The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon According to legend, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, considered one  of the  seven Ancient Wonders of the  World,  were built in the 6th century BCE by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his homesick wife, Amytis. As a Persian princess, Amytis missed the wooded mountains of her youth and thus Nebuchadnezzar built her an oasis in the desert, a building covered with exotic trees and plants,  tiered so  that it  resembled a mountain. The only problem is that archaeologists are not sure that the Hanging Gardens ever really existed. Nebuchadnezzar II and Babylon The city of Babylon was founded around 2300 BCE, or even earlier,  near the  Euphrates River just south of the modern city of Baghdad in  Iraq. Since it was located in the desert, it was built almost entirely out of mud-dried bricks. Since bricks are so easily broken, the city was destroyed a number of times in its history. In the 7th century BCE, Babylonians revolted against their Assyrian ruler. In an attempt to make an example of them, Assyrian King Sennacherib  razed the city of Babylon, completely destroying it.  Eight years later, King Sennacherib was assassinated by his three sons. Interestingly,  one of these sons ordered the reconstruction of Babylon. It wasnt long before Babylon was  once again flourishing and known as a center of learning and culture. It was Nebuchadnezzars father, King Nabopolassar, that liberated Babylon from Assyrian rule. When Nebuchadnezzar II became king in 605 BCE, he was handed a healthy realm, but he wanted more. Nebuchadnezzar  wanted to expand his kingdom in order to make it one of the most powerful city-states of the time. He fought  the Egyptians and the Assyrians and won. He also made  an alliance with the king of Media by marrying his daughter. With these conquests came the spoils of war to which Nebuchadnezzar, during the course of  his 43-year reign,  used to enhance the city of Babylon. He built an enormous ziggurat, the temple of Marduk (Marduk was Babylons patron god). He also built a massive wall around the city, said to be 80 feet thick, wide enough for four-horse chariots to race on. These walls were so large and grand, especially the Ishtar Gate,  that they too were considered one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World until they were bumped off the list by the Lighthouse in Alexandria. Despite these other awesome creations, it was the Hanging Gardens that captured  peoples imagination and remained one of the Wonders of the Ancient World. What Did the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Look Like? It may seem surprising how little we know about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. First, we dont know exactly where it was located. It is said to have been placed close to the Euphrates River for access to water and yet no archeological evidence has been found to prove its exact location. It  remains the only Ancient Wonder whose location has not yet  been found. According to legend, King Nebuchadnezzar II built the Hanging Gardens for his wife Amytis, who missed the cool temperatures, mountainous terrain,  and  beautiful scenery of her homeland in Persia. In comparison, her hot, flat, and dusty new home of Babylon must have seemed completely drab. It is believed that the Hanging Gardens was a tall building, built upon stone (extremely rare for the area), that in some way resembled a mountain, perhaps by having multiple terraces. Located on top of and overhanging the walls (hence the term hanging gardens) were numerous and varied plants and trees. Keeping these exotic plants alive in a desert took a massive amount of water. Thus,  it is said, some sort of engine pumped water up through the building from either a well located below or directly from the river. Amytis could then walk through the rooms of the building, being cooled by the shade as well as the water-tinged air. Didthe Hanging Gardens Ever Really Exist? There is still much debate about the existence of the Hanging Gardens. The Hanging Gardens seem magical in a way, too amazing to have been real. Yet, so many of the other seemingly-unreal structures of Babylon  have been found by archaeologists and proven  to  have really existed. Yet the Hanging Gardens remains aloof. Some archaeologists believe that remains of the ancient structure have been found in the ruins of Babylon. The problem is that these remains are not near the Euphrates River as some descriptions have specified. Also, there is no mention of the Hanging Gardens in any contemporary Babylonian writings. This leads some to believe that the Hanging Gardens were a myth, described only by Greek writers after the fall of Babylon. A new theory, proposed by Dr. Stephanie Dalley of Oxford University, states that there was a mistake made in the past and that the Hanging Gardens were not located in Babylon; instead, they were located in the northern Assyrian city of Ninevah and were built by King Sennacherib. The confusion could have been caused because Ninevah was, at one time,  known as New Babylon. Unfortunately, the ancient ruins of Ninevah are located in a contested and thus dangerous part of Iraq and thus, at least for now, excavations are impossible to conduct. Perhaps one day, we will know the truth about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Healthy Foods Versus Unhealthy Foods Lesson Plan

Healthy Foods Versus Unhealthy Foods Lesson Plan An important component in staying healthy is knowing which foods are goods for you and which ones are not. Students will enjoy learning about this because its one thing that they know a little bit about. Here is a healthy versus unhealthy food  lesson plan for students in grades K-3. Use this in conjunction with your thematic unit on nutrition. Healthy vs. Unhealthy Foods Lesson Plan Help students to understand foods role in their bodies by completing the following steps. Invite students to share the types of foods they eat on a daily basis.Discuss why they need to eat and what food does for our bodies.Compare our bodies to machines and how in order to work we need the fuel of food.Ask students what would happen to them if they did not eat. Talk about how they would feel cranky, tired, would have no energy to play, etc. Healthy Eating Tips The following healthy eating tips are provided to help you lead this lesson on nutrition. Snack on fruits, vegetables, unbuttered popcorn, and rice cakes.Drink plenty of water.Eat vegetables with lunch and dinner.Limit the amount of fatty, salty foods like potato chips and french fries.Drink low-fat milk, and eat low-fat yogurt and cheese.Enjoy garden salads often.Encourage your family and friends to eat healthy with you. Activity For this activity, students will determine what foods are healthy or unhealthy. Materials YarnTrash bag Direct Instruction Follow these steps to complete the nutrition lesson plan. Healthy foods are full of nutrients that our bodies need. Challenge students to come up with a list of healthy foods and snacks and write this list on the front board under the title Healthy Foods. If students name a food that is not considered healthy such as french fries, list that food item under the list Unhealthy Foods.Next, ask students to list foods that they consider unhealthy. Foods that are processed such as bologna and pizza should be listed in this category.A good way to visually show students healthy vs unhealthy is to hold up a ball of yarn and tell students that the yarn represents nutrients that are in the healthy foods that they eat. Then hold up a bag of trash and tell students that the trash represents the sugar, fat, and additives that are in the unhealthy foods that they eat. Talk about how unhealthy foods do very little for their health and how healthy foods help fuel their body.Once your list is complete, discuss why they foods listed are considered healthy or unhealthy. Students may say the healthy foods provide our bodies with fuel and vitamins that give our bodies energy. The unhealthy foods may make us sick, tired, or cranky. Extension Activity To check for understanding, ask students if anyone has ever been to a junkyard. If someone has asked them what kinds of things they saw there. Show the other students pictures of a junkyard and talk about how the items in the junkyard are things people cant use anymore. Compare the junkyard to junk food. Talk about how the unhealthy foods that they eat are full of ingredients that our bodies cant use. Junk food is full of fat and sugar that make us overweight and sometimes sick. Remind students to eat healthily and limit or avoid junk food. Closure To make sure students really grasp the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, challenge students to draw and label five healthy and five unhealthy foods.