Did the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Actually Ever Exist?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ย. 2023
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The Pyramids of Giza. The Pharos of Alexandria. The Colossus of Rhodes. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia. The Mausoleum at Halicanarnassus. These are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, celebrated for millennia as the greatest architectural achievements of antiquity. Sadly, today only one of the original wonders - the Pyramids of Giza - are still standing, the rest having long ago crumbled to ruins. But while one can still visit many of these ruins and ponder their former magnificence, one ancient wonder remains frustratingly elusive: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Despite more than a century of searching, no trace of this enigmatic structure has ever been found. So what were the Hanging Gardens? What made them so special? Did they actually exist - and, if so, what happened to them? Let’s find out as we delve into the history and mystery of the missing Seventh Wonder.
Author: Gilles Messier
Host: Simon Whistler
Producer: Samuel Avila
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Factor is overpriced garbage. All of them are only affordable if you're mega rich.
I'm surprised that they even allow you to cook in the blazement, xD
Great video as always
Also, @@TheSh4dowgale that's savage and I absolutely agree with the sentiment, hearing a HelloFresh Ad on like every channel ever doesn't make me any more likely to possess the funds I'd need to pay for such a subcription if I even wanted one to begin with lol.
But do they ship to Czechia?
They certainly are popular and I have no idea why. We used the service for a short time and I was severely unimpressed with the food. I just am baffled why so many rave about it. With the exception of like two meals I just thought it tasted greasy and cheap.
Why do you say C.E instead of A.D? Are you also following the atheist agenda?
They existed in Civilization II, that's good enough for me.
Always found it weird in latter Civs, the hanging garden give more growth or food
ah they hung there
I came here to say the original civ
The best version of the game
in Civ 3 it makes people happy.
A video isn't truly complete until Simon throws us all into existential dread. 😅
It's not really that strange that Herodotus never mentioned the sphinx when he described the great pyramid of Giza. The sphinx has often spent long periods of time partially or entirely covered with sand over the centuries, so it's very possible that at the time Herodotus visited, the sphinx was either mostly or entirely buried, and wouldn't have been a noteworthy sight.
Yea but knowing that it was there before the pyramids and rebuilt by the Egyptians you’d think they’d know of it’s existence
@@teamezyw6009you're interpreting the situation as though it was within memory within memory is typically about three generations, the Egyptians we're down there doing their thing for thousands of years, you can't expect it to be common knowledge 2000 years later if it is buried
@@eyetrollin710 it wasn’t buried for ages it got rebuild 1-2 times and had the head of a pharaoh and painted beautifully also buried one of their greatest rulers and rumoured to have their library’s under/near it connected to it and was written who destroyed its nose in the 1500 century or before then by some sultan it was 1000% recorded the same amount as the pyramids if not more due to its massive cultural importance
@@teamezyw6009😂😂😂 okay 👍 but the Egyptians didn’t build the sphinx
@@WillrocsALIENS
As an example of how our view of history is incomplete, consider the Antikythera mechanism. It's sufficiently advanced that it's clear it wasn't the only or even the first device of its kind, but only the Antikythera mechanism survives to tell us that they existed -- and _nothing_ the ancients wrote about them survived!
There's a mention of something that MIGHT be related to the mechanism in Archimedes collection, but no details. It's entirely likely the item mentioned was just a set of tables, like a calendar, and not a mechanism.
If I remember correctly "paradise" is comparable to a "park" where plants and trees are in their placed in an orderly fashion. In compared to how things are in nature where plants are seem to be randomly placed. I always imagined the "hanging garden" would resemble a ziggurat, which resembled a mountain. With how they are constructed, they do have steps and terraces. Adding plants and trees would definitely give a ziggurat a more natural look of a figurative mountain.
I'm glad it is how it also interpreted in the video.
I suppose that depends on whether you’re basing “paradise” on biblical lore or other. Biblical lore, paradise is (and this is summarized) where servants of God went after death before jesus popped in as a patch for the glitch. It was also the garden created for God to experiment with his new toys. Different realms , lazy nomenclature.
@@Miss_Camel The video and how I based it on was its etymology from the Persian word of the same meaning; park/garden.
If you were to base it on for religious context, most structures are the "figurative" version of that like the ziggurat or even a garden/park.
The ziggurat is an elevated structure to be built as high as it can be. Some beliefs in this region (in context) of the world worshipped on hills or mountains, which the ziggurat maybe emulating but isn't what they are representing.
The gardens were actually located somewhere in Nineveh. But at the time when the seven wonders of antiquity were first written about, the ancient people no longer knew where ancient Nineveh and Babylon were once located, so they merged these two cities and invented a fictitious background story for the gardens.
I once came across a theory that the "gardens" may have been the overgrown remains of a ziggurat.
Would look sick.
Considering that the Greeks themselves couldn't even tell half the time if they were actually in Babylon each time they visited a Persian city, it's not too fetched to assume that the gardens themselves are made up.
That sounds like it’d suggest they weren’t made up, just not in a particular spot.
@@nicholaslewis8594 And also possibly exacerbated
@@nicholaslewis8594Wow. That's not how any of this works, kid.
i can explain,it simply , it was a coal mine , so as we know ,, as soon as we dig out a seam of coal, we get a water way , and even though the egyptians didnt use coal the way we do, the blacksmith , iron worker knew ,, mostly that plants grew well from the used ash was perfect for plant nutrtion , so the hanging gardens refers to how slaves or navies would work to dig coal and sell it , but also get paid to clean the furnace , or fireplace so in the idea it was a story about growth & rebrth , as they would find mythical creatures preserved in coal, @@ChristophBrinkmann
@@DouglasZaninido you mean to say exaggerated? Idk I really want the hanging gardens to be real but I don’t have much hope. At the minimum they could’ve been very underwhelming aka exaggerated like I think you mean
Iraqi dictator, Sadam Hussein, once openly aspired to recreate the Classical World's legendary Hanging Gardens, located in the same region. The Hanging Gardens were considered one of the world's Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
It appears the Hanging Gardens were likely elevated terraces and galleries of planted trees and other garden type flora.
According to legend, while the Hanging Gardens didn't last, the stone and brick structures continued to stand. But the invading Mongols in the early 13th century completely destroyed the remaining standing garden structures.
I was going to say, if Sadam Husein and Isis could do that much damage in a few decades, imagine how much could be done in 16 centuries.
😮 Also consider that people would see precut stone and said 'yes! Less work, I'm going to just take this with me and build me a nice home for a fraction of the cost.' And off the stones went to who knows where...
Why does that have such an odd tone? Like it was copy and pasted from Wikipedia or written by AI? I can’t quite put my finger on it and explain with words but I’m sure other people notice it. Too formal, too much like an essay maybe
The Niniveh theory seems the most compelling to me.
I agree - I think Sennacherib had it built in Nineveh. And, 'Hanging Gardens of Assyria' just doesn't have quite the same ring to it. :)
Yes, probably the truth.
Rick Astley is a devoted believer in the Sennacherib theory. He's Niniveh gonna give it up.
@@jliller Oh my gohd. I just kinda got rickrolled by a reply in a comment section of a Simon Whistler video. 😒
Well done! 😂
@@jliller Omg rick rolled. 😁
Not in Babylon! They were in Nineveh!
I feel like this should have been on Decoding the Unknown.
I always come away with the thought that whether they existed or not I would really like to see how feasible it is to create a structure like that.
Wow, this is top notch Simon! I read up on the Gardens and Temple of Artemis, but never knew this level of detail. I suppose one other possibility, both cynical and comforting, is that the Hanging Gardens were so beautiful and an architectural wonder, that some Babylon king, to avoid gawking tourists, forbade anyone upon pain of death from ever talking or writing about it! Kind of selfish, but would explain the discrepancy.
I read a book by an archeologist who laid out the criteria for the Hanging Gardens and examined various sites to see if they qualified. She was looking for an administrative building with gardens on top, meant to impress and entertain visitors.
I can't remember where she settled on the matter, but Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom qualifies. The "Maint Street USA" section is built on top of a buried building -- the famous "tunnels" -- that were used for administration for a time, and even that section of the park has gardens meant to entertain and impress.
Simon’s existential crisis. Thanks for sharing. ✌🏼
Simon like always, ending the video with a bit of Nihilism. So let me just throw in some positivity as an optimistic Nihilist:
not only are our actions not pointless, they are fundamental for the future. Even if you personally don't do anything "important" and are forgotten, everyone's contribution shapes the future.
Just imagine if newton had to make his own meals and so wasn't so bored out of his mind that he created his laws! That makes the lowliest of his staff instrumental to what he managed to do.
Humanity is like a giant hand made out of all of our actions reaching into the future to push our descendants ever further towards the truth.
Love this!
One of the weird things about being an OIF veteran is that I have been to many of these places. IIRC Babylon is near FOB Scania. Nineveh is where Camp Diamondback was and the Zigauraut was between a USAF and USA base just south of the Italian/Romanian bridge.
Never did OIF, but OEF as a Marine rifleman in southern Helmand. There was a COP we set up and just called COP Castle because it was established in the structure of an ancient military fort that we reinforced with Hesco and sandbags. It was crazy imagining who built it, and the soldiers who’d garrisoned there in history. Never learned much more about it but of course there were rumors that it had been built by Alexander the Great’s armies.
@Disabled.Megatron The artifacts conspiracies are due to real life looting and grave robbing. As for the use of ancients sites for current troops, those site are likely placed at routes and landmarks that still hold strategic value like roads and high points.
the word for paradise meant like an enclosed area? like an ancient gated community seen from the outside
Yes, because they were often in the desert, so the wall made the visitor forget the gray dryness outside.Go to Google Images, and Google “Fin garden” and “Shahzade garden.” For the latter, check out the photos from the air. That’s why they have walls.
Makes sense, perhaps Attack on Titan was giving it a nod.
we love you simon!!! bring back brain food podcast.
Yay 🎉 Simon you’re back hosting
The hanging gardens of Babylon can be found in the mountains all over the region. The terraced mountains would have been used for farming and agriculture.
Exactly !!!
To someone unfamiliar to the organic construction of terraced farming created over generation it would almost seem magical technology...
Wrong
No, this is not wrong. This is a fact.@@ChristophBrinkmann
There was a BBC special that you cover in 13:32. They have been found
As an iraqi, I was always told that the gardens existed, until Saddam put his name on it, and in the chaos of the 2000s it was demolished / destroyed. Not sure exactly of the historical significance of this or if it even refers exactly to the hanging gardens or some other structure. Probably just a folk myth.
But there can be some truth to the myth. Maybe not the iconic description, but there could have been something to inspire the myth.
There should be old people still alive, who have seen the ruins.
@tiffanysandmeier4753 The truth is that gardens exist. Just not hanging ones.
You're welcome.
Great Scott, a back to the future reference 😂
I just scrolled sooo far to find someone else who noticed! 😉
@@bethhoward6496 😎
Thank you so much Simon 🙏🏻
As a nihilist myself I appreciated the commentary at the end about how nothing matters in the end, good stuff
It's reddit tier cringe
Ever since I first heard of the Hanging Gardens, I have been baffled as to why they are always tied to the CITY of Babylon, rather than the NATION of Babylon. IIRC, the nation had three capitals, the city of Babylon itself, Nineveh, and Sousa. IIUC, what amounts to their version of the Executive and Judicial branches of the government would move back and forth primarily between the cities of Babylon and Nineveh, with Sousa being basically the King's vacation home. So the writers could have been confused between the city and the nation; with multiple cities being called babylons just adding to the confusion. Or they could have been referring to the nation, with later scholars thinking they were taking about the city. In which case, they could have referred to the nation as a whole because perhaps there were a number of them scattered throughout, of similar, possibly standardized, design.
I'm not even an amateur Archaeologist, so my opinion doesn't actually count for much, but I am rather surprised that nobody has looked in Sousa. If I had an entire city as a "vacation home", that's exactly where I would put something like that. Especially if it was for my wife, concubine, or whatever.
If I'm right....the monarch pretty much was the one that had all the 3 powers. He probably was the supreme judge, he was also the one that was managing the empire and giving orders (executive powers) and could make laws. Now some aristocrats might have had some power too and there would be a gathering of the higher ranking aristocrats once a year or every 6 months and that required a larger residence to discuss matters so if in Babylon there was a larger residence that's where the meeting would take place. This gathering of higher ranking aristocrats could vote in laws or discuss administrative issues. The separation of the 3 powers or branches wasn't clear at the time.
@@zaco-km3su Indeed. The King and his Court ran the whole thing. And don't forget the 4th branch; the clergy. The branch with the fewest administrators travelling with the King's entourage would be the Admin branch - the ones with all the paperwork - since staying at their respective Babylons (capitals) would mitigate the loss of records and the like. The Judicial High Court and the Executive Branch (military leaders, law makers, etc) would mostly go with the King.
I'll have to do some research to get the details. It's been nearly 30 years since I've done a deep dive into the subject.
"Babylon" was as much a title for a city as a name. At different times there were different Babylons, based, from what I recall, on the chief temples being in that city.
Man, when the aliens are excavating Moscow, Idaho, they are going to be pissed.
Better than Moscow, Ohio.
I’m super interested in this kind of stuff!
What's up with that annoying flashing effect on the edges of all the still images? Please stop.
It is not the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - it is in Ninevah! I watched a documentary by a PhD who went to Ninevah ad proved the infrastructure that supported the Hanging Gardens - from the water canals from the mountains miles away, and she followed the canals all the way from the tops of mountains to the city of Ninevah. So thats why you cant find any records in Babylon - they never had any gardensl.
Dr Stephanie Dalley
Marcus Aurelius focused largely on the fact that we scarcely remember people who lived 100 years ago.
One of those rare gems where something in human history doesn't suck.
Dr. Stephanie Dalley did a nice documentary on Sennacherib's city where she had images of the water transport ruins and so on. I completely believed her. I have no idea if any of it has been destroyed.
At least, Simon didn't left us hanging around with the details about the Hanging Gardens
Ouch Simon, that last minute was rough man, why you do this.
When I stopped thinking of them as "Hanging Gardens" and started thinking of them as "Stepped Gardens" or "Wedding Cake Gardens" it all made sense. Hanging Gardens bring to mind platforms suspended from the ceiling or vegetation growing at an awkward angle. As for irrigation, I always thought the servants would fill a reservoir at the top with buckets as a daily chore. Never understood the need for an Archimedes Screw. It was probably smaller than the accounts and I doubt it was unique.
Saw the thumbnail and thought “omg Simon is back on geographics finally” for a second…
Just how much plastic is being used by Factor?
if I could travel back in time this site was my goal.
Simon gets in his time cube and sees the sparkly wonders for himself 😊
Thanks!
No, thank you! :-)
I've always assumed the hanging gardens aren't what we expect, and it might have just been a decorative section of an aqueduct since those where already supplied with water and were made to hold a lot of weight
It would be cool if you covered every big man made world wonder
Also CIV 5 misleads and you don't get hanging gardens for a bit. You can get it without a solid build
Were the Hanging Gardens just a complicated way of saying they built a greener (and much better) version of Las Vegas? If u think about it, the just moved dirt and planted a bunch of stuff where it normally wouldn't grow, which is what every city in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada have done. I made a small "hanging gardens" in my backyard, front yard, and inside my house. None of these plants would ever grow in this area and most aren't even from this country
i just watched a video showing how to make a hanging garden using empty plastic containers. i couldn’t help but notice how much they resemble the so called ‘Baghdad battery’. maybe these aren’t batteries at all but the remnants of the ‘Hanging Gardens of Babylon’.
@16:52 😂 thanks Simon..
Daaang an ad at .01 seconds. Thats cold
The archaeology channel "Dig it with Raven" has an excellent video on this theory.
I've been so close. Yet so far away. And I'd still love to go back. If only the area weren't some war torn hellhole.
Reheated steak, yum
It could be just one of those tales from ancient history, that got embellished over time, so if they ever existed, they probably weren't what we think they are, still it's incredibly romantic, not unlike the very real Taj Mahal. 🤔
Like how the destruction of a small nation state in the Mediterranean became the lost city of Atlantis that became the Technologically Advanced, Nuclear Fusion Powered, Ancient Civilization on a lost Continent...
@@davidhollenshead4892 Or more or less when a religious book uses real places and applies epic scale to it. World floods being a prime example of "take something that affects the everyday life of a religion and beef it up in size for the story".
I mean, the descriptions are consistent and very detailed.
@@ferretyluvyes, and if we look at how much destruction that we know about in a few decades in the modern day, then realize that these things, along with natural disaster and time, have been happening for nearly 2000 years, it's no wonder there seems to be nothing left. Especially since the stone was so rare in the area, it would have definitely been moved and repurposed in other projects. So the evidence is scattered over miles.
The story of Atlantis was a political fable Plato wrote to warn the people of Athens against building an empire. The description of Atlantis was an idealized description of ancient Athens, in a way his contemporaries would have recognized.
So the people looking for Atlantis may as well be searching for Lilliput, Oz, or Wonderland.
Tiglath-Pilsener is one of my favourite Czechossyrian rulers of all time
I've always expected that they existed, but were probably exaggerated over time.
Hah! Simon shouting “Hey, Siri!” activated Siri on my iPad.
Tiglath Pilsner sounds like a tasty beer!
What if the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were not just the city of Babylon but the Babylonian Empire. Nebuchadnezzar II was ruler of the Neo Babylonian Empire after all.
Yes some believe it was for moon worship to dig down and make ponds for reflection, 6000 years ago, the rebuild each 2000 years makes sence cos they are rebuilding babylon now, its always been an australian tourists favourite as many greeks and italian aussies re~create it in their backyard , though 100 steps sounds large ,
You are greatly underestimating our ancestors. The gardens are 99% an ancient marvel of the world
Turns out the 'Hanging Gardens' weren't so much hanging, as some ferns draped over some rocks. Not a big deal, really.
Never been in a desert have you?
@@2l84t Not where the Hanging gardens used to hang.
@@BigZebraCommaybe that's how they got that name in the first place
@@AifDaimon I'll buy that for a dollar.
This would be a great idea for Decoding The Unknown.
The hanging gardens are my favorite of the seven ancient wonders of the world. And they did exist damn it!
As an Iraqi, I agree.
Herostratos has not yet been forgotten.
Since we know that the other ancient wonders existed/ exist then it would be strange if one of them had just been made up.
Wish there was a picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
I hate to be this person but it's clear that Simon's redoing videos😂 when he was on geographics he did a video about babylon and if I'm not mistaken he did one on into the shadows as well
there were geezers in Giza I imagine they had fantastic ornate canes!
Im an Assyrian so naturally i say it was in Nineveh. I think internal evidence (Assyrian folk) states that hanging gardens were in Assyrian capital, Nineveh.
There is an old saying in our community, when someone tries to plant orchard in a less than hospitable environment, he is said to be trying to build the hanging gardens of Nineveh. I'm sure my Babylonian brothers will disagree
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon will always exist in the human imagination.
"AH YES!, the seven wonders of the ancient world! Celebrated everywhere for their wonderesness!"
Cool
The photos of the food made me feel sick. Great way to prevent us making a mistake.
Any chance any one been able to contact Dr. Brown. Super interested in hearing his insite on this topic. Gilles awesome 😂
There is an eexcellent documentary with Stephanie Dalley and her work supporting proofs that the Hanging Gardens were at Nineva. Look it up. Last time I did I found it on TH-cam :)
Yeah. And a thousand years from now, kings were the ones wearing NFL SUPERBOWL RINGS LOL.
I was like why is there no comments god im dumb it was uploaded 12 minutes ago 😂😅😢
The first time I visited Geneva, I was there two days and failed to notice the fountain…
I don't know why, but these psychos destroying ancient sites and artifacts seems to anger me more than the murdering that they do..
At least I think it does, but I'm not entirely sure that I trust my brain on this.
As an Iraqi, I find their murdering a whole lot worse but their destruction of artifacts and historical important objects will always sting and hurt.
Fun fact, Teller isn't that short
"Did the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Actually Ever Exist?"
Maybe or maybe not, but the "Hanging Beard of Simon" definitely *does!*
I believe they existed, but they just weren't what we think they are or were located in a totally different place than we expect.
3.5 acres? I thought they were way bigger than that. Still, I can’t imagine the expense.
Dr. Emmett Brown, a back to the future Easter egg,
Definitely had to, the World temperature had to be so pleasant in the distant past to allow this.
if Humans do not genocide ourselves there is a good chance all our historical records will be saved for millennia. " and that's why we can't have nice things" so I wouldn't put too much hope in humans not killing ourselves off
Who knows what existed thousands of years ago without ruins to tell us? People love to exaggerate and embellish.
Tell me Simon, is it a plethora? I would not like to think that a person would tell someone he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has *no idea* what it means to have a plethora
😂😂😂nice
(I did have a friend who gave me the definition of "plethora". That meant a lot.)
The Three Amigos covered this issue. Done & done
I have made it past the promo yet. I want to believe the hanging gardens of Babylon were real no doubt they were exaggerated for the story.
Have tried and liked hello fresh but cant recommended to anyone with an allergy as every recipe clearly states nuts seafood and other allergens are processed in the same space and i cant find if factor is the same .....
We will be remembered forever, two future world wonders - The Great Library of Google and Zuch’s Data Mines - will make sure of that😬
Dr Emmitt Brown😂🤣
If all the other wonders existed then I see little reason to think The Hanging Garders didn't exist.
Yes.
Get that Money Fact Boy!!!
It’s strange but we know that all the others existed , why would they make up one? No need. 🙏🙏👵🇦🇺
Aww man! Now that I have learned more about it, I really hope it did exist! That second location kinda gives some hope that maybe they just had the wrong pole length for the Staff of Ra and were digging in the wrong place! I don't understand why they can't at least consult with this Dr. Brown fellow especially if it's true that he could verify the facts. Meh, he's prolly a russian or something. Great show!! \m/
I was hoping for some mention of plant varieties or a curated collection. I have to eonder if the gardens really existed if the planting is described as resembling a pretty mountainous, forestry ensemble that is nice to look at. Maybe further investigation is in order, but I say nah. There are so many breathtaking, existing gardens today. Do better, Babylon! If you are going to build a show stopping garden in the desert, document the damn thing! 🎉😂
I served in Mosul, Tal Afar and Rawa in 04-05. I got to tons of amazing historical sites. I was in Iraq again in 09-10.
Sadam Hussein had his own Hanging Gardens, but it had a different purpose.