Everything about The Tower Of Hercules totally explained
The
Tower of Hercules is an
ancient Roman lighthouse located on a peninsula about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) of the centre of the city of
A Coruña,
Galicia, in present-day north-western
Spain. The very name of
"Corunna" is said to be derived from the ancient
columna, or column. The ancient structure was rehabilitated as a lighthouse in 1791.
The lighthouse is almost 1900 years old, standing 185 feet (57 meters) high, overlooking the North Atlantic coast of Spain. It is the oldest Roman
lighthouse still used as a modern lighthouse in the world.
Myths
Through the millennia many mythical stories of its origin have been told. According to a myth that blends Celtic and Greco-Roman elements, the hero
Hercules slew the giant tyrant
Geryon after three days and three nights of continuous battle. Hercules then—in a Celtic gesture— buried the head of Geryon with his weapons and ordered that a city be built on the site. The city,
Brigantia to the Romans, came to be called “Crunya”. The lighthouse atop a
skull and crossbones representing the buried head of Hercules’ slain enemy appears in the coat-of-arms of A Coruña.
According to Gaelic legend embodied in the 11th-century compilation
Lebor Gabala Erren— the "Book of Invasions"— King
Breogán, the founding father of the
Galician Celtic nation, constructed here a massive tower of such a grand height that his sons could see a distant green shore from its top. The glimpse of that distant green land lured them to sail north to Ireland. A colossal statue of Breogán has been erected near the Tower.
Construction
The tower remains a sentinel from days long past. It is known to have existed by the
2nd century, built or perhaps rebuilt under
Trajan, perhaps on foundations and just possibly following a design that was
Phoenician in origin. At its base is preserved the cornerstone with the inscription
MARTI AUG.SACR C.SEVIVS LUPUS ARCHTECTUS AEMINIENSIS LVSITANVS.EX.VO, permitting the original lighthouse tower to be ascribed to the architect Gaius Sevius Lupus, from Aeminia (an ancient Roman town near present-day
Coimbra,
Portugal) in the former province of
Lusitania, as an
ex voto dedicated to
Mars. The tower has been in constant use since the 2nd century. Originally it was constructed with an ascending ramp encircling its sides, for oxen to bring cartloads of wood to keep the light fueled at night.
The earliest surviving mention of the lighthouse at Brigantium is by
Paulus Orosius in
Historiae adversum Paganos written
ca 415 – 417:
» “Secundus angulus circium intendit, ubi Brigantia Gallaeciae civitas sita altissimum farum et inter pauca memorandi operis ad speculam Britanniae erigit”
("At the second angle of the circuit [circumnavigating
Hispania], where the
Gallaecian city of Brigantia is sited, a very tall lighthouse is erected among a few commemorative works, for looking towards
Britannia.")
In 1788 the original tower was provided with a new outer shell by order of King
Carlos IV, the work of the naval engineer Eustaquio Giannini (1750–1814). The work was finished in 1791, giving the tower the crisp classicizing outward aspect we see today. Within, the much-repaired Roman and medieval masonry may be inspected. The Tower of Hercules is a National Monument of Spain.
The Romans who settled this region of Spain believed it to be the end of the earth, as described in "
Finisterra". This region is notorious for shipwrecks, earning the name
Costa da Morte, the "Death Coast".
Also see
Other use of the name
A medieval watchtower in Segovia also bears the name "Tower of Hercules".
Further Information
Get more info on 'Tower Of Hercules'.
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