Things to Know About the Ancient Alexandrian Lighthouse Pharos

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Things to Know About the Ancient Alexandrian Lighthouse Pharos

05 16, 2023

Alexandria's lighthouse glowed for over a millennium before collapsing. From the third century BC until the Middle Ages, mariners have been led by the Alexandria lighthouse, which stands watch over the harbor of the city that Alexander the Great established.

The Seven Wonders of the ancient world had many different uses. Some were decorative like the hanging gardens of Babylon. Others, such as the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, had a spiritual function. The lighthouse of Alexandria, besides being beautiful and functional, served a practical purpose: for centuries, its serene light led ships to port in the Egyptian night, thus placing the city at the center of the Mediterranean trade routes.

Alexander the Great founded the city that bears his name in 331 BC while he was travelling through northern Egypt with a handful of men. Barely three years had passed since the beginning of his Persian campaign and the Macedonian king already controlled the eastern Mediterranean coast. On the delta of the Nile, he decided to found a port that would perpetuate its maritime influence while replacing the Phoenician city of Tyre (which he had just razed) in its role as a strategic trading place. He soon found the perfect place for his new city: a territory connected to the Nile by the westernmost arm of the river and protected by Lake Mariout in the south.

The location of the lighthouse was carefully chosen. Off Alexandria, there was the small island of Pharos. It was an integral part of Greek culture since it is here that Menelaus (one of the Greek warriors of the Iliad and the Odyssey) ran aground on returning from the Trojan War. According to Plutarch, Homer appeared in a dream to Alexander the Great to quote him the verses he had composed about the island: On the wave of waves, at the mouth of Egypt, some islands rise; it is called Pharos. [... ] There is a good port, [...]. When he woke up, Alexander set out to find this island, and when he discovered it, he exclaimed, "Homer, this wonderful poet, is also the most skilled architect!"

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Alexandria was a very special place long ago. People loved to visit because it had three amazing things. One was a really tall lighthouse that was one of the most amazing things in the world at that time. Another was a huge library with lots of books, the biggest library in the whole world back then. And the last thing was a special underground place called catacombs, which were very impressive and also very old.

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