Never underestimate the power of ego or indeed its shadow, low self esteem. Alexander the Great, if his name is anything to go by probably fits snugly into that category. Just like ‘Pinky and the Brian’ he had plans to try to take over the world… In the meagre 32 years that he walked the earth, he amassed one of the biggest empires in history. It’s no wonder that the Lighthouse of Alexandria is deemed one of the ancient seven wonders of the world.
He started a good many cities during the course of his rule. As a pat on the back to himself, he named many of these cities Alexandria, possibly as many as 17. Just in case. Like their master, most of these did not last long.
One of them, did however become a thriving city, albeit under the rule of one of his successors, Ptolemy, and still exists today. It is Alexandria in Egypt.
As trade to and from the city grew, it merited the construction of a lighthouse. Passing ships would know they had reached their goal when the impossibly tall building came into sight. At night, mirrors reflected the light from the flames within and could be seen from miles away. Powerful enough, the superstitious believed, to set fire to boats that came too close.
The tower was built just off the coast of Alexandria on the small island of Pharos. It stood 450 feet tall with a statue of Poseidon at its peak. The name of the island became synonymous with the lighthouse and it lent its name to current nomenclature in Italian, Spanish and a couple other languages.
As with almost all the other 7 wonders of the ancient world, nothing remains of the original structure. If you are going to be building a wonder, make sure it can withstand an earthquake and a flood while you are at it. Sostratus, the designer of the towering building came close. The sturdy blocks used to erect the lighthouse made watertight with liquefied lead to withstand the maritime conditions. The engineering was superb. The construction was divided into three sections, the bottom being the strongest and largest, with subsequent sections being lighter and smaller. It survived not one but two earthquakes until finally a third shook it down to a pile of rubble.
When life gives you lemons, as the trite cliché goes, make lemonade. The blocks were there, so the Sultan of Egypt had them rearranged into a fort, right on top of the existing site.
In more recent times, divers managed to retrieve blocks from the original tower. Still more lie undersea and the underwater ruins are accessible to the so inclined.
Ptolemy number one kicked the project off and his son, Ptolemy number next saw it through to completion. If the gossip is true, then despite strict instruction not to leave his mark on the building, Sostratus had the phrase “Sostratus of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, to the Gods protecting those upon the sea” chiselled into the stone but then plastered up and Ptolemy’s name embedded in the new surface. After a century or two had passed, the plaster gave way and Sostratus had his revenge posthumously. Nothing like giving it to your boss, even if you have to wait a few hundred years…
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