CHAPTER XXI
THE PHAROS OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE MAUSOLEUM OF HALICARNASSUS
PLAY that you are Sostratus of Cnidus, a great architect, and that you live in the city of Alexandria, on the coast of Egypt. Here there is a King called Ptolemy, who desires you to erect a building different from any ever known; he wants something grand, original and unique, an immense structure adapted to an entirely new purpose. You must make it of white stone and do your very best, for you are to have the honor of building the “Pharos of Alexandria,”
The First Lighthouse Ever Known
Think what that means: When it is finished the people from other countries will see your Pharos and wonder why it never occurred to them to build a lighthouse, and they will hurry to erect similar structures on their coasts, that sailors on all the seas may have guides in times of danger and not be dependent upon bonfires burning at the entrances of harbors. These chance watch-fires are now the only kind of lighthouses the people have, so get ready your material and make preparations for building, that you may help the poor sailors. Remember, though, that we are living in the third century B.C., and that we are not in the United States but on the island of Pharos.
Fig. 315.—Foundation of Pharos of Alexandria.
Select the eastern extremity of the island for
Your Building Lot