The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one of the Wonders that may have been purely legendary. They were purportedly built in the ancient city-state of Babylon, near present-day Al Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq. The Hanging Gardens were not the only World Wonder in Babylon; the city walls and obelisk attributed to Queen Semiramis were also featured in ancient lists of Wonders. The gardens were attributed to the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled between 605 and 562 BC. He is reported to have constructed the gardens to please his homesick wife, Amytis of Media, who longed for the plants of her homeland. The gardens were said to have been destroyed by several earthquakes after the 2nd century BC.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are documented by ancient Greek and Romans writers, including Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Quintus Curtius Rufus. However, no texts describing the Hanging Gardens were found, and no definitive archaeological evidence concerning their whereabouts were found. Ancient writers describe the possible use of something similar to an Archimedes screw as a process of irrigating the terraced gardens. Estimates based on descriptions of the gardens in ancient sources say the Hanging Gardens would have required a minimum amount of 8,200 gallons of water per day. Nebuchadnezzar II is also reported to have used massive slabs of stone, a technique not otherwise attested in Babylon, to prevent the water from eroding the ground.
Висячие сады Вавилона считались одним из Семи Чудес Древнего Мира, и единственным из чудес, которые могли быть чисто легендарными. Предположительно сады были построены в древнем городе-государстве Вавилоне, недалеко от современного Аль-Хилла, провинция Вавилон, в Ираке. Висячие сады были не единственным чудом света в Вавилоне; городские стены и обелиск, приписываемые царице Семирамиде, также фигурировали в древних списках чудес.
Сады были отнесены к царствованию Нео-вавилонского царя Навуходоносора II, правившего между 605 и 562 году до нашей эры. Он, как сообщают, построил сады, чтобы скрасить тоску по дому своей жены, Аметис Медиа, которая тосковала по растениям своей Родины. Сады были разрушены несколькими землетрясениями после 2-го века до нашей эры.
Висячие сады Вавилона задокументированы древнегреческими и римскими писателями, включая Страбона, Диодора Сикула и Квинта Курция Руфа. Однако никаких текстов, описывающих Висячие сады, обнаружено не было, и никаких окончательных археологических доказательств их местонахождения обнаружено не было.
Древние писатели описывают возможное использование чего-то похожего, описанного в трудах Архимеда, как процесс орошения террасных садов. Оценки, основанные на описаниях садов в древних источниках, говорят, что Висячие сады потребовали бы минимального количества 8200 галлонов воды в день. Сообщается также, что Навуходоносор II использовал массивные каменные плиты, метод, не подтвержденный в Вавилоне, чтобы предотвратить размывание земли водой.
The Internet today is an important source of communication and it plays an important role in the life of almost every person. It brings people of the world closer together. The Internet makes the world smaller because through the Internet we can communicate with people from all over the world. People are so fond of computers and the Internet, that sometimes they forget to go for a walk or to eat something. Most of them like virtual life even more than the real one. People meet one another in the Internet, fall in love and even love. They don’t mind your appearance, they love you as you are, your thoughts and manners. You can find virtual true friends in the Internet world. You can tell him/her all secrets you have and they will not gossip or laugh at you. The Internet resources help people get latest news, improve knowledge by providing access online libraries. The Internet is the center of attention for businesses, governments and individuals around the world. It has spawned entirely new industries, transformed existing ones and become a global cultural phenomenon. Communicating through the Internet gives the opportunity to know people of other nations and to find out their culture, to make comparisons between regions and even to learn new things from that communication.
In conclusion, the internet changed our lives in many ways... There are some positive and negative sides of using it. The positive side is that we have a faster and easier way of communication. The Internet makes communication much easier today than it was years ago... Negative side is that you can become addictive to it. Everyone should be careful and use the internet wisely. To my mind, life without the Internet would be dull, but still first of all we should live a real life.
