Three lists of Seven Wonders
There is no single list of the “Seven Wonders” — there are at least three. The classical Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were compiled by Greek writers and listed remarkable Mediterranean monuments. A later Medieval tradition produced several variant lists. In 2007 a global public poll selected the New7Wonders of the World. This tool gathers all three into one searchable reference.
How it works
Pick a list from the dropdown to focus on the Ancient, Medieval, or New7Wonders set, or keep it on “All lists” to browse everything. The search box filters by name, modern country, or status word, so typing destroyed surfaces the lost wonders while Greece finds the Greek ones. Each entry records the modern location, an approximate date built, and the wonder’s current status.
Notes and example
Of the seven classical wonders, only the Great Pyramid of Giza survives — the rest fell to earthquakes (the Colossus of Rhodes, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus), fire (the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus), or vanished entirely (the Hanging Gardens, whose very existence is disputed). The Medieval list has no authoritative form, so treat it as one common version. The 2007 New7Wonders poll was run by a private foundation, not UNESCO, and added the Great Pyramid as an honorary member outside the public vote.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The classical list is the oldest and most widely known, compiled by Hellenistic Greek writers — most commonly attributed to Antipater of Sidon (circa 100 BCE) and Philo of Byzantium. All seven were concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean and Near East, reflecting the limits of the Greek world’s geographic awareness.
| Wonder | Location (modern) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Great Pyramid of Giza | Egypt | Standing — only survivor |
| Hanging Gardens of Babylon | Iraq (disputed) | Destroyed or mythical |
| Statue of Zeus at Olympia | Greece | Destroyed by fire (~5th c. CE) |
| Temple of Artemis at Ephesus | Turkey | Destroyed and rebuilt multiple times |
| Mausoleum at Halicarnassus | Turkey | Destroyed by earthquakes |
| Colossus of Rhodes | Greece | Destroyed by earthquake (226 BCE) |
| Lighthouse of Alexandria | Egypt | Destroyed by earthquakes (10th–14th c.) |
The Hanging Gardens are the most mysterious: no Babylonian text has been found that confirms their existence. Some scholars argue the gardens were actually at Nineveh, built by Sennacherib. Others believe the description is a literary invention.
The 2007 New Seven Wonders
The New7Wonders campaign, run by the New7Wonders Foundation, collected over 100 million votes online and by phone to select a new list of living wonders. The process was criticized for being popularity-based rather than scholarly, but it has entered popular culture. UNESCO does not endorse the list.
The seven winners (plus honorary addition) are: Great Wall of China, Petra (Jordan), Christ the Redeemer (Brazil), Machu Picchu (Peru), Chichen Itza (Mexico), the Roman Colosseum (Italy), the Taj Mahal (India), and the Great Pyramid of Giza (honorary, not voted).
The Medieval list’s uncertain origins
The “Seven Wonders of the Medieval World” is a later European tradition with several variant lists, probably originating in the medieval scholarly fascination with classical lists. There is no authoritative medieval source that codified it the way Antipater codified the ancient list. Common inclusions are Stonehenge, the Great Wall, Hagia Sophia, the Colosseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, and the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing — though the exact seven vary by source.