Good day everyone, I’m Elena from Italy and thanks for being here on Alessandro III di Macedonia- Alexander the Great and Hellenism! Today I’ve a new interesting and specialistic publication to announce you!
The Pharos Lighthouse In Alexandria. Second Sun and Seventh Wonder of Antiquity
by Andrew Michael Chugg
Routledge
Publication date: March 12, 2024
This comprehensive and insightful book brings scientific rigor to the problems of reconstructing the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and understanding how it functioned as the archetypal lighthouse in antiquity, when it was described as a “second Sun”.
Conceived by Alexander the Great and designed by Sostratus, the Pharos lighthouse stood as an iconic landmark of Alexandria for sixteen centuries until felled by a calamitous earthquake in the fourteenth century. The study of this great lighthouse has been neglected relative to other ancient Wonders such as the Great Pyramid of Giza. This book reconstructs the tower, its lustrous light, stunning statues and astounding story in diligent detail through archaeological evidence and surviving antique texts and images, providing a fresh evaluation of the Pharos, its history, and its legacy. The Roman writer Achilles Tatius termed the Pharos a “second Sun”; this expression is explained and explored here for the first time, and has dramatic implications for the nature of the Pharos’ light. The volume also explores how the creation of the Pharos was a key stimulus for Alexandrian science and astronomy in antiquity.
The Pharos Lighthouse in Alexandria provides a fascinating new study of this monument of interest to students and scholars of Hellenistic art, architecture, and science, and readers seeking to learn more about one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Andrew Michael Chugg is the author of books on The Lost Tomb of Alexander the Great and Alexander’s Lovers as well as articles and papers on ancient history subjects. He is an historian and a scientist, being also an expert on electromagnetics and ionising radiation at MBDA UK Ltd.
Table of Contents:
- The Genesis of the Pharos
- The Fame of the Pharos
- The Fate of the Pharos
- Fantasies of the Pharos
- The Form of the Pharos
- The Technical Task of Contriving Tall Towers
- The Pharos’ Height from the Range of its Light
- The Crowning Statue & Other Adornments
- The Light of the Pharos
- A Framework for Reconstruction
- Towards a Virtual Pharos
- The Modern Legacy of an Antique Wonder
Appendix A: Evidence & Antique Testimony
Appendix B: Alfred Butler on the Pharos.
Hardback
ISBN: 978-1032569369
264 Pages 79 B/W Illustrations
£ 104.00 – € 156,28
It will be available in digital format too
This is a book that will be a must read for me but I will definitely wait for the paperback edition to come out. Andrew Chugg is an excellent scholar whose book I have already read and this interests me greatly. Among other things, I’d like it if will be publish a similar book dedicated to the Library of Alexandria!
I hope I have been useful to you, I wish everyone a good Sunday,
Alessandro III di Macedonia 