The Lighthouse

Your Guide to the Iconic Legend

"Lighthouses have had a significant impact on civilization in a multitude of ways"

 
 

 

Lighthouses around the World

In the United States, lighthouses are maintained by the United States Coast Guard. In the United Kingdom, those in England and Wales are looked after by Trinity House, those in Scotland by the Northern Lighthouse Board, and those in all of Ireland by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. In Canada, they are managed by the Canadian Coast Guard. In Australia, lighthouses are looked after by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

In the beginning of the 20th century Swedish inventor Gustav Dahlén invented the AGA Lighthouse which effectively made lighthouse keepers obsolete. However, for many years lighthouses still had keepers, partly because lighthouse keepers could serve as a rescue service if necessary. Improvements in maritime navigation and safety such as GPS have led to the phasing out of non-automated lighthouses, with the last keepers removed in the 1990s.

In some locations, lighthouses have become popular tourist destinations and the buildings are being maintained as tourist attractions.

Perhaps the most famous lighthouse in history is the Lighthouse of Alexandria, built on the island of Pharos in ancient Egypt. The name of the island is still used as the noun for "lighthouse" in some languages, for example: French (phare), Italian and Spanish (faro), Portuguese (farol), Swedish, Danish and Norwegian (fyr), Romanian (far) and Greek (φάρος). The word "pharology" (study of the lighthouses), is also derived from the island's name.

Lighthouse Symbology

Lighthouses are used as symbols by certain organizations both religious and occult. Interpreted in dreams as beacons of truth or as male influence. One commonly seen has a spiral red stripe said by Milton William Cooper and others to be symbolic of the snake of Lucifer.

 

 

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VII

The Lighthouse 2006 All rights reserved.