thumb|right|225px|The Lighthouse of Alexandriathumb|right|225px|The [[Abusir (Lake Mariout)|Pharos of Abusir, an ancient funerary monument thought to be modelled after the Pharos at Alexandria, with which it is approximately contemporaneous]]
thumb|225px|Scale Replica constructed in 2005 at the Window of the World Cultural Park, in Shenzhen,Guangdong, Chinathumb|225px|[[Sheraton Hotel in Batumi, Georgia]]

The Lighthouse of Alexandria, also known as the Pharos of Alexandria, was a tower built between 280 and 247 BC on the island of Pharos at Alexandria, Egypt to guide sailors into the harbour at night. With a height variously estimated at between , it was for many centuries among the tallest man-made structures, and was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

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thumb|267px|left|Three-dimensional reconstruction based on a comprehensive 2006 study

History

Pharos was a small island just off the coast of Alexandria, which was connected to the mainland by a man-made causeway named the Heptastadion, which formed one side of the city's harbor. The tower erected on the island guided mariners at night using fire and reflective mirrors, and acted as a landmark by day. It was said that the light could seen from up to away, and legends claim that the light from Pharos could burn enemy ships before they reached shore.

Legend also holds that Ptolemy would not allow Sostratus to put his name on the tower, but the architect left the following inscription on the base's walls nonetheless:

Sostratus of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, to the Gods protecting those upon the sea. [ΣΟΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ ΔΕΞΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΚΝΙΔΙΟΣ ΘΕΟΙΣ ΣΩΤΕΡΣΙΝ ΥΠΕΡ ΤΩΝ ΠΛΩΙΖΟΜΕΝΩΝ]

These words were hidden under a layer of plaster, on top of which was chiseled another inscription honoring Ptolemy the king as builder of the Pharos. After centuries the plaster wore away, revealing the name of Sostratus.

The lighthouse was badly damaged in the earthquake of 956, and in the earthquakes of 1303 and 1323 was damaged to the extent that the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta reported no longer being able to enter the ruin. Even the stubby remnant disappeared in 1480, when the then-Sultan of Egypt, Qaitbay, built a medieval fort – the Citadel of Qaitbay – on the site of the lighthouse, using some of the fallen stone.

Description

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' masonry blocks were interlocked, sealed together using molten lead, to withstand the pounding of the waves.Beaver, Patrick (1971). A History of Lighthouses. London: Peter Davies Ltd, pp. 10–11. ISBN 0-432-01290-7.
The fullest description of the lighthouse comes from the Arab traveller Abou Haggag Youssef Ibn el-Andaloussi, who visited the structure in 1165 AD:

Recent archaeological research

Divers discovered remains of the lighthouse in autumn 1994 on the floor of Alexandria's Eastern Harbour. Some of these remains were brought up and were lying at the harbour on public view at the end of 1995. An episode of the PBS television series Nova chronicled the discovery. Subsequent satellite imaging has revealed further remains. It is possible to go diving and see the ruins.

Significance

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

In 2008 it was suggested that the Pharos was the vertical yardstick used in the first precise measurement of the size of the earth.

In popular culture

Architecture

• A well-preserved ancient tomb in the town of Abusir, southwest of Alexandria, is thought to be a scaled-down model of the Alexandria Pharos. Known colloquially under various names – the Pharos of Abusir, the Abusir funerary monument and Burg al-Arab (Arab's Tower) – it consists of a 3-story tower, approximately in height, with a square base, a hexagonal midsection and cylindrical upper section, like the building upon which it was apparently modelled. It dates to the reign of Ptolemy II (285–246 BC), and is therefore likely to have been built at about the same time as the Alexandria Pharos.

• The design of minarets in many early Egyptian Islamic mosques followed a similar three-stage design to that of the Pharos, attesting to the building's broader architectural influence.

• A scale replica of the Lighthouse of Alexandria was constructed in the Window of the World Cultural Park in Shenzhen, China.

Film

• In the 1963 epic film Cleopatra, the lighthouse appears briefly in the one long shot of Alexandria when Julius Caesar is approaching the city.

Books

• The enduring memory of the lighthouse is reflected in literature. It was described at length in the Zhufan Zhi (諸蕃志, "Records of Foreign Peoples") by Zhao Rugua (1170–1228), a Chinese customs inspector for the port city of Quanzhou during the Song Dynasty.

Games

• Final Fantasy XII included a location called The Pharos at Ridorana'' based on the Pharos at Alexandria.