Palau 5 Dollars Silver Coin 2009 Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The obverse features an emblem of Palau in which Poseidon sits on the sea floor between a mermaid and a treasure chest. Above the emblem is a man rowing a canoe. The country of issue, “REPUBLIC OF PALAU,” is inscribed at the top, while the face value, “$5,” is inscribed at the bottom.
Reverse: Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous lighthouse in antiquity.
Country: Palau.
Year: 2009.
Face Value: 5 Dollars.
Metal: Silver.
Fineness: 925/1000.
Weight: 25 g.
Diameter: 38,61 mm.
Mintage: 2,500.
Quality: Proof.
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Seven Wonders of the World or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World refers to remarkable constructions of classical antiquity listed by various authors in guidebooks popular among ancient Hellenic tourists, particularly in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. The most prominent of these, the versions by Antipater of Sidon and an observer identified as Philo of Byzantium, comprise seven works located around the eastern Mediterranean rim. The original list inspired innumerable versions through the ages, often listing seven entries. Of the original Seven Wonders, only one — the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the ancient wonders — remains relatively intact. The Colossus of Rhodes, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis and the Statue of Zeus were all destroyed. The location and ultimate fate of the Hanging Gardens are unknown, with speculation that they may not have existed at all.
Lighthouse of Alexandria Colossus of Rhodes Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Lighthouse of Alexandria - Pharos of Alexandria
Pharos of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most famous lighthouse in antiquity. It was a technological triumph and is the archetype of all lighthouses since. Built by Sostratus of Cnidus, perhaps for Ptolemy I Soter, it was finished during the reign of Soter’s son Ptolemy II of Egypt in about 280 bce. The lighthouse stood on the island of Pharos in the harbour of Alexandria and is said to have been more than 350 feet (110 metres) high; the only taller man-made structures at the time would have been the pyramids of Giza. Much of what is known about the structure of the lighthouse comes from a 1909 work by Hermann Thiersch, Pharos, antike, Islam und Occident. According to the ancient sources consulted by Thiersch, the lighthouse was built in three stages, all sloping slightly inward; the lowest was square, the next octagonal, and the top cylindrical. A broad spiral ramp led to the top, where a fire burned at night.
Some descriptions report that the lighthouse was surmounted by a huge statue, possibly representing either Alexander the Great or Ptolemy I Soter in the form of the sun god Helios. Though it was well-known earlier, the Pharos does not appear in any list of wonders until the 6th century ce (the earliest list gives the walls of Babylon instead). In the Middle Ages sultan Ahmed ibn Touloun replaced the beacon with a small mosque. The Pharos was still standing in the 12th century, but by 1477 the Mamlūk sultan Qāʾit Bāy was able to build a fort from its ruins.
In 1994 archaeologist Jean-Yves Empereur, founder of the Centre for Alexandrian Studies (Centre d’Etudes Alexandrines), made an exciting find in the waters off Pharos Island. He had been called in by the Egyptian government to map anything of archaeological significance in this underwater area before a concrete breakwater was erected over the site. He mapped the location of hundreds of huge masonry blocks; at least some of these blocks are believed to have fallen into the sea when the lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1300s. A large amount of statuary was also discovered, including a colossal statue of a king dating to the 3rd century bce that was thought to represent Ptolemy II. A companion statue of a queen as Isis had been discovered nearby in the 1960s; these statues representing the deified Ptolemy and his wife, Arsinoe, are thought to have been placed just below the lighthouse, facing the entrance to the harbour. Based upon these finds, the Egyptian government abandoned the idea of a breakwater and planned instead an underwater park where divers could view the many statues, stone sphinxes, and remains of the lighthouse.