The approach to the Garden sloped like a hillside and the several parts of the structure rose from one another tier on tier... On all this, the earth had been piled...and was thickly planted with trees of every kind that, by their great size and other charm, gave pleasure to the beholder... The water machines(raised) the water in great abundance from the river, although no one outside could see it. ——Diodorus Siculus
ruits and flowers... Waterfalls... Gardens hanging from the palace terraces... Exotic animals... This is the picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in most people's minds. It may be surprising to know that they might have never existed except in the minds of Greek poets and historians!
Location
　　On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq.
History
　　 The Babylonian kingdom flourished under the rule of the famous King, Hammurabi[2] (1792-1750 BC[3]). It was not until[4] the reign of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty that the Mesopotamian [5] civilization reached its ultimate glory. Nebuchadnezzar II[6] (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens.It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or concubinewho had been "brought up in Media[7] and had a passion for mountain surroundings".
While the most descriptive accounts of the Gardens come from Greek historians such as Berossus and Diodorus Siculus, Babylonian records stay silent on the matter. Tablets from the time of Nebuchadnezzar do not have a single reference to the Hanging Gardens, although descriptions of his palace, the city of Babylon, and the walls are found. Even the historians who give detailed descriptions of the Hanging Gardens never saw them. Modern historians argue that when Alexander[8] 's soldiers reached the fertile land of Mesopotamia and saw Babylon, they were impressed. When they later returned to their rugged homeland, they had stories to tell about the amazing gardens and palm trees at Mesopotamia... About the palace of Nebuchadnezzar... About the Tower of Babel[9] and the ziggurats. And it was the imagination of poets and ancient historians that blended all these elements together to produce one of the World Wonders.
It wasn't until the twentieth century that some of the mysteries surrounding the Hanging Gardens were revealed. Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence before reaching the final conclusions about the location of the Gardens, their irrigation system, and their true appearance.

巴比伦的空中花园

　　通往花园的道路象山坡一样倾斜着，建筑物的几个部分一层一层地向上交错排列着……泥土在这些上面堆积着……并且浓密地种植着各种各样的树木，它们以其巨大的身躯和其他一些魅力，令观赏者赏心悦目……抽水的机器把大量的水从河中（提升到）上面，尽管没有人从外面能看到它。 ——Diodorus Siculus

　　水果与鲜花……、瀑布……、花园高悬在宫殿的阳台上……、奇异的动物……，这是大多数人想象中的巴比伦空中花园。让人吃惊的是空中花园除了在希腊的诗人和历史学家的头脑中出现过外，可能从来就没有存在过。

位置：
　　位于幼发拉底河的东岸，距伊拉克的首都巴格达南约50公里。

历史：
　　古巴比伦王国在著名的国王汉谟拉比（公元前1792~1750）的统治下曾经繁荣一时。但是直到新巴比伦王朝，美索不达米亚文明才达到了它的鼎盛时期。人们相信传说中的空中花园是由尼布甲尼撒二世（公元前604年~562年）建造的。据传，尼布甲尼撒为了取悦于其在米底亚长大并对山景怀有深厚感情的王后或者是妃子而建造了空中花园。

　　虽然对花园最详尽的记述是出自Berossus 和 Diodorus Siculus等希腊历史学家笔下, 但巴比伦的历史记录却对此事只字未提。尽管在尼布甲尼撒时期存留下的各种书写板上发现了对他的宫殿、巴比伦城以及巴比伦的城墙的种种描述，但这些书写板上却没有一处提到过空中花园。甚至那些对空中花园进行过详细描述的历史学家们也从没有亲眼目睹过它们。现代历史学家争论说：当亚力山大的士兵们到达了富饶的美索不达米亚地区并看到了巴比伦时，他们深为（眼前的美景）所震撼。当他们后来回到崎岖不平的家乡时，带回了有关美索不达米亚的令人惊叹的花园和椰子树……、有关尼布甲尼撒的宫殿……以及有关巴别塔和金字型神塔的各种故事。是诗人和古代历史学家的想象力把这所有的元素混合在一起制造出了世界奇观之一。

　　直到二十世纪，围绕着空中花园的一些不解之迷才被揭示出来。在得到关于花园的地理位置、灌溉系统，和真正面目的最终结论之前，考古学家们仍在努力地收集足够的证据。