Preview

The Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
874 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria

Ben Davis

Thesis Statement: The Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria earns its place among the Seven Wonders of the World because of the engineering and building expertise required to make the tallest lighthouse, ever, in the world.

Honors World History
Mrs. Hunt
14 September 2012

Alexandria was a major city of trade during the 2nd to 4th centuries B.C. Named after the famed military leader, Alexander the Great, it was situated on the western end of the Nile delta, next to the Mediterranean Sea. Following Alexander the Great’s death, Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt, decided to build a lighthouse like no other. The end result earns its place among the 7 Wonders of the World. The Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria earns its place among the Seven Wonders of the World because of the engineering and building expertise required to make the tallest lighthouse, ever, in the world.
The debate still rages on the actual height of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. One of the lowest estimates is 384 feet. Even this low figure puts it at the second tallest of all time. Two of the most credible accounts comes from Moorish travelers Idrisi and Yusuf Ibn al-Shaikh that states the lighthouse is 300 cubits high. This puts the range anywhere from 450 ft to 600 ft. This is due to the inconsistency in the actual measure of a cubit, which can range from 17” to 24”. Because of its geographical location and the time of the observation, it is logical to assume they were using the Egyptian Royal cubit, which has been preserved on ancient rulers measured in cubits. This cubit is approximately 20.6 inches long, so that would make it 515 feet high, over 55 stories high. The only other lighthouse jockeying for the top spot is the Jeddah Light, in Saudi Arabia, at 438 feet. The fact that over two millennia ago these engineers and builders were able to beat modern technology shows the Lighthouse at Alexandria deserves to be included in the Seven



References: " World Wide Flood. World Wide Flood, 07 July, 2012 . Web. 14 Sep 2012. <http://www.worldwideflood.com/ark/noahs_cubit/cubit_references.htm>.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only wonder of the ancient world still in existence.…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Great Sphinx of Egypt

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages

    I will write my research paper on the structure of The Great Sphinx of Egypt located near the deserts of Giza. I will describe the structures formal attributes (forms), appearance (decoration), and the impetuses underlying its design. Finally, I will state: How and why has a building changed over time?…

    • 1728 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Almost every religion in the world has a story about the “Great Flood” which destroys the earth, and each teaches its followers a different story about this disaster. While the Babylonians have the story of Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Judeo Christians have Noah from the Bible. Both men save a few people and many animals. In these stories, Noah and Utnapishtim seem to have similar situations, but a further analysis shows how truly different the two stories are.…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Legends of untold riches and beauty are popular with people because the possibility of achieving said greatness excites the masses. The lost city of Atlantis is one of the more popular legends, and it originated from a few pages in Timaeus and Critias, two of the famous “dialogues” written by Greek philosopher Plato in the fourth century B.C. Existing 9,000 years before his time, Plato described Atlantis as a great naval power and utopian island kingdom that mysteriously disappeared into the sea over the course of a single day. There are several theories regarding Atlantis and its possible whereabouts.…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Fairchilds, Mary. "Noah 's Ark and the Flood - Bible Story Summary." About.com. 29 August 2010 .…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Alexandria was built on the foundation of knowledge and intellect, with some of the greatest minds in the fields of Philosophy and Astronomy behind the operation. Alexandria was the birthplace of some of history’s most influential people and the ideas that accompanied them. The ideas of these influential people, such as Herophilus and his discovery of the human organs, and Aristarchus with his idea of a heliocentric universe, have been carried down for centuries and will never be forgotten. Alexandria was home to the incredible library and museum where some of the world’s greatest thinkers pondered and hypothesized the abstracts and ideas that were foreign to their time. Along with all of these historical facts about Alexandria, the city also houses one of the Seven Wonders of the World—the magnificent lighthouse, the Pharos. Alexandria, one of the most influential cities in the foundation of the modern world and a city whose “unique soul” (p. 1) has been overlooked by history. But, through The Rise and Fall of Alexandria, readers are able to experience the climb to knowledge and intellect, as well as the rise and fall of this “most extraordinary city on earth” (p. 176).…

    • 1514 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Most biblical historians and theological scholars have determined that the Great Flood as told in Genesis occurred sometime around 2500BC. In Genesis 6 through 8 it tells of how God who became dissatisfied with the wickedness of mankind causes a flood in order to destroy mankind. Before the flood, however, God finds a righteous man and tells him to build an ark for his family and the animals of the earth in order for them to repopulate the Earth after the flood. The rains begin causing a flood that kills every living creature of the Earth except for those that are on the ark. Eventually, the rains stop, the flood waters finally recede, dry land is found allowing Noah and his family along with all of the animals to leave the ark.…

    • 1719 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Whether in Christianity in the form of Noah's Ark, or through Mesopotamian history in the form of an immortal, the idea of a great flood has proven to be a common story throughout the world. Though Noah's Ark may be the most popular form of the story, it is not the oldest. Many people believe Noah's Ark was based on Utnapishnem's flood story. The two stories are obviously based on the same thing, but one must wonder which one is true or which came first.…

    • 1571 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Epic of Gilgamesh vs Noah

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Although the narrative or story of Noah and the flood is one of the great stories in the Bible, many question its originality. The biblical version of the flood in Genesis 6-10 is “quite close in many respects to the Mesopotamian flood stories” (The New Oxford Annotated Bible pg 19), which were written beforehand. As much as they are similar, there are significant differences that distinguish the two tales and their reliability.…

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Great Pyramid

    • 1439 Words
    • 6 Pages

    There are many competing theories on why the great pyramid was built, none of them are definite but all of them are interesting. Many other pyramids have been built in the Middle East but none of the same stature. Other pyramids have been found to be burial chambers for various kings and pharaohs, but the Great Pyramid contained no burial remnants even though its essential design is the same as other pyramids, even containing special chambers for a king and a queen. (iii) Modern day scientists have discovered many interesting correlations between the location and dimensions of the Great Pyramid, that relate to the earth, the stars, and the seasons. (iv)…

    • 1439 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Alison Fong Ms. Wetzel English II Honors, Period 3 20 October 2014 Alexander the Great: The Military Genius Imagine crossing thousands of miles of scorching desert, rugged mountains and endless plains on both foot and horseback while commanding and maneuvering an army. Throughout history, there have been legends of heroes facing impossible trials. Alexander the Great is a legendary figure that did the impossible. Leading thousands of men across a continent is challenging enough on its own, but Alexander the Great took this challenge even further. He took the most demanding and laborious paths possible during his campaign to expand his empire, and he succeeded (Romey).…

    • 2296 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Many people don’t realize how alike the two flood stories actually are to each other. The main theme is the biggest similarity between the two. They also differ greatly because of the events that actually take place. In both stories, the number of days for the events are different, but the same basic event takes place. There are also many other similarities and differences as this is just one difference. The stories are very similar, but when comparing the details of each they are very different.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Amphora In Greek Art

    • 2405 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The precursor and codifier of Western culture as we know it today, the civilization of the Greek city-sates of the Peloponnese peninsula is renowned for its many pioneering works of art and architecture. From the Doryphoros to the famed Parthenon of Athens, the legacy that the ancient Greek civilization has left to Western culture and the world as a whole cannot be underestimated. Of particular interest are two pieces of art from an age before Alexander: a black-figure panel amphora made in the sixth century BCE, and a funerary relief figure of a young man carved circa fourth century BCE. A closer look at the seemingly more unobtrusive details such as the iconography, purpose, style, and even historical positions of these two works reveals…

    • 2405 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ancient world is full of mysteries, yet beauty that was preserved by the phenomenon of science. In the Neolithic era there was no advance technology that we know of to move stones weighing 50 ton in order to arrange them in a specific location which is now known as Stonehenge. The next wonder that will be explored is the Nile which is the longest river in the world. During the period of the Minoan civilization the myth of Atlantis was in the center of this time period. The last wonder that will be explored is the Parthenon. This facility suffered severely from destruction, but has rich history especially to multiple religious populations.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    * Austin, M.M. "Alexander the Great: The Foundation of Alexandria." Alexander the Great. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_t10.html>.…

    • 1332 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics