Wonders of the Ancient World

Catalog description

Overview of the ancient world by focusing on the famed "Seven Wonders" and similar achievements from 3000 B.C.E.-1st Century C.E. The core of this course is comprised of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the Great Pyramid in Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos, the Statue of Zeus Olympios, the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Throughout the semester other wondrous monuments and archaeological discoveries are covered as well. Depending on the expertise of the professor other archaeological sites and monuments may also include the Egyptian capital and reign of the Pharaoh Akhenaten and Nefertiti, the unplundered tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankamen, the Bronze Age Palaces of the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenaeans of mainland Greece, Troy, Shipwrecks of the Late Bronze Age, the mystery of the End of the Bronze Age, the Parthenon and Cult Statue of Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, the Temple of Zeus Olympios and athletic games at Olympia, Alexander the Great and his conquests in the East, the Royal Cemetery at Vergina and its unplundered tombs, and new explorations in Alexandria Egypt. If taught by an Egyptologist the course might include additional monuments and archaeological sites in Egypt, whereas if taught by a Near Eastern specialist the course might include additional monument and sites in the Near East.