Hanging Gardens.

Hanging Gardens. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were anciently reckoned among the wonders of the world. Their construction is variously ascribed to Queen Semiramis and to Nebuchadnezzar. Diodorus and Strabo have given descriptions of them. They are said to have formed a square, with an area of nearly four acres, and rose in terraces, supported on masonry arches, to a height of 75 feet. They were irrigated from a reservoir built at the top, to which water was lifted from the Euphrates by a screw. Fountains and banqueting-rooms were distributed throughout the numerous terraces; groves and avenues of trees, as well as parterres of flowers, diversified the scene; whilst the view of the city and neighbourhood was extensive and magnificent.