In 225 B.C.E., the Greek writer Philo of Byzantium wrote On The Seven Wonders, and this early literary work highlighted the greatest man-made entities at the time. Most of the seven ancient wonders of the world are still shrouded in mystery and beauty. Yet, when it comes to these ancient wonders, the most mysterious is the hanging gardens of Babylon.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the lighthouse at Alexandria. The Hanging Gardens, the last Ancient Wonder of the world, called Babylon its home. Babylon rose to power for the second time from 600 to 550 B.C.E., as the Chaldean Empire under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. His kingdom grew to be thousands of miles wide, and King Nebuchadnezzar secured his capital city of Bablyon with large walls. These protective walls were believed to be multiple feet thick and impenetrable.1
On these walls were beautiful shrubs and flowers. The legend of how these flowers bloomed over the wall began with the king. Nebuchadnezzar was proud of his creation, but one of his wives still longed for more. She mourned for her homeland on top of a mountain and wished to see the beauty of her home once again. When the king heard this, he ordered for the flowers and shrubs to be brought and then placed on top of his great wall. Exotic flowers and greenery brought a wonderful fragrance to the kingdom. The walls were irrigated using new technology. Waterwheels and pumps were installed, truly making the gardens a scientific and artistic masterpiece.2
What we can know about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one the most challenging of projects for modern scholars. This is due to the lack of evidence that we have about whether these gardens ever even existed in Babylon so many thousands of years ago. Much of the literature on the Hanging Gardens was written by second-hand accounts in the ancient world. Historians and archaeologists have searched for the gardens in the ruins of Babylon, but nothing concrete has been found. There are many theories about the actual location of the gardens; the leading theory comes from scholar Stephanie Dalley, a researcher from Oxford University in England. She believes that the Hanging Gardens were not in Babylon at all, but rather in Nineveh.
Dalley is an expert in ancient Mesopotamian languages. The new translations of texts from the reign of King Sennacherib of Nineveh state that there was a large beautiful garden in Nineveh that was irrigated by an aqueduct. The texts describe a water-raising screw made of bronze. The descriptions resemble that of other ancient writers’ descriptions of the Hanging Gardens, and as such, there could have been a misunderstanding in translation in subsequent years. Dalley explains that the conquering of Babylon by the Assyrians gave them the nickname of Nineveh or “New Babylon.”3
The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World still have many mysteries connected to them. Yet, the most mysterious is that of Babylon’s Hanging Gardens. Many have been skeptical that they may have never existed. Now, new evidence brings hope that more about the Gardens may yet be known, and a new understanding of the wonder of ancient civilizations may come to light.4
- Jerry Bentley, Herbert F. Zieglar, and Heather E. Streets, Traditions and Encounters, a Brief Global History. 4th ed. Vol. 1. (Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008), 12. ↵
- Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2009, s.v. “The Seven Wonders,” by Joshua J. Mark. ↵
- Stephanie Dalley, “Garden History,” Ancient Mesopotamian Gardens and the Identification of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Resolved, vol. 21, (February 2009): 7. ↵
- Stephanie Dalley, “Garden History,” Ancient Mesopotamian Gardens and the Identification of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Resolved, vol. 21, (February 2009): 7. ↵
44 comments
Lisa Varela
Great article, I honestly enjoyed reading it! This article was very informative. I learned about the what the seven wonders of the ancient world were. I had heard of them but never knew what they were or who listed them. This article was very descriptive. The story of the hanging gardens of Babylon was very descriptive and well told, I came to understand the topic better.
Sergio Cervantes
I had heard of this ancient wonder but never understood its original purpose or why they were created. It amazes me that the king would go through so much trouble to please his wife by building this beautiful place. It is interesting to read about the different irrigation systems that the place employed to keep the plants green and fresh. The fact that a leading scholar disagrees with the idea that these gardens were located in Babylon is worrisome. Nonetheless, every new finding can only lead to the answer of the question, “where was it located”?
Mariana Govea
Super interesting article!I really enjoyed reading your article since it hit on many interesting things such as the seven wonders of the ancient world! I found it so fascinating how this wonder was created by a husband to his wife!! Like for him to have done all that for her is beautiful!As well as you did a great job with visuals it helps the reader picture and understand better your description of what Babylon was and how it looked!Great job describing the wonders and explaining how difficult it was for archaeologists and historians to discover it and study it!
Natalia Zuniga
iInteresting article! I always heard of babylona and it alwasy metioned in books and movies and tv but never reslly took time to leanr about it. Your article gave me a better picutre of bablon and what it was. The photograph of lion was great, as well as your graphic of the hanging gardens gave me a better visual. Overall great article!
Tina Valdez
What an interesting topic! Scholars provide us with a vast amount of information, however because of the lack of evidence, as you mentioned, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are questioned to have even existed. That simply amazes me, it is one thing to not have every detail about a place, but to have some account and not be able to prove said account is bewildering. I truly enjoyed reading your article because you do a great job of delivering the information that we do have about the mysterious Hanging Gardens.
Maalik Stansbury
I really had no clue what the seven wonders were, i honestly thought teh seven deadly sins. But this article helped clarify what the wonders were. This happened in a great way that made me want to learn more. Great style of writing and great job presenting it.
Jezel Luna
I am completely oblivious to the topic on the Seven Wonders of the World. Through reading this article I became very familiar rather with the topic. It was interesting to see that scholars today are still searching for the answers to where the Hanging Gardens were located. Great choice for a topic!
Aylin Salinas
Wow, what a mystery! I never knew about the origins of the seven wonders of the world and reading about the Gardens of Babylon left me wanting to learn about the other six! This was a very well written article!
Bryce Cardwell
I really enjoyed this article because it has this level of suspense to it. Not only are the Gardens of Babylon a mystery, but also the story behind them is still a mystery and could as well have been imagined or faked. This article made me want to research the topic more and try to answer some questions I have corresponding to the topic.
Rachel White
The ending to your article was one that made me want to continue reading, grasping at the unknown and desperate to learn more about the other Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. I really love things that have to do with these phenomenal works of creation that would be thought to be nearly impossible to create during the era in which they were built. I hope to one day visit some of these wonders, and your article moved the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (or Nineveh) to the top of the list as one of the most mysterious and exciting ones I have learned about.