Alexandrian lighthouse
In 285 BC. e. the island was connected to the shore by an artificial dam about 750 meters long. The construction of the lighthouse was commissioned famous architect Sostratus of Cnidus. He enthusiastically set to work, and five years later the three-story tower, about 120 meters high, was completed. The first floor in the form of a square was built of large slabs. Its walls, about 30.5 meters long, were facing the four cardinal points - north, east, south and west. The second floor was an octagonal tower faced with marble slabs and oriented in the direction of the eight main winds. A round lantern on the third floor was crowned with a dome, on which stood a seven-meter bronze statue of the god of the seas, Poseidon.
Alexandrian lighthouse.
Alexandrian lighthouse
In 332-331 BC. Tsar Alexander the Great in the Nile Delta founded Alexandria, which became the capital of Hellenistic Egypt. The city was remarkable because it was built according to a single plan. The richest quarters were Brucheion - a quarter of palaces, gardens, parks and royal tombs. There was also the tomb of Alexander the Great, whose body was brought from Babylon, where he died in 323 BC. The fame of Alexandria was also greatly facilitated by the world-famous Museion (temple of the muses) - a place for scientific studies and an educational refuge for scientists working in various branches of science. Museion became the center of scientific life in the brilliant Egyptian capital, something like an academy of sciences.
Lighthouse of Alexandria on the island of Pharos
Mathematics and mechanics developed especially successfully in Alexandria. Here lived and worked such outstanding scientists as the mathematician Euclid, who outlined the foundations of geometry in his work "Elements", and the inventor Heron of Alexandria, much ahead of his time. He created a variety of machines and built a device, in fact, a very real steam engine.
Sometimes the creations of scientists amazed the imagination of their contemporaries. One of these miracles was Alexandrian lighthouse... It was built on a cliff overlooking east coast Pharos Islands. Due to shoals, pitfalls, sediments and sediments at the bottom of the sea, ships went to the harbors of Alexandria very carefully.
The height of the Alexandria lighthouse
In 285 BC. e. the island was connected to the shore by an artificial dam about 750 meters long. The construction of the lighthouse was entrusted to the famous architect Sostratus of Cnidus. He enthusiastically set to work, and five years later the three-story tower, about 120 meters high, was completed.
- The first floor in the form of a square was built of large slabs. Its walls, about 30.5 meters long, were facing the four cardinal points - north, east, south and west.
- The second floor was an octagonal tower faced with marble slabs and oriented in the direction of the eight main winds.
- A round lantern on the third floor was crowned with a dome, on which stood a seven-meter bronze statue of the god of the seas, Poseidon.
The dome rested on eight polished granite columns. A lighthouse fire burned here. Its light intensified, reflected in a system of metal mirrors. The sailors saw him from afar, 60 kilometers away. Fuel for the fire was delivered upstairs on donkeys along a gentle spiral staircase.
Some researchers believe that there was an elevator inside the building that lifted firewood and people serving Alexandrian lighthouse.
The lighthouse was also a fortress. There was a large garrison here. In the underground part of the tower, in case of a siege, there was a huge cistern for drinking water. Alexandrian lighthouse served also as an observation post - an ingenious system of mirrors made it possible to observe from the top of the tower for maritime space and spot enemy ships long before they sailed to the city.
The octagonal tower was decorated with numerous bronze statues that served as weather vane or equipped with various mechanisms. Travelers told miracles about the statues.
One of them seemed to always point her hand at the Sun along the entire path of its movement in the sky and lowered her hand when it went down. The other beat every hour, day and night. It was as if there was such a statue, which pointed with its hand at the sea if an enemy fleet appeared on the horizon, and issued a warning cry when the enemy ships approached the harbor.
Alexandria lighthouse - wonder of the world
The Pharos lighthouse stood until the XIV century. By 1326, when it was finally destroyed by an earthquake, the height of the lighthouse was no more than 30 meters, that is, a quarter of the original height. But even in this form, this monument of ancient architecture aroused the admiration of Arab authors (in 640, Alexandria was conquered by the Arabs).
The remains of the tower's high pedestal have survived to this day, but they are completely unacceptable for architects and archaeologists, since they turned out to be built into a medieval Arab fortress.
In ancient times, all lighthouses began to be called the word "pharos". The memory of the miracle of construction technology has come down to us in the word "headlight".
The Alexandria Lighthouse is one of the oldest engineering structures of mankind. It was built between 280 and 247 BC. e. on the island of Pharos, located ...
From Masterweb
22.05.2018 02:00The Alexandria Lighthouse is one of the oldest engineering structures of mankind. It was built between 280 and 247 BC. e. 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 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
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 during the day.
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 sides about 30 meters long. 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 should have been 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, 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 this 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
During the construction of the lighthouse, the king of Alexandria was Ptolemy I Soter, a talented ruler, under whom the city turned into a thriving commercial 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 the 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 the prescribed praises to the king were carved.
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 Lighthouse of Alexandria.
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. Another figure was fitted with a clock mechanism that 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.
A short description of the Alexandria lighthouse, made by his contemporaries, could not convey the secrets of the structure of these statues or an approximate diagram of the ramp through which 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 gradually became shallower due to the large amount of 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 by insufficient funding and natural disasters, there is another interesting hypothesis about the causes of the destruction of the lighthouse.
According to this theory, the blame was the enormous military significance 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.
Recovery possibility
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 ceased, and only 100 years later the ruler of Egypt, Qayt 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 exists to this day.
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 discovered a whole quarter of ancient Alexandria, the existence of which scientists had not previously suspected. Remains of many ancient structures have been preserved under the water. There is even a hypothesis that one of the buildings found 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, they plan 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 ancient history could see the ruins of the ancient royal quarter.
Kievyan street, 16 0016 Armenia, Yerevan +374 11 233 255
After the conquest of Egypt, Alexander the Great founded a city named after him by Alexandria. The city began to actively develop and flourish, and became a major center of sea trade. Soon there was an urgent need for the construction of the Alexandria lighthouse.
Alexandrian lighthouse. Information and interesting facts
The site for the lighthouse was the island of Pharos, located 1290 meters from Alexandria. The construction of the Pharos lighthouse, which later became the seventh wonder of the world, was supervised by the architect Sostratus, the son of Dexiphanes of Cnidus.
A dam was built to ensure the supply of building materials to the island. The construction itself was carried out to measure the 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 classic 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 accommodate workers and guards, storerooms for fuel and food.
The middle tier of the Pharos 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 vane.
The upper tier of a cylindrical shape played just the role of a lantern. It was surrounded by eight columns, covered with a dome-cone. The top of the dome of the Pharos lighthouse was decorated with a seven-meter statue of Isis-Faria (the patron saint of seafarers). A powerful lamp was projected using a system of concave metal mirrors. There is a long-standing controversy over the delivery of fuel to the top of the Alexandria Lighthouse. Some suggest that the delivery was carried out using hoisting mechanisms along the inner shaft, while others say that the hoisting was carried out using mules along a spiral ramp.
There was also an underground part in the lighthouse, where the supplies of drinking water for the garrison were located. It is worth mentioning that the lighthouse also served as a fortress guarding the sea route to Alexandria. The Pharos lighthouse itself was even surrounded by a powerful fence with bastions and loopholes.
In the XIV century, the wonder of the world, the Pharos lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake. Currently about appearance 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 on the seabed.
Lighthouse on roman coins
A hundred years after the destruction in its place, Sultan Qayt-Bey built a fort. And now there are initiators who want to reconstruct the Pharos lighthouse, in the place where it was originally located - on the island of Pharos. But the Egyptian authorities do not want to consider these projects yet, and the Kait Bey fortress continues to guard the place of the former great structure of antiquity.
Fortress Kite Bay
Tower on Foros, salvation for the Greeks,
Sostrat Deksifanov,
The architect from Cnidus, erected,
O Lord Proteus!
Posidippus .
We are now transported to the delta Nileto see the seventh wonder of the world. But to find 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 |
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 Troadskaya, Alexandria near the Tigris (later Antioch), Alexandria Bactrian, Alexandria Armenian, Alexandria Caucasian, Alexandria" on the edge of the world " and many others. In 332 BC. he founded 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 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 (alexander's sarcophagus was ordered by his commander Ptolemy to be placed in the royal palace in Alexandria, in that part of it, which 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 X
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 advent 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 the Alexandrian culture. 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
II Philadelphia (285 - 246 BC) and Ptolemy
III Everget (246 - 221 BC) Descendants of the Macedonian courtier Lagagained tremendous power over millions of people. They were real pharaohs. They certainly waged bloody wars with other heirs of the Great Alexander, but they also made a great contribution to the development of Hellenic culture. For example: PtolemyI 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 PtolemyI was opened here Alexandria mousseion ("Temple of the Muses") - one of the main scientific and cultural centers the ancient world, and with him the no less famous Alexandrian Library, in which there were almost 700 thousand volumes of Greek and Oriental books (most of the books of which were acquired under PtolemyII Philadelphia). Under the mousseion, scientists lived and worked, who were supported by the state. PtolemyI 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 island Pharos... He described him to us Strabo in 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 of 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 Knidus ( hanging structure similar). It is also known that Sostratus was an experienced diplomat.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria stood for about 1,500 years, helping to navigate the Mediterranean "cybernetos", so the ancient Greeks called the helmsmen. 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. And already at the beginning of the XIV century, the population began to dismantle it for building materials, just like the Roman 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.
Note! The copyright for this article belongs to its author. Any reprinting of an article without the permission of the author is a violation of his copyright and is prosecuted by law, when using the materials of the blog, a link to the blog is required.
The Seven Wonders of the World is a list of the most famous landmarks of the ancient world. The Lighthouse of Alexandria is rightfully called one of them - this is the last of the classic wonders of antiquity. Basic information and interesting Facts about this structure, its creation, functions and sad fate can be found on the Internet (as well as a photo of the reconstructed lighthouse), but the impressions of historical siteseen with my own eyes cannot be compared with anything.
The history of the lighthouse on the island of Pharos is strongly associated with the founding in 332 AD one of the most beautiful cities the ancient world - Alexandria, named after the great conqueror Alexander the Great. For all the time of his campaigns, he managed to found about 17 cities with the same name, but only Alexandria in Egypt managed to survive to our time.
Founding of Alexandria
Alexander the Great approached the choice of a place for the future city with great responsibility. He did not want to locate it in the Nile Delta, so he decided to start construction a little further south, not far from Lake Mareotis. It was planned that there will be two ports in Alexandria - one for merchant ships coming from Mediterranean Seathe 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 the time of prosperity for Alexandria - it became the largest shipping port. In 290 BC, Ptolemy ordered to build a huge lighthouse on the island of Pharos, which would facilitate the way for sailors at night and in bad weather.
Construction of the Pharos lighthouse
The construction of the Alexandria lighthouse began in the 4th century BC. It is believed that this masterpiece of architectural thought was built by Sostratus, a native of Cnidia. Construction works lasted over 20 years. The Lighthouse of Alexandria is the first building of this type in the world and the tallest structure of the ancient world. This is the answer to the question why the Pharos lighthouse is included in the seven wonders of the world. This magnificent skyscraper was a symbol of power and might, prosperity and greatness, like light in darkness.
The height of the Alexandria Lighthouse is about 600 feet, or 135 meters. At the same time, it looked somewhat different than most of the architectural monuments of that time. It was a three-tiered building with a square at the base, the walls of which were erected from slabs of marble, joined together with a solution with the addition of lead.
We bring to your attention interesting facts about the Alexandria lighthouse, which is part 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 Pharos 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 building, in addition to metal reflecting plates, there were also interesting technical devices of that time - clockwork mechanisms, weather vanes and much more.
- After the completion of the construction, Sostratus of Cnidus carved his name in one of the walls, and then covered it with plaster and wrote the name of Ptolemy I Soter on it. The architect was well aware that the plaster will wear off over time, and the stone will keep the name of the real creator of the lighthouse for centuries.
The Alexandria lighthouse 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 was also a very prominent and popular attraction.
The fate of the Alexandria lighthouse
The lighthouse on the island of Pharos has illuminated the sailors' journey for one and a half millennia. But, unfortunately, he was powerless before the forces of nature. Quite strong tremors in 356, 956 and 1303 AD inflicted severe damage on it, and an earthquake in 1326 finally destroyed the seventh wonder of the world - the Alexandria lighthouse. His remains were taken apart by Muslims to build their fortress. They were discovered many centuries later - in 1994, and later the image of the building was restored using computer modeling. But such photos are still not able to convey the greatness and power that the Pharos lighthouse possessed.
A hundred years after the destruction on the site of the Alexandria lighthouse, a powerful fort was erected to protect Alexandria from the sea. It has survived and exists in our time - now it houses the Alexandria Historical Museum.
