Hanging Gardens of Babylon

　　 The Hanging Gardens were located on the east bank of the Euphrates River, about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, within one of the four great ancient civilizations — Babylon. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were certainly never hanging in the air. The origin of the name stems purely from the mistranslation of the Greek word “kremastos” and the Latin word “pensilis,” both of which mean not only “hanging” but also “overhanging” or “projecting.”

　　 It is generally believed that the Hanging Gardens were built by King Nebuchadnezzar II (604–562 BCE) to console his wife Queen Amyitis, who suffered from homesickness. He constructed the gardens to resemble the mountainous homeland of the queen.