The Pharos,  the great lighthouse of Alexandria, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It stood on the island of Pharos,  in the harbor of the city of Alexandria. In 290 B. C,  Ptolemy I Soter,  the ruler of Egypt,  ordered the building of the lighthouse. Twenty years later, it was finished the first lighthouse in the world and the tallest building on Earth,  besides the Great Pyramid of Egypt.

The Pharos was designed by Sostrates,  a Greek architect. Sostrates wanted to leave his name on the base of the lighthouse. But Ptolemy refused, ordering that only his own name appear on the building. But Sostrates found a way to do that. At the base of the Pharos,  Sostrates left a message containing his own name. Then he covered it with plaster and left Ptolemy’s name over it. After many years,  the plaster disappeared and people knew the true architect of the lighthouse.

In 1302 and 1323, two strong earthquakes hit Alexandria, damaging the lighthouse. In 1326,  it finally fell into the sea. Much of what we know about the lighthouse comes from the writings of Arabs who once visited the Pharos.

The Pharos was about 384 feet tall, the same height as a modern 40-story building. At the top of the lighthouse stood a large statue of Poseidon,  the Greek god of the sea. The Pharos used two kinds of beacons. At night,  a large fire created the light. During the day, a huge mirror made use of the sunlight to create the light.

It was said that the mirror was also used to set enemy ships on fire as they entered the harbor by directing the sun’s rays (sunlight) at them. While the idea is interesting,  it is also clearly impossible.