The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World

“Now you hang from my lips Like the Gardens of Babylon”

Angela & Uncle Jerry discuss the Gardens of Babylon allusion at length. Uncle Jerry identifies this as both a simile and an allusion (A-L-L-U-S-I-O-N), referencing the Hanging Gardens as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. He explains that the Gardens are the only one of the seven wonders for which there is no absolute archaeological evidence, there are references in Assyro-Babylonian graphic art and later writings by Josephus and Roman historians, but these were written six to seven hundred years after the supposed construction. Some sources call them the Gardens of Nineveh rather than Gardens of Babylon. Uncle Jerry finds this especially interesting because the Gardens 'could be mythical,' which adds an extra layer to the simile: is the love described in the song real, imagined, or mythical? He connects this to the song's indeterminate ending.