the Hanging Gardens are legendary, and the descriptions found in ancient Greek and Roman writers show a romantic idea of an eastern garden. If it did exist, it was destroyed sometime after first century AD.
Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough, he said, to allow two four-horse chariots to pass each other. The city also had inner walls which were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong." Inside these double walls were fortresses and temples containing immense statues of solid gold. Rising above the city was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk, that seemed to reach to the heavens.
Some stories say that the Hanging Gardens towered hundreds of feet into the air, but explorations indicate a more modest, but still impressive, height.
If they existed, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon would be the second oldest of the ancient wonders. Built in the 6th century, the gardens are long gone. Some scholars argue that the reason there's no record of them is because they were gardens. Plants and flowers are living things that eventually die. Even if the structure that the gardens were in remains, it could be in unrecognizable ruins.
The city of Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, must have been a wonder to the ancient travelers. "In addition to its size, Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world." wrote Herodotus, a Greek historian in 450 BC. He means that, in addition to the size of Hanging Gardens, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world.
Some say the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough to allow two four-horse chariots to pass each other. The city also had inner walls which were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong." Inside the double walls were fortresses and temples which held huge statues of solid gold. In the city, there was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk, that seemed to reach to the heavens.
Nebuchadnezzar II built the Hanging Gardens for his wife, Queen Amytis, because she missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland. He also built a palace that is known as 'The Marvel of the Mankind'.
Because of the lack of evidence it has been suggested that the Hanging Gardens are legendary, and the descriptions found in ancient Greek and Roman writers show a romantic idea of an eastern garden. If it did exist, it was destroyed sometime after first century AD.
Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough, he said, to allow two four-horse chariots to pass each other. The city also had inner walls which were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong." Inside these double walls were fortresses and temples containing immense statues of solid gold. Rising above the city was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk, that seemed to reach to the heavens.