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Ancient wonders

Ancient wonders: a chapter of the Wonders of the World Book, with a photo of each wonder and the story behind it.

10 cards · Geography

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Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the chapter a few at a time.

Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 27 Oct 2026

Sources: Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (Britannica), World Heritage List (UNESCO), Wikimedia Commons (the photos)

Preview

  • A huge stone monument with four sloping sides, against a blue sky

    The oldest of the Seven Wonders, and the only one left

    Show answer: The oldest of the Seven Wonders, and the only one left

    Great Pyramid of Giza

    Learn more: Built around 2560 BC, it was the tallest human-made structure in the world for almost 4,000 years.

  • Hand-coloured engraving of a vast columned building, with people moving stone in front

    Greek temple at Ephesus, burned for fame

    Show answer: Greek temple at Ephesus, burned for fame

    Temple of Artemis

    Learn more: Herostratus set it on fire in 356 BC so his name would be remembered; only one column stands today.

  • Painting of a huge seated god in a temple, with games taking place before it

    Giant gold and ivory figure of a god at Olympia

    Show answer: Giant gold and ivory figure of a god at Olympia

    Statue of Zeus

    Learn more: About 12 m tall and seated on a throne, it was lost by the 5th century AD.

  • Coloured engraving of a tall tomb with a stepped pyramid roof

    Tomb so grand that every great tomb is named after it

    Show answer: Tomb so grand that every great tomb is named after it

    Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

    Learn more: Earthquakes toppled it by the 1400s; some of its sculptures are in the British Museum.

  • Engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck of an ancient city's walls, towers and planted terraces

    Fabled terraced gardens of an ancient city

    Show answer: Fabled terraced gardens of an ancient city

    Hanging Gardens of Babylon

    Learn more: No trace has been found; some historians think they stood at Nineveh, or never existed at all.

About this topic

More than 2,000 years ago, Greek travellers listed seven sights every traveller should see. Only one still stands: the Great Pyramid of Giza. The others, from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, fell to earthquakes, fire and time, so most of this chapter's pictures are engravings made in the 1500s and later. Three more ancient marvels join them: the Great Sphinx, the temples of Abu Simbel and China's Terracotta Army.

This is a chapter of the Wonders of the World Book. Each card shows a picture and asks one question, with a hint before you answer and a short reason after. Every photo is credited and openly licensed.

All 10 cards

  1. The oldest of the Seven Wonders, and the only one left
    A huge stone monument with four sloping sides, against a blue sky

    Great Pyramid of Giza

    Learn more: Built around 2560 BC, it was the tallest human-made structure in the world for almost 4,000 years.

  2. Greek temple at Ephesus, burned for fame
    Hand-coloured engraving of a vast columned building, with people moving stone in front

    Temple of Artemis

    Learn more: Herostratus set it on fire in 356 BC so his name would be remembered; only one column stands today.

  3. Giant gold and ivory figure of a god at Olympia
    Painting of a huge seated god in a temple, with games taking place before it

    Statue of Zeus

    Learn more: About 12 m tall and seated on a throne, it was lost by the 5th century AD.

  4. Tomb so grand that every great tomb is named after it
    Coloured engraving of a tall tomb with a stepped pyramid roof

    Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

    Learn more: Earthquakes toppled it by the 1400s; some of its sculptures are in the British Museum.

  5. Fabled terraced gardens of an ancient city
    Engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck of an ancient city's walls, towers and planted terraces

    Hanging Gardens of Babylon

    Learn more: No trace has been found; some historians think they stood at Nineveh, or never existed at all.

  6. Bronze sun god that stood over a Greek harbour
    Drawing of a giant bronze figure holding a torch over a busy harbour

    Colossus of Rhodes

    Learn more: About 33 m tall, it stood for only 54 years; the idea that it straddled the harbour is a later legend.

  7. Tower whose fire guided ships into an Egyptian port
    Coloured engraving of a tall tower with a fire on top, on an island, with ships around it

    Lighthouse of Alexandria

    Learn more: Perhaps over 100 m tall, it stood for about 1,500 years; pharos still means lighthouse in several languages.

  8. Lion with a human head guarding the pyramids
    A stone lion with a human head, with a pyramid behind it

    Great Sphinx of Giza

    Learn more: About 73 m long, it is one of the largest and oldest statues in the world.

  9. Four giant seated statues cut into a cliff
    Four giant seated statues of a pharaoh carved into a sandstone cliff

    Abu Simbel

    Learn more: Ramesses II's temples were cut apart and raised 65 m to escape the rising waters of Lake Nasser.

  10. Thousands of clay soldiers buried with an emperor
    Rows of clay soldiers standing in an excavated pit

    Terracotta Army

    Learn more: Made for Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor; no two faces are said to be alike.

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