Alexandrian lighthouse, standing on east coast Pharos Island, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In the distant past, the city harbor of Alexandria was shallow and rocky, so in order to protect sea ​​vessels out of trouble, a stone lighthouse was built on the approach to the city. The first and only Pharos or Alexandria lighthouse on Greek soil was built by Sostratus of Knidos. Construction began in 283 BC. e. and lasted only 5 years. In the time of Ptolemy, the lighthouse erected was higher than the tallest pyramid. For its construction, Sostratus of Cnidus used all the latest inventions and achievements of Alexandrian scientists. He immortalized his name on the marble wall of the majestic structure. The inscription read: “Sostratus, son of Dexiphanes of Cnidus, dedicated to the savior gods for the sake of sailors,” he buried it under a layer of plaster, on top of which he wrote praises to King Ptolemy Soter. But time put everything in its place and the world learned the true name of the architect and builder of one of the wonders of the world, after a thin layer of plaster fell off the wall. The lighthouse was a grandiose three-tiered structure, 120 meters high. Its lower floor had four faces facing the parts of the world (north, east, west and south), the eight faces of the second tier had the directions of the eight main winds, the top third floor had a lighthouse dome with a majestic seven-meter statue of Poseidon.

One of the statues that adorned the lighthouse tower showed the time of day with the direction of her hand, so during the solstice in the sky she held her hand up, as if pointing to the sun; after sunset, sailors could see the statue with her hand down. Another statue chimed every hour day and night, another indicated the direction of the blowing wind. Scientists came up with a complex system of metal mirrors for the lighthouse, which helped to amplify the light of the fire so that sailors could see it from afar. All this is unique and fantastic for that time period. It is not for nothing that the Lighthouse of Alexandria was included in one of the seven wonders of the world. The territory of the lighthouse was surrounded by a fortress wall, behind which there was an entire military garrison.

The lighthouse regularly performed its duties until the 14th century. With the fall of the Roman Empire, it ceased to shine. Having stood for 1,500 years, the lighthouse survived severe earthquakes and the effects of natural forces in the form of wind and rain. During this long period, enormous even for a stone, it began to collapse. Its fire went out forever, unable to withstand the earthquake (IV century). The upper tower, which had decayed over centuries, collapsed, but the walls of the lower floor still stood for a long time.

Even when it was half destroyed, its height was about 30 m. In the middle of the 13th century, the mainland came very close to the island and the lighthouse was no longer needed at all. At the beginning of the 14th century, it was dismantled into stones, and a medieval Turkish fortress was built on its ruins, which still stands on the site of the world's first lighthouse.

Currently, only the base of the lighthouse has been preserved, which is entirely built into medieval fortress. In 1962, in coastal waters, at a depth of 7 m, scuba divers discovered the remains of the Alexandria lighthouse. A cracked column and the famous statue of Poseidon, which crowned the dome of the lighthouse, were raised from the bottom of the sea.

After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, a city was founded, named Alexandria in his honor. The city began to actively develop and prosper and became a major center of maritime trade. Soon, an urgent need arose for the construction of the Alexandria Lighthouse.

Alexandrian lighthouse. Information and interesting facts

The island of Pharos, located 1290 meters from Alexandria, was chosen as the location for the lighthouse. The construction of the Pharos lighthouse, which later became the seventh wonder of the world, was led by the architect Sostratus, the son of Dexiphanes from Cnidus.

To ensure the supply of building materials to the island, a dam was built. The construction itself was carried out according to the standards ancient world lightning fast, took only six years (285-279 BC). The new building immediately “knocked out” the walls of Babylon from the list of classical wonders of the world, and took pride of place there to this day. The height of the Alexandria Lighthouse, according to contemporaries, reached 120 meters. The light projected from the tower of the Alexandria Lighthouse was visible up to 48 kilometers away.

The lighthouse had three tiers.

The first tier had a square shape with sides of 30.5 meters, oriented to the cardinal points. The total height of this tier was 60 meters. The corners of the tier were occupied by statues of tritons. The room itself was intended to house workers and guards, storerooms for fuel and food.

The middle tier of the Faros lighthouse had an octagonal shape with edges oriented according to the prevailing winds here. The upper part of the tier was decorated with statues, some of which functioned as weather vanes.

The upper tier of a cylindrical shape played the role of a lantern. It was surrounded by eight columns covered with a cone dome. The top of the dome of the Faros lighthouse was decorated with a seven-meter statue of Isis-Faria (guardian of seafarers). The powerful lamp was projected using a system of concave metal mirrors. There has been a long-standing debate about the delivery of fuel to the top of the Alexandria Lighthouse. Some suggest that delivery was carried out using lifting mechanisms along an internal shaft, while others say that the ascent was carried out using mules along a spiral ramp.

The lighthouse also had an underground part where supplies of drinking water for the garrison were located. It is worth mentioning that the lighthouse also served as a fortress guarding sea ​​route to Alexandria. Myself Faros lighthouse It was even surrounded by a powerful fence with bastions and loopholes.

In the 14th century, the wonder of the world, the Faros lighthouse, was destroyed by an earthquake. Currently, the appearance of the seventh wonder of the world is evidenced only by images on Roman coins and the remains of ruins. For example, research in 1996 made it possible to find the remains of the Alexandria lighthouse at the bottom of the sea.

Lighthouse on Roman coins

A hundred years after the destruction, Sultan Qait Bey built a fort in its place. And now there are initiators who want to reconstruct the Faros Lighthouse, in the place where it was originally located - on the island of Faros. But the Egyptian authorities do not yet want to consider these projects, and the Qait Bay fortress continues to guard the site of the former great structure of antiquity.

Kite Bay Fortress

The Seven Wonders of the World is a list of the most famous attractions of the ancient world. The Lighthouse of Alexandria is rightly called one of them - it is the last of the classical wonders of antiquity. Basic information and Interesting Facts information about this structure, its creation, functions and sad fate can be found on the Internet (as well as photos of the recreated lighthouse), but impressions of historical place seen with your own eyes cannot be compared with anything.

The history of the lighthouse on the island of Pharos is firmly connected with the founding in 332 AD of one of the most beautiful cities of the ancient world - Alexandria, named after the great conqueror Alexander the Great. Over the course of his campaigns, he managed to found about 17 cities with the same name, but only Alexandria in Egypt managed to survive to this day.

Founding of Alexandria

Alexander the Great took an extremely responsible approach to choosing the location for the future city. He did not want to locate it in the Nile Delta, so he decided to start construction a little further south, near Lake Mareotis. It was planned that Alexandria would have two ports - one for merchant ships coming from Mediterranean Sea, the other is for ships sailing from the Nile River.

After the death of the great Alexander, the city came under the rule of Ptolemy I Soter, the pharaoh of Egypt who ruled at that time. This was a time of prosperity for Alexandria - it became the largest shipping port. In 290 BC, Ptolemy ordered the construction of a huge lighthouse on the island of Pharos, which would make it easier for sailors at night and in bad weather.

Construction of the Faros lighthouse

Construction of the Alexandria Lighthouse began in the 4th century BC. It is believed that this masterpiece of architectural thought was built by Sostratos, a native of Cnidia. Construction work continued for more than 20 years. The Lighthouse of Alexandria is the first building of its type in the world and the tallest structure of the ancient world. This is the answer to the question why the Faros Lighthouse is one of the seven wonders of the world. This magnificent skyscraper was a symbol of power and might, prosperity and greatness, like a light in the darkness.

The height of the Alexandria Lighthouse is about 600 feet, or 135 meters. At the same time, it looked somewhat different than most architectural monuments of that time. It was a three-tiered building with a square base, the walls of which were built from slabs of marble connected to each other by mortar with the addition of lead.

We bring to your attention interesting facts about the Alexandria Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

• At the top of the lighthouse there was a fire, the reflections of which were directed into the sea using specially polished metal plates.
• The light from the lights of the Alexandria Lighthouse was visible at a distance of more than 60 km.
• The Faros lighthouse also served as an outpost and observation tower - its height made it possible to see enemy ships long before they approached the city.
• At the top of the structure, in addition to metal reflective plates, there were also interesting technical devices of that time - clock mechanisms, weather vanes and much more.
• After the construction was completed, Sostratus of Knidos carved his name into one of the walls, and then covered it with plaster and wrote the name of Ptolemy I Soter on it. The architect understood perfectly well that the plaster would wear off over time, but the stone would preserve the name of the real creator of the lighthouse for centuries.

The lighthouse of Alexandria was most fully described many years later - already in 1161 AD - by the Arab traveler Abu el-Andalussi. He noted the most significant facts and mentioned that in addition to its main function, the lighthouse also served as a very visible and popular attraction.

The fate of the Alexandria lighthouse

The lighthouse on the island of Faros illuminated the path of sailors for one and a half millennia. But, unfortunately, he was powerless against the forces of nature. Quite strong tremors in 356, 956 and 1303 AD caused severe damage to it, and the earthquake of 1326 finally destroyed the seventh wonder of the world - the Lighthouse of Alexandria. His remains were dismantled by the Muslims to build their fortress. They were discovered many centuries later - in 1994, and later the image of the structure was restored using computer modeling. But such photos are still not able to convey the greatness and power that the Faros lighthouse possessed.

A hundred years after the destruction, a powerful fort was erected on the site of the Alexandria lighthouse, protecting Alexandria from the sea. It has been preserved and exists in our time - now the Alexandria Historical Museum is located inside it.

The lighthouse was located on the island of Pharos near the coast of the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria. The history of the lighthouse is connected with the founding of this city in Ancient Egypt. In fact, the city, compared to other ancient Egyptian cities, is not that ancient. It appeared in 332 BC. thanks to the famous conqueror of Ancient Egypt - Alexander the Great.

Alexander the Great chose the location for the future city very carefully. He identified the settlement area not in the Nile Delta itself, but 20 miles to the south, although it would seem that it was in the Delta that the two most important water roads intersect: by sea and along the Nile River. And yet the city was founded slightly away from the Delta, so that water great river the city harbor was not clogged with silt and sand. Alexandria was conceived as the most important shopping mall at the intersection of river, sea and land routes of three continents. Such a center had to have its own well-defended harbor.

To equip such a harbor, it was necessary to carry out a number of serious engineering and construction works. The first priority was the construction of a dam connecting the coast with the island of Pharos, as well as the construction of a breakwater to protect the harbor from sand and silt, which the numerous branches of the Nile delta carry in abundance to the sea.

As a result, the city had two excellent harbors at once. One of them was intended for merchant ships arriving from the Mediterranean Sea, the other received ships traveling along the Nile River.

In 323 BC. Alexander died, and soon after this the city came into the possession of the new ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy I Soter.

During his reign, Alexandria turned into a rich and prosperous port city, and the construction of the lighthouse played an important role in this.

The purpose of the lighthouse was to ensure the safety of navigation in coastal waters, and thanks to this, the volume of trade carried out through the port of Alexandria increased. The coast of Egypt is characterized by a monotonous landscape - lowlands and plains predominate in it, and for successful navigation, sailors always needed an additional landmark: a signal light before entering the harbor of Alexandria. However, this task could be performed by a much lower lighthouse. Even a lighthouse 35 m high (and this is the height of another Wonder of the World of antiquity - the Colossus of Rhodes) would be somewhat excessive for these purposes.

Most likely, one of the most important functions of the Alexandria lighthouse was to ensure the security of the capital of the Ptolemaic state from attacks from the sea. The greatest threat to Egypt could come from the sea, which was naturally protected from attacks by enemies on land by the desert.

It was precisely to detect the enemy at a considerable distance from the shore that required an observation post of considerable height. This was especially true due to the lack of any natural hills near Alexandria on which such observation posts could be organized.

The construction of such a grandiose structure required significant intellectual, financial and labor resources, which would be difficult to attract in a turbulent time. war time. However, by the beginning of the 3rd century. BC e. The situation was favorable for the start of construction. At this time, taking the title of king, Ptolemy conquered Syria, taking a huge number of Jews as slaves to Egypt. Other important events were the conclusion of peace between Ptolemy Soter and Demetrius Poliorcetes in 299 BC, as well as the death of Ptolemy's worst enemy, Antigonus, and the division of his kingdom between the diadochi.

It was after 299 BC. and the construction of a lighthouse began on the island of Pharos. It is quite difficult to name the exact date of construction. They call it 290, 285, etc. years BC

The island of Pharos in 285 BC. was connected by a dam to the mainland, which greatly facilitated construction work.

The lighthouse on Pharos was completely different from most modern structures of this type - thin single towers. It looked more like a futuristic skyscraper.

To this day, no exact information has been preserved about the size and design of the Alexandria Lighthouse.

The height of the lighthouse ranged from 120 to 180 m. It was a three-tiered tower, the walls of which were made of marble blocks held together with lead-laced mortar.

The base of the lighthouse had a powerful square-shaped foundation made of granite or limestone with a side length of about 180 - 190 m. On this site there was a palace or fortress with four towers at the corners. This lowest tier of the lighthouse resembled a massive parallelepiped. Along its walls there was an inclined entrance along which a horse-drawn cart could climb up.

The second tier was built in the shape of an octagonal tower, and the third tier of the Alexandria Lighthouse resembled a cylinder topped with a dome resting on columns. At the top of the dome, a huge statue of the god Poseidon, the ruler of the seas, proudly looked out at the world. The fire was burning on the platform below him. There is evidence that from ships it was possible to see the light of this lighthouse at a distance of sixty, or even a hundred km.

Inside the two upper floors there was a shaft with a lifting mechanism that allowed fuel for the fire to be delivered to the very top.

A spiral staircase led along the walls to the top of the lighthouse, along which staff and visitors climbed to the platform where the signal fire burned. There was a massive concave mirror installed there, most likely made of polished metal. It was supposed to reflect and enhance the light of the fire. According to sources, a bright reflected light at night showed the ships the path to the harbor, and during the day, instead of it, a huge smoke column, visible from afar, rose up.

The lighthouse of Alexandria immediately upon completion of construction was recognized as one of the seven wonders of the world, becoming the subject of admiration throughout the ancient world. His silhouette was depicted on vessels, minted on coins, cast and carved into souvenir figurines for Greek and Roman travelers. The lighthouse became a symbol of Alexandria. Strabo and Pliny the Elder described the lighthouse in enthusiastic terms.

For almost 1000 years, the Alexandria Lighthouse showed ships the way. Earthquakes gradually destroyed it. In 1183, it still stood on the island; in this year, the traveler Ibn Jabar visited Alexandria. The grandiose structure shocked him so much that he exclaimed: “No description can convey all its beauty, there are not enough eyes to look at it, and there are not enough words to tell about the greatness of this spectacle!” By the 12th century, Alexandria Bay was so filled with silt that ships could no longer use it. The lighthouse fell into disrepair. In the 14th century it was completely destroyed by an earthquake. The Mamluk Sultan Qait Bey built a fortress on the foundations of the lighthouse in 1480, which received the name of its creator. This fortress still stands today.

about the Alexandria lighthouse

• The lighthouse was erected in the city of Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great. The great commander founded at least 17 cities with the same name in different parts of his vast empire. Almost all of these cities disappeared without a trace. And only Egyptian Alexandria flourished for many centuries and prospers to this day.

• The lighthouse was created by the architect Sostratus of Cnidia. Ptolemy II, who inherited the throne after his father Ptolemy Soter, wanted only his royal name to be carved on the stones, and that he be revered as the creator of the Alexandria Lighthouse. Sostratus, proud of his creation, found a way to perpetuate his name. He knocked out the following inscription on the stone wall: “Sostratus, son of Dexiphon, Cnidian, dedicated to the savior gods for the health of seafarers!”, then covered this inscription with a layer of plaster, and wrote the name of Ptolemy on top. Centuries passed, and the plaster crumbled, revealing to the world the name of the true builder of the lighthouse.

• The Lighthouse of Alexandria, the seventh wonder of the world, is actually the eighth wonder. Before its construction, the walls of Babylon were considered the second wonder of the world. When the lighthouse was erected, contemporaries were so amazed by it outstanding building, that the walls of Babylon were simply crossed out from the list of the Seven Wonders of the World and the lighthouse was added to it as the latest, newest miracle.

• The news of the Miracle spread all over the world, and the lighthouse began to be called by the name of the island of Faros or simply Pharos. Later, the word “faros”, as a designation for a lighthouse, became established in many languages ​​(French, Spanish, Romanian).

• And in Russian the word “headlight” comes from it.

Unfortunately, the earthquake almost completely destroyed the building, but despite this, there were no fewer people wanting to see the lighthouse.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The lighthouse is also called Faros lighthouse, due to its location on the island of Faros on the coast of Alexandria in Egypt. The city received its name from Emperor Alexander the Great. He approached the location of the city very thoughtfully. At first it will seem unusual that Macedonsky did not choose the Nile Delta, where two important strategic routes pass. However, if Alexandria were built on the Nile River, harmful sands and silt would clog its harbor. Thus, the most the best option, because high hopes were placed on the city.

Macedonian planned to create the largest trading city here, where goods from all over the world would be delivered. Well, of course, such an important center required a harbor. Many famous designers of that time created a project according to which a dam was built connecting the island and the mainland. Thus, two harbors were obtained, receiving ships from both the Nile and the sea.

The emperor’s dream came true only after his death, when Ptolemy I ascended the throne. It was he who made Alexandria the largest trading port city in all of Greece. With the growth and development of navigation, the island increasingly needed a lighthouse. Its construction would secure the navigation of ships at sea, and also attract more sellers and buyers.

Among the sparse landscape, the lighthouse would stand out with its lights, creating a powerful landmark for the lost. According to historians, Alexander the Great also planned to turn the lighthouse into a defensive structure in case of attacks from the sea. Therefore, the plans were to build a huge patrol point.

Construction of the Alexandria Lighthouse

Of course, the construction of such a large-scale facility required large financial and labor resources. Finding them in such a difficult time was not easy. But Ptolemy solved this problem by bringing from conquered Syria a huge number of Jews who became slaves at construction sites. At this time, several other important events for the state take place. Ptolemy signs a peace agreement with Demetrius Poliorcetes and celebrates the death of his blood enemy Antigonus.

In 285 BC. Led by the architect Sostratus of Knidos, the construction of the Pharos begins. To perpetuate his name, the architect creates an inscription saying that he is building this building for sailors. At the top, the inscription was covered with tiles with the name of Ptolemy. However, the secret has now been revealed.

Lighthouse structure

The Alexandria lighthouse had three tiers of a rectangular shape with a side of 30.5 meters. The edges of the lower tier were clearly turned to certain cardinal directions. Its height was 60 meters. The lower tier was decorated with tritons on the sides and was used by workers for personal purposes. Supplies of fuel and food were also stored here.

The middle tier was built in the shape of a polygon, the edges of which were directed towards the winds.

The third tier resembled a cylinder and directly served as a luminary. At the top there was a seven-meter sculpture of Isis-Faria, which sailors revered as their guardian. According to some sources, there was a statue of Poseidon at the top, but this fact has not been proven. Here a complex design of mirrors was created, which significantly increased the range of light. Fuel was supplied to the lighthouse via special ramps carried by mules. It was for ease of movement that the dam was built. The Alexandria lighthouse, in addition to its direct responsibility, served as the defense of the city. There was a military garrison here. For complete safety, thick walls and small towers were erected around the lighthouse.

In general, the entire structure was 120 meters high, becoming the tallest in the world.

The fate of the lighthouse

After a millennium, the structure began to collapse. This happened in 796 during a powerful earthquake. All that remains of the majestic structure are 30-meter-high ruins.

The Kite Bay military fort was later built from the wreckage, which now houses several museums inside? Museum of Marine Biology and History Museum.