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The Lighthouse of Alexandria- Historical Truth or Myth?

Historians say that The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders. I, however, say that we barely know if it even existed as described. So, are we really marveling at a lighthouse, or at a myth? 


The Lighthouse of Alexandria was located on the small island of Pharos in the harbor of Alexandria, Egypt. It was one of the last of the original Seven Wonders to be destroyed, after multiple earthquakes, subsequently being turned into a medical fort around 1480 by the Sultan of Egypt. It supposedly employed polished bronze mirrors to reflect sunlight during the day and firelight at night. We are told it was a marvel of ancient engineering, an architectural and technological achievement ahead of its time, but how much of this is evidence, and how much is a myth?


Most of what we "know" about the Lighthouse comes from ancient writers, including Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Lucian, and Josephus- some of whom were eyewitnesses, although descriptions vary considerably: 

  • Strabo mentions it in passing, noting its usefulness for sailors.

  • Pliny the Elder cites the architect as Sostratus of Cnidus, but Strabo contradicts this, saying Sostratus merely financed the project.

  • Arab historians, writing centuries later, such as al-Masudi and al-Idrisi, described the lighthouse in more detail, but their accounts blend folklore with observation, including tales of magical mirrors and inscribed secrets.


Even the most cited figure, the height, is inconsistent in estimates, which range from 100 to 140 meters– a 40% discrepancy. This is the difference between a modern 30-story building and a skyscraper. Archaeological interpretations suggest a three-tiered design: a square base, an octagonal midsection, and a cylindrical top. But ancient coins, mosaics, and traveler accounts show conflicting imagery, with some depicting a simpler structure and others depicting a tall tower with flames or statues on top. No accurate, contemporary architectural drawings exist.


Some historians suggest that most of what is known about the Pharos stems from post-Classical reconstructions or visual interpretations produced during the Islamic Golden Age, long after the structure had been turned to rubble by earthquakes. 


In the 1990s, French archaeologist Jean-Yves Empereur led subaquatic excavations near the former island of Pharos. The archeological team uncovered massive stone blocks, columns, and statues submerged in the harbor which were the likely remains of the lighthouse. These finds, whilst dramatic, are not conclusive evidence of the structure’s entire scale. Earthquakes in 956, 1303, and 1323 are believed to have caused its collapse, and in the 15th century, Sultan Qaitbay repurposed the site as a military fort. The fort is still in place today, believed to contain reused materials from the original lighthouse. While Empereur’s discoveries do indeed prove the existence of a large structure there, they do not confirm the more legendary aspects such as the enormous height, mirrored beams, or extensive mechanical development.


One dramatic aspect which has yet to be confirmed is the existence of a sun-reflecting mirror visible for 50 kilometers. Physically, such a feat requires extremely precise engineering, materials capable of high reflectivity, and an understanding of optics not confirmed in the ancient world. The concept of such a mirror is by far not impossible as Archimedes is often credited with using mirrors to set Roman ships on fire. However, the scale necessary for the Pharos’ mirror to guide ships miles out to sea is, by modern engineering standards, improbable. Additionally, there are no surviving ancient texts describing the mechanics of how the light was projected or maintained. 


Most scholars agree that the Lighthouse of Alexandria did exist and it likely did so for over a millennium. Its inclusion in ancient lists of wonders and its symbolic importance for maritime trade in the Eastern Mediterranean just serve to prove its historical significance. On the other hand, many also argue that what survives today is more mythologized memory than objective fact. In his analysis, professor Jona Lendering suggests that later Islamic descriptions brought a sense of folklore to a Romanized structure already fallen into disrepair. The lighthouse has thus become a palimpsest of cultural pride, be it Ptolemaic, Roman, or Arab-Egyptian, with each culture adding their own imagined glory to what was once just a really tall tower guiding ships to port.


So what was it, really? A lighthouse? A military outpost? A monument to ambition? Or a grand tale we’ve embellished for centuries?


The Lighthouse of Alexandria survives less as a structure and more as an idea. Whether or not it gleamed across the sea or shot imaginary beams of sunlight like some proto-laser, it persists because it flatters us. It lets us believe we once reached such heights and that we could again. In the end, the Lighthouse did not just reflect light. It reflected our desire to mythologize human achievement, our longing to see the past as glorious, and our tendency to blur the line between history and hope.


Cartwright, M. (2018, July 24). Lighthouse of Alexandria. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Lighthouse_of_Alexandria/

Clayton, P. A., & Price, M. (2015). The seven wonders of the ancient world. Routledge.

Empereur, J.-Y. (n.d.). “The Pharos of Alexandria: An Ancient Beacon Resurfaces.” Archaeology, vol. 49(no. 3), pp. 42–49.

Kitab Nuzhat Al Mushtaq Fi Ikhtiraq Al Afaq. 2.2 Watermark : Abū ʿabd Allāh Muḥammad Ibn Muḥammad Ibn ʿabd Allāh Ibn Idrīs Al-ḥammūdī Al-ḥasanī Al-idrīsī, 1100-1166. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (2022). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/kitab-nuzhat-al-mushtaq-fi-ikhtiraq-al-afaq.-2.2-watermark/page/n1/mode/2up

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Pharos of Alexandria - Lighthouse of Alexandria - Vici.org. (2015, July 12). Vici.org. https://vici.org/vici/21221/?lang=fr

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK XXXVI. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF STONES., CHAP. 18.—THE PHAROS.(2025) https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D36%3Achapter%3D18

Pliny the Elder, Natural History : English translation. (n.d.). Www.attalus.org. https://www.attalus.org/info/pliny_hn.html

Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. (2020). Lighthouse (Pharos) of Alexandria - Greco-Roman Period Monuments. https://egyptianmuseum.org/explore/greco-and-roman-period-lighthouse-alexandria

Strabo, Geography, books 1-17 in 8 volumes (Loeb Classical Library) : Horace Leonard

Jones : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (2013). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/Strabo08Geography17AndIndex/Strabo%2001%20Geography%201-2/

Wilson, A. (2006). THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN THE ROMAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.


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