The Greek conquest of much of the known world in the 4th century BC gave Hellenistic travellers access to the civilizations of the Egyptians, Persians, and Babylonians.[3] Impressed and captivated by the landmarks and marvels of the various lands, these travellers began to list what they saw to remember them.[4][5]
Instead of "wonders", the ancient Greeks spoke of "theamata" (θεάματα), which means "sights", in other words "things to be seen". (Τὰ ἑπτὰ θεάματα τῆς οἰκουμένης [γῆς] Tà heptà theámata tēs oikoumenēs [gēs]) Later, the word for "wonder" ("thaumata" θαύματα) was used, and this is also the case in modern Greek (Επτά θαύματα του αρχαίου κόσμου).[6] Hence, the list was meant to be the Ancient World's counterpart of a travel guidebook.[3]
Each person had his own version of the list, but the best known and earliest surviving was from a poem by Greek-speaking epigrammist Antipater of Sidon from around 140 BC.[5] He named six of the seven sites on his list—leaving out the lighthouse—, but was primarily in praise of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus