The Lighthouse at Alexandria

Artist's impression of The Pharos, (lighthouse) at Alexandria

The Pharos of Alexandria is the most famous lighthouse in antiquity. All that remains of it is the word 'Pharos' that became the root of the word "lighthouse" in the French, Italian, Spanish and Romanian languages. It was a technological triumph and is the archetype of all lighthouses since. Built by Sostratus of Cnidus for Ptolemy II of Egypt in about 280 BC on the island of Pharos in the harbour of Alexandria, it is said to have been more than 350 feet (110 m) high. The lighthouse was built in three stages, all sloping slightly inward; the lowest was square, the next octagonal, and the top cylindrical. A broad spiral ramp led to the top, where a fire burned at night. The lighthouse was surmounted by a huge statue, probably representing either Alexander the Great or Ptolemy I Soter in the form of the sun god Helios. Though it was well-known earlier, the Pharos does not appear in any list of wonders until the 6th century AD (the earliest list gives the walls of Babylon instead). In the Middle Ages the Arabs replaced the beacon with a small mosque. The Pharos was still standing in the 12th century, although by 1477 the Mamluk sultan Qa`it Bay was able to build a fort from its ruins.