The Pharos Lighthouse in Alexandria: Second Sun and Seventh Wonder of Antiquity (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies)

REVIEW BY SG The Pharos lighthouse was a feat of ancient engineering. For 16 centuries, its light guided ships through the hazardous rocks safely into Alexandria’s harbour, before finally toppling after a series of earthquakes in the early 14th century AD. How many modern-day structures will survive that long? And yet the lighthouse is little studied in modern times, and its architect is hardly known. Andrew Michael Chugg sets out to research and reconstruct the Pharos, and resurrect the reputation of Sostratus of Cnidus, whom he describes as a ‘Renaissance man’, renowned for his military engineering and architectural innovations, and who deserves to be as famous as his contemporary