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Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Lighthouse of Alexandria was built on the island of Pharos outside the harbour of Alexandria, Egypt c. 300 - 280 BCE, during the reigns of Ptolemy I and II. With a height of over 100 metres (330 ft), the lighthouse was so impressive that...
Definition
Alexandria, Egypt
Alexandria is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt founded in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great. It was the site of the Pharos (lighthouse), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the legendary Library of Alexandria...
Article
What happened to the Great Library at Alexandria?
Once the largest library in the ancient world, and containing works by the greatest thinkers and writers of antiquity, including Homer, Plato, Socrates and many more, the Library of Alexandria, northern Egypt, is popularly believed to have...
Definition
The Seven Wonders
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were seven impressive structures famously listed by ancient writers including Philo of Byzantium, Antipater of Sidon, Diodorus Siculus, Herodotus, Strabo, and Callimachus of Cyrene, among others. The...
Definition
Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia of Alexandria (c. 370 - March 415) was a female philosopher and mathematician, born in Alexandria, Egypt possibly in 370 (although some scholars cite her birth as c. 350). Little is known of her life but her dramatic death at the...
Definition
Ptolemaic Dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty controlled Egypt for almost three centuries (305-30 BCE), eventually falling to the Romans. Oddly, while they ruled Egypt, they never became Egyptian. Instead, they isolated themselves in the capital city of Alexandria...
Definition
Ptolemy I
Ptolemy I Soter (366-282 BCE) was one of the successor kings to the empire of Alexander the Great. He served not only as king of Egypt but also the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, a dynasty which included the infamous Cleopatra VII...
Definition
Library of Alexandria
The Library of Alexandria was established under the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt (323-30 BCE) and flourished under the patronage of the early kings to become the most famous library of the ancient world, attracting scholars from around the...
Image
Lighthouse of Alexandria Illustration
A drawing of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, also known as Pharos, by German archaeologist Prof. H. Thiersch (1909).
Collection
A Collection: 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
In this collection we look in detail at each of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The oldest and only surviving wonder is the Great Pyramid of Giza which held the record for the tallest structure in the world until the 19th century...