One of her more fun series of lectures. Makes me want to see them. ( )

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is another entry in The Modern Scholar series. I'd read about some of them, but not all. Professor Tobin devotes two lectures each to the Pyramids of Giza, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The Walls of Babylon, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse at Alexandria. We also get to learn about changes to the list over the centuries.

The accompanying booklet has helpful maps, diagrams, and photographs. We get quotations from ancient authors, information on how the wonders were built (if known), and sometimes attitudes toward a wonder over time. (If, as I was, you were flabbergasted when Dr. Ben Carson referred to the Pyramids at Giza as the granaries of Joseph, you might be interested to know that was Christian belief for at least a thousand years, even if that error was corrected centuries ago.)

The probable structure of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon turned out to be nothing like what I imagined them to be. It's nice to know that the common image of the Colossus at Rhodes is incorrect (I'd wondered how people could have viewed the ruins for so long if it had been straddling two harbors.) I also enjoyed learning about the origin of two terms: 'mausoleum' and 'museum'. That giant gold and ivory statue of Zeus makes more sense now that I know how it was made.

The lectures include what happened to the various wonders that no longer exist. I grew quite angry at several long-dead individuals who destroyed them.
All in all, it's an interesting series of lectures. ( )

These details were mildly interesting. I find this professor a bit un-engaging to listen to. ( )