The seven wonders of the ancient world are structures built by humans. The originator of the list is usually given as Antipater of Sidon, who listed the structures in a poem (around 140 BCE) as being exceptional achievements. Both Herodotus and Callimachus of Cyrene had made earlier lists but the writings did not survive except as references.

Table of contents
1 Wonders of the World list
2 Other candidates
3 Modern candidates

Wonders of the World list

The Wonders of the World list, with the Lighthouse of Alexandria, is medieval in origin. Antipater's list had the walls of Babylon rather than the lighthouse. In chronological order, they are:

Two each of the wonders were within the territories of today's Egypt, Greece, and Turkey, and one in Iraq. The only surviving wonder is the first built, the Great Pyramid of Giza. The wonder with the shortest life span was the Colossus of Rhodes, which kept its erect posture for only 56 years before being brought down by an earthquake.

Other candidates

Other ancient buildings often included in lists of wonders of the world include:

Modern candidates

Many people have since devised lists of wonders of the modern world. For example, the American Society of Civil Engineers chose the following: