After the conquest of Egypt in 332 BC. Alexander the Great founded a city named after him - Alexandria in the Nile Delta. During the reign of Ptolemy I, the city achieved wealth and prosperity, and the Alexandrian harbor became a lively center of maritime trade. With the development of navigation, the helmsmen, who brought ships with cargo to Alexandria, felt the need for a lighthouse more and more sharply, which would show ships a safe route among the shallows. And in the III century. BC. on the eastern tip of the island of Pharos, lying in the sea at a distance of 7 stadia (1290 m) from Alexandria, the architect Sostratus, son of Dexiphanes of Cnidus, built the famous lighthouse, which became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
For the supply of building materials, the island was connected to the mainland by a dam. The work took only six years - from 285 to 279 BC. Seeing this tower suddenly sprung up on a deserted island, contemporaries were shocked. From the list of the seven wonders of the world, "miracle number 2" - the walls of Babylon was immediately deleted, and its place was taken by Pharos lighthouse.
100 was completed in late summer 1997. In October 1998, this project received the prestigious Project of the Year award, awarded annually by the International Concrete Institute.

The Alexandrian poet Posidippus (c. 270 BC) sang this amazing structure in one of his epigrams:
The tower on Pharos, salvation to the Greeks, Sostratus Dexiphanes, the Architect of Cnidus, erected, O Lord Proteus!
There are no island keepers on the cliffs in Egypt, But a pier was drawn from the Earth for anchorage of ships,
And high, dissecting the ether, the tower rises, Everywhere for many miles is visible to the traveler during the day, At night, from afar, they see those floating by the sea all the time, Light from a large fire at the very top of the lighthouse. Per. L. Blumenau
This is how the lighthouse remained during the Roman rule. According to Pliny the Elder, he shone "like a star in the darkness of the nights." This monumental structure had a height of at least 120 m, and its light could be seen at a distance of up to 48 km.
According to Strabo, the lighthouse was built from local limestone and faced with white marble. Decorative friezes and ornaments are made of marble and bronze, columns are made of granite and marble. The lighthouse seemed to grow out of the center of a spacious courtyard, surrounded by a powerful fence, at the corners of which there were powerful bastions reminiscent of the pylons of ancient Egyptian temples. D them, as well as along the entire wall, numerous loopholes were cut.
The lighthouse itself consisted of three tiers. The first, square in plan (30.5 × 30.5 m), oriented to the cardinal points and lined with squares white marble, had a height of 60 m. At the corners of it were installed monumental statues depicting tritons. Inside the first tier, premises for workers and guards were located at different levels. There were also pantries where fuel and food were stored. On one of the side facades one could read the Greek inscription: "To the gods-saviors - for the salvation of sailors", where the gods meant the king of Egypt Ptolemy I and his wife Berenice.

The smaller octagonal middle tier was also faced with marble slabs. Eight of its faces were deployed in the directions of the prevailing winds in these places. Above the perimeter were numerous bronze statues; some of them could serve as weather vane indicating the direction of the wind. The legend has survived that one of the figures with an outstretched hand followed the movement of the sun and lowered his hand only after its sunset.
The upper tier was in the shape of a cylinder and served as a lantern. It was surrounded by eight polished granite columns and topped with a cone-shaped dome topped with a 7-meter bronze statue of Isis Faria, the patron saint of seafarers. However, some researchers believe that there was a statue of the sea god Poseidon.
Light signaling was carried out using a powerful lamp placed in the focus of concave metal mirrors. It is believed that lifting mechanisms installed inside the tower delivered the fuel to the top - in the middle of the lighthouse there was a shaft leading from the lower rooms up to the lighting system. According to another version, fuel was brought along a spiral ramp on carts drawn by horses or mules.

In the underground part of the lighthouse there was a storage drinking water for the military garrison located on the island: both under the Ptolemies and under the Romans, the lighthouse simultaneously served as a fortress preventing the entry of enemy ships into the main port of Alexandria.
It is believed that the upper part of the lighthouse (cylindrical, with a dome and a statue) collapsed in the 2nd century, but the lighthouse was still in operation in 641. In the XIV century. the earthquake finally destroyed this masterpiece of ancient architecture and construction technology. A hundred years later, the Egyptian Sultan Kite Bey ordered to build a fort named after its creator on the remains of the lighthouse foundation. Today we can judge the appearance of the lighthouse only by its images on coins of the Roman time and a few fragments of granite and marble columns.
In 1996, underwater archaeologists led by the famous French scientist Jean-Yves Emperer, founder of the Center for the Study of Alexandria, managed to find on seabed remnants of lighthouse structures that collapsed into the sea as a result of an earthquake. This aroused great interest all over the world. In 2001, the Belgian government even took the initiative to rebuild the Pharos lighthouse on the same site where it was built 2,200 years ago. However, now the walls of the fortress of Qayt Bey still rise here, and the Egyptian government is in no hurry to agree to its demolition.

Tower on Foros, salvation for the Greeks,

Sostrat Deksifanov,

The architect from Cnidus, erected,

O Lord Proteus!

Posidippus .

We will now be transported to the delta Nile to see the seventh wonder of the world. But finding the seventh wonder of the world is a hopeless task. Lighthouse on the island Foros near Alexandria has long disappeared without a trace.

Lighthouse on the island of Foros

It disappeared so that not a single stone remained of it. But such information has survived about it as the fact that it was built by a cnidus architect Sostratus and the fact that he was taller than the highest pyramid. And this building cost 800 talents. Its name still lives in the dictionaries of coastal peoples:

The French call the lighthouse “ phare ", Spaniards and Italians" faro ", The Greeks" pharos ", the British" pharos ”.

during his conquest of the world, he not only destroyed cities, but also built them. He founded Alexandria near Issy, Alexandria of Troad, Alexandria near the Tigris (later Antioch), Alexandria of Bactria, Alexandria of Armenia, Alexandria of the Caucasus, Alexandria" on the edge of the world " and many others. In 332 BC. he founded the Egyptian Alexandria - the capital of the Hellenic world of Egypt. Previously, on the site of this Alexandria, there was an old fishing settlement Rakotis. It was here that he came from Memphis one day in spring Alexander the Great along with their military leaders, historians, zoologists, botanists and dancers. Among these people came here Deinocrates- an architect known to us from Ephesus and Rhodes, he accompanied Alexander from Macedonia. In Ephesus, Deinocrates received his first assignment - to rebuild. But the "great day" of Deinocrates came only when Alexander conquered Egypt.The king saw near the island of Foros, next to an ancient Egyptian settlement Rakotis a natural harbor, on the shore of which there was a wonderful place for a port market, around the fertile Egyptian lands and the proximity of the Nile. It was here that the king ordered Deinocrates to build Egyptian Alexandria, ordered and left, returned here after 10 years and in a golden sarcophagus (the sarcophagus of Alexander, his commander Ptolemy ordered to put in royal palace in Alexandria, in that part of it that was called Sema and where the sarcophagi of all subsequent kings will subsequently stand).
Immediately after Alexander's departure, they began to build the city. After Alexander's death Babylonia, Alexandria was chosen as his residence by the Macedonian commander Ptolemy, who conquered Egypt (first ruling here on behalf of the unborn son of Alexander, and from 305 BC on his own behalf) and founded the last, no longer Egyptian, dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs. And gradually the city became so famous for its grandeur and beauty that under the king Ptolemies X II and his sister Cleopatra(who treacherously tortured her two brothers, Ptolemy X II and NS III to vacate the throne for his son Ptolemy X IV whom she gave birth to from Julius Caesar) the Romans wanted to capture him. Over time, the Romans annexed Alexandria along with all of Egypt to Roman Empire.

With the coming of the Macedonian commander Ptolemy to power in Egypt and with his founding in Alexandria - the capital of the last Egyptian kingdom, as well as the capital of the entire Hellenistic world, the era of ancient culture began, which is commonly called Alexandria. The flowering of this culture, which is a synthesis of Greek culture with the culture of the Eastern peoples, fell on the domination of the first three Ptolemies: Ptolemy ISoter(323-285 BC), Ptolemy IIPhiladelphia(285 - 246 BC) and Ptolemy IIIEverget(246 - 221 BC) Descendants of the Macedonian courtier Laga gained tremendous power over millions of people. They were real pharaohs. Of course, they fought bloody wars with other heirs of the Great Alexander, but they also made a great contribution to the development of Hellenic culture. For example: Ptolemy I was one of the few rulers who understand that science brings the same glory as war, and also cheaper and less risk. It was during their reign that two great structures were created.

In 308 BC, under Ptolemy I was opened here Alexandria mousseion("Temple of the Muses") - one of the main scientific and cultural centers of the ancient world, and with it the no less famous Library of Alexandria, in which there were almost 700 thousand volumes of Greek and Oriental books (most of which were acquired under Ptolemy II Philadelphia). Under the mousseion, scientists lived and worked, who were supported by the state. Ptolemy I Soter himself was the author "The Campaigns of Alexander the Great"... Ptolemy's generosity attracted not only scientists, but also artists, sculptors, and poets to Alexandria. The Ptolemies made Alexandria a world scientific center.

The second magnificent structure of the Ptolemies is the lighthouse on the islandPharos... He described him to us Straboin the seventeenth volume of his"Geography"... This skyscraper of the ancient world was built on a rock in the middle of the sea and, in addition to its practical functions, served as a symbol of the state.

As Strabo writes, he built it Sostratus from Cnidus, a son Dexifana and “friend of kings” (the first two Ptolemies). Before the lighthouse, Sostratus had already built a "hanging boulevard" on the island of Cnidus (a similar hanging structure). It is also known that Sostratus was an experienced diplomat.
Alexandrian lighthouse stood for about 1500 years, helping to navigate the Mediterranean "cybernetos", so the ancient Greeks called the pilots. Under the Byzantines, in the 4th century, it was damaged by an earthquake and the fire went out forever. In the 7th century, under the Arabs, this structure served as a daytime lighthouse. At the end of the 10th century, the lighthouse survived another earthquake and remained from it Part 4. In the middle of the XIII century, it was no longer needed as a daytime lighthouse: the coast approached the island so much that the Ptolemaic harbors turned into a sand quarry. Colosseum. And the destruction of the lighthouse was completed by an earthquake in 1326. Today the island of Pharos is completely connected to the mainland, besides, its outlines have changed completely, and therefore the place where the lighthouse stood today has not yet been identified. disappeared without a trace.

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The Alexandria Lighthouse is one of the oldest engineering structures of mankind. It was built between 280 and 247 BC. NS. on the island of Pharos, located ...

From Masterweb

22.05.2018 02:00

The Alexandria Lighthouse is one of the oldest engineering structures of mankind. It was built between 280 and 247 BC. NS. on the island of Pharos, located off the coast ancient city Alexandria (territory of modern Egypt). It is thanks to the name of this island that the lighthouse was also known as Pharos.

The height of this grandiose structure, according to the testimony of various historians, was approximately 120-140 meters. For many centuries, it remained one of the tallest structures on our planet, second only to the pyramids at Giza.

Beginning of construction of the lighthouse

The city of Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great, was conveniently located at the intersection of numerous trade routes. The city developed rapidly, everything entered its harbor. more ships, and the construction of a lighthouse became an urgent need.

Some historians believe that, in addition to the usual function of ensuring the safety of mariners, the lighthouse could have an adjacent, no less important function. In those days, the rulers of Alexandria feared a possible attack from the sea, and such a colossal structure like the Alexandria lighthouse could serve as an excellent observation point.

Initially, the lighthouse was not equipped with a complex system of signal lights, it was built several hundred years later. At first, signals to ships were given using smoke from a fire, and therefore the lighthouse was effective only in the daytime.

Unusual design of the Alexandria lighthouse

Such a large-scale construction for those times was a grandiose and very ambitious project. However, the construction of the lighthouse was completed in a very short time - it lasted no more than 20 years.

For the sake of building a lighthouse between the mainland and the island of Pharos, a dam was built in a short time, along which the necessary materials were delivered.

It is simply impossible to tell briefly about the Alexandria lighthouse. The huge structure was built from solid marble blocks, connected to each other for greater strength with lead brackets.

The lower, highest level of the lighthouse was built in the form of a square with a side length of about 30 meters. The corners of the base were designed strictly to the cardinal points. The premises located on the first level were intended for storing the necessary supplies and for the residence of numerous guards and lighthouse workers.

A reservoir was built in the underground level, the supply of drinking water of which was supposed to be enough in case of even a prolonged siege of the city.

The second level of the building was made in the shape of an octagon. Its edges were oriented exactly in accordance with the wind rose. It was decorated with unusual bronze statues, some of which were movable.

The third, main level of the lighthouse was built in the shape of a cylinder and was crowned with a large dome on top. The top of the dome was decorated with a bronze sculpture at least 7 meters high. Historians still do not come to a consensus whether this was an image of the god of the seas, Poseidon, or a statue of Isis-Faria - the patroness of sailors.

How was the third level of the lighthouse arranged?

For that time, the true miracle of the Alexandria lighthouse was a complex system of huge bronze mirrors. The light from the fire, which was constantly burning on the upper platform of the lighthouse, was reflected and amplified many times over by these metal plates. The ancient chronicles wrote that the shining light coming from the Alexandria lighthouse was capable of burning enemy ships far out to sea.

Of course, this was an exaggeration of the inexperienced guests of the city who saw it for the first time. ancient miracle light - Lighthouse of Alexandria. Although, in fact, the light of the lighthouse was visible for more than 60 kilometers, and for ancient times this was a huge achievement.

A very interesting engineering solution for that time was the construction of a spiral staircase-ramp inside the lighthouse, along which the necessary firewood and combustible materials were delivered to the upper tier. A huge amount of fuel was required to run smoothly, so carts drawn by mules constantly climbed and descended the inclined stairs.

The architect who built the miracle

At the time of the construction of the lighthouse, the king of Alexandria was Ptolemy I Soter, a talented ruler under whom the city turned into a prosperous Trading port... Having decided to build a lighthouse in the harbor, he invited one of the talented architects of that time, Sostratus of Cnidus, to work.

In ancient times, the only name that could be immortalized on the constructed structure was the name of the ruler. But the architect who erected the lighthouse was very proud of his creation and wanted to preserve for posterity the knowledge of who really was the author of the miracle.

Risking to incur the wrath of the ruler, he carved an inscription on one of the stone walls of the first level of the lighthouse: "Sostratus of Cnidia, son of Dextiphan, dedicated to the gods-saviors for the sake of sailors." Then the inscription was covered with layers of plaster and already on top of it were carved the prescribed praises to the king.

Several centuries after the construction, pieces of plaster gradually fell off, and an inscription appeared that preserved in stone the name of the person who built one of the seven wonders of the world - the Alexandria lighthouse.

First of its kind

In ancient times in different countries The flames and smoke of bonfires were often used as a warning system or to transmit danger signals, but the Alexandria Lighthouse was the first specialized structure of its kind in the entire world. In Alexandria, it was called Pharos, after the name of the island, and all the lighthouses that were built after him were also called Pharos. This is reflected in our language, where the word "headlight" means a source of directional light.

The ancient description of the Alexandria lighthouse contains information about unusual "living" sculptures-statues, which can be called the first simple automata. They turned, made sounds, performed simple actions. But these were not at all chaotic movements, one of the statues pointed with its hand at the Sun, and when the Sun went down, the hand automatically dropped. A clockwork was mounted in another figure, which marked the beginning of a new hour with a melodic ringing. The third statue was used as a weather vane, showing the direction and strength of the wind.

Short description The Alexandria lighthouse, made by his contemporaries, could not convey the secrets of the structure of these statues or the approximate scheme of the ramp through which the fuel was delivered. Most of these secrets are lost forever.

Destruction of the lighthouse

The firelight of this unique structure has guided sailors along the way for centuries. But gradually, during the decline of the Roman Empire, the lighthouse also began to decline. Less and less funds were invested in maintaining it in working order, besides, the harbor of Alexandria was gradually shallower due to a large number sand and silt.

In addition, the area where the Alexandria lighthouse was built was seismically active. A series of strong earthquakes caused serious damage to it, and the catastrophe of 1326 finally destroyed the seventh wonder of the world.

Alternative version of destruction

In addition to the theory explaining the decline of the colossal structure due to insufficient funding and natural disasters, there is another interesting hypothesis about the reasons for the destruction of the lighthouse.

According to this theory, the blame was the enormous military importance that the beacon had for the defenders of Egypt. After the country was captured by the Arabs, the Christian countries, and above all the Byzantine Empire, hoped to recapture Egypt from the people. But these plans were greatly hampered by the Arab observation post located at the lighthouse.

Therefore, a rumor was spread that somewhere in the building in ancient times the treasures of the Ptolemies were hidden. Believing, the Arabs began to dismantle the lighthouse, trying to get to the gold, and in the process damaged the mirror system.

After that, the damaged lighthouse continued to function for another 500 years, gradually decaying. Then it was finally dismantled, and a defensive fortress was erected in its place.

Recoverability

The very first attempt to restore the Alexandria lighthouse was made by the Arabs in the XIV century AD. BC, but it turned out to build only a 30-meter semblance of a lighthouse. Then the construction stopped, and only 100 years later, the ruler of Egypt, Kite Bey, built a fortress in its place to protect Alexandria from the sea. At the base of this fortress, part of the foundation of the ancient lighthouse and almost all of its underground structures and a reservoir remained. This fortress still exists today.

Often, enthusiastic historians consider the likelihood of recreating this famous building in its original state. But there is one problem - there is practically no reliable description of the Alexandria lighthouse or its detailed images, on the basis of which it would be possible to accurately reconstruct its appearance.

Touch the history

For the first time, some fragments of the lighthouse were discovered by archaeologists at the bottom of the sea in 1994. Since then, the expedition of the European Institute of Underwater Archeology at the bottom of the harbor has discovered a whole quarter of ancient Alexandria, the existence of which scientists had not previously suspected. Remains of many ancient structures have survived under the water. There is even a hypothesis that one of the found buildings may be the palace of the famous Queen Cleopatra.

The Egyptian government in 2015 approved a large-scale reconstruction of the ancient lighthouse. In the place where it was built in ancient times, it is planned to build a multi-storey copy of the great lighthouse. Interestingly, the project provides for the construction of an underwater glass hall at a depth of 3 meters so that all lovers of ancient history can see the ruins of the ancient royal quarter.

Kievyan street, 16 0016 Armenia, Yerevan +374 11 233 255

Only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world had a practical purpose -. It performed several functions at once: it allowed ships to approach the harbor without any problems, and the observation post, located at the top of the unique structure, made it possible to follow the water expanses and notice the enemy in time.

Locals claimed that the light of the Alexandria lighthouse burned enemy ships even before they approached the coast, and if they managed to approach the coast, the statue of Poseidon, located on the dome of an amazing design, emitted a shrill warning cry.

Lighthouse of Alexandria: a short description for the report

The height of the old lighthouse was 140 meters - much higher than the surrounding buildings. In ancient times, buildings did not exceed three floors, and against their background, the Pharos lighthouse seemed huge. Moreover, at the time of completion of construction, it turned out to be the most tall building of the ancient world and was such for an extremely long time.

The Alexandria lighthouse was built on east coast the small island of Pharos, located near Alexandria - the main seaport Egypt, built by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. He is also known in history as.

He is one of the most famous wonders of the ancient world, along with, and.
The great commander chose the place for the construction of the city very carefully: he initially planned to build a port in this region, which would be an important trade center.

It was extremely important that the Alexandria lighthouse was located at the intersection of both water and land routes of the three parts of the world - Africa, Europe and Asia. For the same reason, at least two harbors had to be built here: one for ships arriving from Mediterranean Sea and the other for those who sailed along the Nile.

Therefore Alexandria was not built in the Nile Delta, but a little to the side, twenty miles to the south. When choosing a place for the city, Alexander took into account the location of future harbors, while paying special attention to their strengthening and protection: it was very important to do everything so that the waters of the Nile did not clog them with sand and silt (especially for this, a dam was subsequently built connecting the continent with an island).

After the death of Alexander the Great (who, according to legend, was born on the day of destruction), the city fell under the rule of Ptolemy I Soter - and as a result of skillful management it turned into a successful and prosperous port city, and the construction of one of the seven wonders of the world significantly increased its wealth.

Lighthouse of Alexandria on the island of Pharos: purpose

The Alexandria lighthouse made it possible for ships to sail into the port without any problems, successfully bypassing pitfalls, shallows and other obstacles of the bay. Thanks to this, after the erection of one of the seven wonders, the volume of trade of light increased dramatically.

The lighthouse also served as an additional reference point for sailors: the landscape of the Egyptian coast is quite diverse - mostly only lowlands and plains. Therefore, the signal lights in front of the entrance to the harbor were very useful.

A lower structure would have successfully coped with this role, so the engineers assigned another important function to the Alexandria lighthouse - the role of an observation post: the enemies usually attacked from the sea, since the country was well defended by the desert from the land side.

It was also necessary to establish such an observation post at the lighthouse because there were no natural hills near the city where this could be done.

Construction of the Alexandria lighthouse

Such a large-scale construction required enormous resources. Moreover, not only financial and labor, but also intellectual. Ptolemy I solved this problem rather quickly. It was at that time that he conquered Syria, enslaved the Jews and took them to Egypt. Later he used some of them to build a lighthouse.
It was at this time (in 299 BC) that he entered into a truce with Demetrius Poliorketus, the ruler of Macedonia (his father was Antigonus, the worst enemy of Ptolemy, who died in 301 BC).

Thus, a truce, a huge amount of labor and other favorable circumstances gave him the opportunity to begin construction of a grandiose wonder of the world. Although the exact date for the start of construction work has not yet been determined, researchers are convinced that this happened sometime between 285/299. BC NS.

The presence of a dam, built earlier and connecting the island to the continent, greatly facilitated the task.

The construction of the Alexandria lighthouse was entrusted to the master Sostratus of Cnidia. Ptolemy wished that only his name be inscribed on the building, indicating that it was he who created this magnificent wonder of the world.

But Sostratus was so proud of his work that he first engraved his name in stone. And then he put a very thick layer of plaster on it, on which he wrote the name of the Egyptian ruler. Over time, the plaster crumbled, and the world saw the signature of the architect.

What the Pharos lighthouse looked like

There is no exact information about how exactly one of the seven wonders of the world looked, but some data is still available:

So that the fire could be seen from a great distance, a whole system of polished metal mirrors was installed near it, reflecting and amplifying the light of the fire. He, according to the testimony of contemporaries, was visible even at a distance of 60 km;

There are several versions of how the fuel was lifted to the top of the lighthouse. The adherents of the first theory believe that a shaft was located between the second and third tiers, where a lifting mechanism was installed, with the help of which fuel for the fire was raised upward.

As for the second, it implies that the site, on which the signal light was burning, could be accessed by spiral staircase along the walls of the structure, and this staircase was so flat that loaded donkeys carrying fuel to the top of the lighthouse could easily climb up the building.

Lighthouse of Alexandria: wreck

Served since 283 BC. until the 15th century, when a fortress was erected instead. Thus, he survived more than one dynasty of Egyptian rulers, saw Roman legionaries. This did not particularly affect his fate: whoever ruled Alexandria, everyone took care that the unique structure would stand as long as possible. They restored the parts of the building that were destroyed due to frequent earthquakes, renovated the facade, which was negatively affected by wind and salty sea water.

Time has done its job: the lighthouse stopped working in 365, when one of the strongest earthquakes in the Mediterranean caused a tsunami that flooded part of the city, and the death toll of Egyptians, according to chroniclers, exceeded 50 thousand inhabitants.

After this event, the lighthouse significantly decreased in size, but it stood for quite a long time - until the XIV century, until the next strongest earthquake wiped it off the face of the earth (a hundred years later, the Sultan Kait-bey built a fortress on its foundation, which can be seen and these days). After that, they remained the only ancient wonder of the world that has survived to this day.

In the mid-90s. The remains of the Alexandria lighthouse were discovered at the bottom of the bay with the help of a satellite, and after a while, scientists, using computer modeling, were able to more or less restore the image of a unique structure.

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 of Ancient Egypt. In fact, the city is not that old compared to other ancient Egyptian cities. It appeared in 332 BC. thanks to the famous conqueror of Ancient Egypt - Alexander the Great.

Alexander the Great very carefully chose the place for the future city. He identified the area of settlement not in the Nile delta itself, but 20 miles to the south, although it would seem that it is in the Delta that two important waterways intersect: by the sea and along the Nile River. And yet the city was founded a little away from the Delta, so that the waters of the great river would not clog the city harbor with silt and sand. Alexandria was conceived as the most important shopping center at the intersection of river, sea and land routes of three continents. Such a center was supposed to have its own well-protected 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 to 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 into 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 sailing along the Nile River.

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

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

The mission 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 the monotony of the landscape - it is dominated by lowlands and plains, and for a successful sailing 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 beacon. Even a lighthouse with a height of 35 m (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 provide security against attacks from the sea of the capital of the Ptolemaic state. The sea could pose the greatest threat to Egypt, which was naturally defended by the desert from enemy attacks on land.

It was precisely to detect the enemy at a considerable distance from the coast that an observation post of considerable height was required. This was especially true in view of the absence of any natural heights near Alexandria on which such observation posts could be organized.

The construction of such a grandiose structure required significant intellectual, financial and manpower resources that would have been difficult to attract in a turbulent wartime. However, by the beginning of the 3rd century. BC NS. there was a favorable environment for the start of construction. At this time, having assumed 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 Poliorketes 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 on the island of Faros began. It is rather difficult to give the exact date of construction. They are called 290, 285, etc. years BC

Pharos island in 285 BC was connected by a dam with the mainland, which greatly facilitated the 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 precise 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 composed of marble blocks fastened with mortar mixed with lead.

The base of the lighthouse had a powerful foundation in the form of a square made of granite or limestone with a side length of about 180 - 190 m. On this site there was a palace or a 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 carriage could climb up.

The second tier was erected in the form 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 at the world. A fire burned on the landing below him. There is evidence that from ships one could see the light of this lighthouse at a distance of sixty, or even a hundred kilometers.

Inside the two upper floors, there was a shaft with a lifting mechanism that made it possible to deliver fuel for a fire to the very top.

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

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

For almost 1000 years, the Alexandria lighthouse pointed the way to ships. Earthquakes destroyed it little by little. In 1183, he still towered on the island, 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 is not enough eyes to take a look at it, and there are not enough words to tell about the greatness of this spectacle!" By the 12th century, the Bay of Alexandria was so filled with silt that ships could no longer use it. The lighthouse fell into disrepair. In the XIV century, it was completely destroyed by an earthquake. In 1480, the Mamluk Sultan Kayt Bey built a fortress on the foundation of the lighthouse, which received the name of its creator. This fortress still stands today.

about the lighthouse of Alexandria

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 at various ends of his immense empire. Almost all of these cities disappeared without a trace. And only Egyptian Alexandria flourished for centuries and continues to thrive to this day.

The lighthouse was created by the architect Sostratus from Knidia. Ptolemy II, who inherited the throne after his father Ptolemy Soter, wished that only his royal name be engraved on the stones, and that he was honored as the creator of the Alexandria lighthouse. Sostratus, proud of his creation, found a way to perpetuate his name. He embossed such an inscription on stone wall: "Sostratus, the son of Dexiphon, a Cnidian, dedicated to the gods-saviors for the health of the navigators!", Then covered this inscription with a layer of plaster, and on top he wrote the name of Ptolemy. 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. The walls of Babylon were considered the second wonder of the world before its construction. When the lighthouse was erected, contemporaries were so impressed by this outstanding structure that the walls of Babylon were simply deleted from the list of the Seven Wonders of the World and added the lighthouse to it as the latest, newest miracle.

The news of the Miracle spread all over the world, and the lighthouse was called by the name of the island of Pharos, or simply - Pharos. Later, the word "pharos", as a designation for a lighthouse, was fixed in many languages (French, Spanish, Romanian).

And in Russian, the word "headlight" comes from him.

Where is the island of Faros. Alexandrian lighthouse. A brief description of the wonder of the world, where it is located, interesting facts. Polished bronze mirrors