Lighthouse of Alexandria

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Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
• Great Pyramid of Giza • Hanging Gardens of Babylon • Statue of Zeus at Olympia • Temple of Artemis • Mausoleum of Maussollos • Colossus of Rhodes • Lighthouse of Alexandria

The Pharos of Alexandria (ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος Ἀλεξανδρινóς, modern Greek: o Φάρος της Αλεξάνδρειας) was a tall tower built in the 3rd century BC (between 285 and 247 BC) on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to serve as that port's landmark, and later, its lighthouse.

With a height variously estimated at between 115 and 135 metres (383 - 440 ft) it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries, and was identified as one of the Seven Wonders of the World by classical writers. It was the third tallest building after the two Great Pyramids (of Khufu and Khafra) for its entire life. Some scientists estimate a much taller height exceeding 152 metres that would make the tower the tallest building up to the 14th century.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Construction 1.2 Recent archaeological research 1.3 Significance 2 Pharos in culture 2.1 In architecture 2.2 On screen 2.3 In games 3 See also 4 References

[edit] History

Pharos was a small island just off the coast of Alexandria. It was linked to the mainland by a man-made connection named the Heptastadion, which thus formed one side of the city's harbour. As the Egyptian coast is very flat and lacking in the kind of landmark used at the time for navigation, a marker of some sort at the mouth of the harbour was deemed necessary - a function the Pharos was initially designed to serve. Use of the building as a lighthouse, with a fire and reflective mirrors at the top, is thought to date to around the 1st century AD, during the Roman period. Prior to that time the Pharos served solely as a navigational landmark.

Pharos is a greek word meaning lighthouse.

Interestingly enough, the medieval Chinese were familiar with the story of the lighthouse in Alexandria by at least the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) period. In his book Zhu Fan Zhi, Zhao Ru-gua wrote in 1225 of a minaret lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt, perhaps the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria (Wade-Giles spelling):

The country of O-Ken-Tho (Alexandria) belongs to Egypt (Wu-Ssu-Li). According to tradition, in olden times a stranger (i jen), Chhu-Ko-Ni by name, built on the shore of the sea a great pagoda, underneath which the earth was excavated to make two rooms, well connected and thoroughly hidden. In one vault was stored grain, and in the other arms. The tower was 200 ft. high [Note: chang = 10 feet, chhih = 1 foot]. Four horses abreast could ascend (by a winding ramp) to two-thirds of its height. Below the tower, in the middle, there was a well of great size connected by a tunnel with the great river. To protect this pagoda from foreign soldiers, the whole country guarded it against all enemies. In the upper and lower parts of it twenty thousand men could readily be stationed as a guard or to make sorties. At the summit there was an immense mirror, and if warships of other countries tried to make an attack, the mirror detected them beforehand, and the troops were ready to repel it. But in recent years there came (to Alexandria) a foreigner, who asked to be given work in the guardhouse below the tower, and he was employed to sprinkle and to sweep. For years no one entertained any suspicion of him, but suddenly one day he found an opportunity to steal the mirror and throw it into the sea, after which he made off.^[1]

[edit] Construction

The building was designed by Sostratus of Cnidus (Greek: Σώστρατος Κνίδιος - Sostratos of Knidos or the Cnidian) in the 3rd century BC, after having been initiated by Satrap (governor) Ptolemy I of Egypt, Egypt's first Hellenistic ruler and a general of Alexander the Great. After Alexander died unexpectedly at age 33, Ptolemy Soter (Saviour, named so by the inhabitants of Rhodes) made himself king in 305 BC and ordered the construction of the Pharos shortly thereafter. The building was finished during the reign of his son, Ptolemy Philadelphos.

According to legend, Sostratus was forbidden by Ptolemy from putting his name on his work. But the architect left the following inscription on the base's walls nonetheless: Sostratus, the son of Dexiphanes, the Cnidian, dedicated (or erected) this to the Saviour Gods, on behalf of those who sail the seas (the original Greek inscription ΣΟΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ ΔΕΞΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΚΝΙΔΙΟΣ ΘΕΟΙΣ ΣΩΤΕΡΣΙΝ ΥΠΕΡ ΤΩΝ ΠΛΩΙΖΟΜΕΝΩΝ literally means: Sostratos of Dexiphanes [meaning: son of Dexiphanes] the Cnidian to Saviour Gods for the seafarers (or sea-faring [ones]). These words were hidden under a layer of plaster, on top of which was chiselled another inscription honouring Ptolemy the king as builder of the Pharos. After centuries the plaster wore away, revealing the name of Sostratus.

Other legends tell of the light from the Pharos being used to burn enemy ships before they could reach shore; this is unlikely due to the relatively poor quality of optics and reflective technology in the period during which the building existed. Only slightly less impressive—and probably more accurate—is the claim that the light from the lighthouse could be seen up to 35 miles (56 km) from shore.

Constructed from large blocks of light-coloured stone, the tower was made up of three stages: a lower square section with a central core, a middle octagonal section, and, at the top, a circular section. At its apex was positioned a mirror which reflected sunlight during the day; a fire was lit at night. Extant Roman coins struck by the Alexandrian mint show that a statue of a triton was positioned on each of the building's four corners. A statue of Poseidon stood atop the tower during the Roman period.

The Pharos' walls were strengthened in order to withstand the pounding of the waves through the use of molten lead to hold its masonry together^{[citation needed]}, and possibly as a result the building survived the longest of the Seven Wonders - with the sole exception of the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was still standing when the Muslim traveller Ibn Jubayr visited the city in 1183. He said of it that: "Description of it falls short, the eyes fail to comprehend it, and words are inadequate, so vast is the spectacle." It appears that in his time there was a church located on the top. The tower was severely damaged by two earthquakes in 1303 and 1323, to the extent that the Arab traveller Ibn Battuta reported not being able to enter the ruin. Even the stubby remnant disappeared in 1480, when the then-Sultan of Egypt, Qaitbay, built a medieval fort on the former location of the building, using some of the fallen stone. The remnants of the Pharos that were incorporated into the walls of Fort Qaitbey are clearly visible due to their excessive size in comparison to surrounding masonry.

[edit] Recent archaeological research

Some remains of the lighthouse were found on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour by divers in 1994. More of the remains have subsequently been revealed by satellite imaging^{[citation needed]}.

A NOVA program rerunning on February 27, 2007 chronicles the underwater discovery of the fabled Pharos lighthouse.^[2]

It is possible to go diving and see the ruins, if the diver is over the age of 18.

[edit] Significance

Pharos became the etymological origin of the word 'lighthouse' in many Romance languages, such as French (phare), Italian (faro), Portuguese (farol), Spanish (faro), Romanian (far) and Greek (φάρος).

The design of minarets in many early Islamic mosques many centuries later followed a similar three-stage design to that of the Pharos, attesting to the building's broader architectural influence.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Pharos in culture

[edit] In architecture

• A replica of the Lighthouse of Alexandria was constructed in the "Window of the World" Cultural Park in Changsha, China.
• The design of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia was partially inspired by the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

[edit] On screen

Pharos has appeared in a few movies and television shows, including the HBO series Rome.

[edit] In games

• The Lighthouse is among the World Wonders that can be built in the Civilization computer game series; in the third and fourth installments of the series it is known as the Great Lighthouse.
• The Lighthouse is a late-Age structure buildable in Age of Mythology.
• The Lighthouse is one of the World Wonders to be captured in the computer game, Rome: Total War, which grants benefits to the owner.
• The Lighthouse is one of the monuments that can be built in the computer games Pharaoh and Cleopatra.
• The Lighthouse is in the Mare Nostrum board game.
• The Lighthouse is one of the wonders of the world in the computer game Empire Earth.
• The Pharos is the name of a tall lighthouse-like structure in the PS2 game Final Fantasy XII.
• The navigation buoy in the PC space simulator game FreeSpace 2 is called the "GTNB Pharos".
• There are four elemental lighthouses in the Game Boy Advance games Golden Sun and Golden Sun 2.
• The Lighthouse of Alexandria can be explored in the Game Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation

[edit] See also

• Knidos
• List of buildings
• List of disasters
• List of lighthouses and lightvessels

[edit] References