Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Quiz / Test | World

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1. Which one of the Seven Wonders replaced Ishtar Gate on one of the first lists of the Wonders of the World? (Hint: this wonder was the last one out of six to be destroyed.)

Answer: Lighthouse of Alexandria

The reason the number "seven" was chosen is the Greeks believed that the number seven represented perfection and plenty.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancients World include: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and finally the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Nebuchadnezzar II ordered the construction of the Ishtar Gate around 575 BC. It was named and dedicated to the goddess Ishtar. It was replaced on the list by the Lighthouse of Alexandria in the 6th Century AD.

A small reproduction of Ishtar Gate was to be built as an entrance to a museum. Saddam Hussein ordered the construction but it was never completed and has since been damaged due to the Iraq War.

2. Only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still exists. Which one is it?

Answer: Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed somewhere between 2584-2561 BC and is the only wonder still standing. It was built as a tomb for the Pharaoh Khufu. The pyramid was also the tallest of all man-made structures for over 3,800 years until the Lincoln Cathedral was completed in 1300 AD.

3. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were said to have been destroyed after the 2nd century BC by a repeated natural disaster. What was the cause of the destruction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?

Answer: Earthquakes

The gardens were said to have been built by Nebuchadnezzar II between 605-562 BC and destroyed in the 2nd Century BC by earthquakes. He built the garden to please his wife, Amytis of Media who was homesick.

4. Who was the sculptor chosen to create the Statue of Zeus at Olympia?

Answer: Phidias

Phidias' other works include a 40 ft high statue of the goddess Athena for the Parthenon and also worked on a great amount of the exterior of the Parthenon itself. The Statue of Zeus seated was around 39 feet tall and filled much of the temple.
"It seems that if Zeus were to stand up he would unroof the temple." Strabo.

The statue was built somewhere between 466-456 BC and was destroyed around 425 AD. Historians believe it was destroyed by fire set to the temple.

5. The Temple of Artemis was a structure dedicated to the goddess Artemis and took 120 years to build. A man named Herostratus was the first to destroy the temple. How did Herostratus destroy it?

Answer: Arson

The temple was first constructed in 550 BC. Herostratus committed arson to the temple in 356 BC for no other reason but for fame. The Ephesians were so outraged that they demanded the Herostratus' name was to never be recorded.
The temple was reconstructed and then again destroyed by Goths in 409 AD.

6. Artemis was too preoccupied with the birth of this future GREAT king to pay attention to her temple being destroyed by Herostratus. Who is said to have been born the night the Temple of Artemis was destroyed?

Answer: Alexander the Great

In legend, the night of the arson by Herostratus, was suppose to be the night that Alexander the Great was born. Apparently Artemis was too preoccupied with the birth of Alexander to save the temple. Later, Alexander himself offered to pay to have the temple rebuilt (from the Arson). The Ephesians refused him because they thought of him as a god and he should not pay for the temple. The temple was not restored until after the death of Alexander the Great.

7. The Mausoleum of Mausolus was a tomb that was built for the governor of the Persian Empire between 353 and 350 BC. Who ordered the construction of the temple?

Answer: Artemisia II of Caria

When Mausolus died his wife/sister, Artemisia II, decided to build a tomb for him, sparing no expense. She died only two years later before the tomb was finished. Eventually the temple did get completed but was destroyed in 1494 AD.

8. What caused the destruction of the Mausoleum of Mausolus?

Answer: Earthquake

An earthquake was the cause of the Mausoleum's destruction, and what was left of it was later disassembled by crusaders. Some modern buildings were inspired by the construction and beauty of the Mausoleum, including Grant's Tomb in NYC, LA City Hall and the Scottish Rite House of the Temple in Washington DC.

9. The Colossus of Rhodes, built between 292 and 280 BC, is a statue that was erected to what god of the sun?

Answer: Helios

When Demetrios, successor of Alexander the Great, was defeated at Rhodes, the people decided to express their pride by constructing a statue of their favorite god, Helios.
A strong earthquake around 226 BC broke the statue at the knees, immediately after Ptolemy III Eurgetes of Egypt offered to cover the costs to restore the statue. The Rhodians consulted an Oracle that forbade them from restoring the statue.

10. The Lighthouse of Alexandria is the only wonder out of the other six that had a/some practical purpose(s). What was/were the purpose(s)?

Answer: All of these

The lighthouse was used to help ships find the harbor and safely enter. It also served as a military lookout for approaching enemy ships and was a tourist destination with two observation platforms on the first story.
The lighthouse was built between 285 and 247 BC on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt. It was severely damaged in 956 by an earthquake and was hit again by earthquakes in 1303 and 1323. It finally collapsed in 1326.

Source: Author moonlitrose25

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Quiz

This quiz is about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

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