PHAROS, a lighthouse or pile of building, raised near a port, where fire is kept burning in the night, to guide and direct vessels near at hand. The pharos of Alexandria, built on the island of Pharos, was anciently so famous that it communicated its name to all the rest. This magnificent tower consisted of several stories and galleries, with a lantern at the top, in which a light being kept continually burning, might be seen many leagues at sea, and along the coast. It was accounted one of the seven wonders of the world. It was built by the celebrated architect Sostrates, a native of Cnidus, or, according to some, by Deiphanes, the father of Sostrates, and cost Ptolemy Philadelphus eight hundred talents. See SEA-LIGHTS.