The Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World: The Lighthouse Of Alexandria, Egypt
Public DomainA depiction of the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
The Pharos of Alexandria, a marvel of ancient engineering, is widely believed to have been the first lighthouse ever created. Though its stones and furnace long ago sank to the bottom of the Eastern Harbor, they say its light shines on in the beacons of all the lighthouses of the world.
Its construction in 290 BCE was a matter of necessity. Though Alexander the Great, the man who gave the city his name, was dead, his leadership and that of his successor, Ptolemy I, had made the city into a bustling port. If it wanted to stay that way, it would need to make sure that ships and their lucrative cargo made it into the harbor unharmed.
It was also high time that the growing metropolis had a symbol, something to put it on the map.
Wikimedia CommonsA replica of the Lighthouse of Alexandria in Miniature Park “Miniuni” in the Czech Republic.
So Ptolemy I commissioned a project that would take 20 years to complete and raise a tower taller than any structure currently in existence, save one: the Great Pyramid at Giza.
Though Ptolemy himself wouldn’t live to see it completed, his successor, Ptolemy II, was determined to finish it — and, if the stories are to be believed, to make sure that it was his name on the finished product.
This was a point of contention, as the lighthouse’s architect (or some say financier), Sostratus of Knidos, thought the wonder should bear his signature instead. Rumor has it that he carved Ptolemy’s name into the pharos’ plaster — but chiseled his own name into the stone underneath, leaving time to reveal the truth.
When it was finished, the furnace at the top is said to have blazed so brightly that its light could be seen 100 miles off shore. Its exterior was smooth white stone, and at its top stood a statue of Poseidon, the god of the sea.
Inside, an endless spiral staircase led to the beacon chamber, and a dumbwaiter hauled material from its base to the furnace. A curled sheet of polished bronze focused the light into a beam of astonishing power.
The building was destroyed in three separate earthquakes in 956, 1303 and 1323 CE. Its shorn base was converted into a medieval fortress by an enterprising sultan in 1480.
Wikimedia CommonsThe Qaitbey Citadel, the medieval fort that is all that remains on the site of the great lighthouse.
For a long time, it was thought that the accounts of travelers were all that had been left to posterity of the great pharos. But in 1968, a team of marine archeologists led by Honor Frost discovered the remains of the lighthouse deep in the bay.
Violence in the region put their recovery on hold until 1994 when some of the pieces were unearthed and displayed above water for the first time in hundreds of years.
Rumor has it that the government of Egypt is contemplating an underwater museum to let visitors see the great monument where it fell — a move one can’t help but feel Sostratus and Ptolemy would have approved of.
If you enjoyed this article on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, be sure to see our posts on sunken cities of the ancient world and new wonders of the world! Finally, step inside some of the world’s oldest structures.
