30 Jan 2024

Bettany Hughes: The audaciousness of the Seven Wonders of the World

From Nine To Noon, 10:05 am on 30 January 2024
Bettany Hughes, left. Book cover, right.

Photo: Supplied

Bettany Hughes is a British historian, author and broadcaster who specialises in classical antiquity.

She's written and presented over 50 TV and radio documentaries and received awards for her effort in documenting and promoting this period in history.

Her books include Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, WhoreThe Hemlock Cup; Venus and Aphrodite; Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities... and her latest is The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Bettany travelled to all but one of the sites of the original Seven Wonders - which are of course: The Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, the Colossus at Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

She talks to Kathryn about what we know about why the wonders were built, and the powerful ideas behind them.