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A. HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE LIGHTHOUSE

All the torch-carrying towers which served to indicate the course that ships should take, from antiquity to the present day, where named after “Faros”, the Egyptian island where Sostratos – the great architect of the Hellenistic period – had built a torch-carrying tower on the East Side of the entrance to Alexandria’s port.
    Until the 18th century, wood, charcoal and even resins were used for the production of the flame in lighthouses. From the 18th century on these fuels were substituted by oil and, mainly, petroleum.
In 1819 Fresmel invented and introduced the first lighthouse dioptre machinery, and in 1925 Le Pante succeeded in controlling the speed of revolution of the illuminating machinery. Research on illuminating machinery which did not require daily human supervision led to the creation of an apparatus which was operated with acetylene gas. This apparatus was turned on automatically at night and on overcast days; and was turned off automatically when visibility was adequate. During the period 1913-16, twenty-five of these automatic lighthouses were installed in our country.
Since 1946 electric power has been used, however in the last years there has been wide use of photovoltaic units, which transform solar energy into electrical energy.

B. THE LIGHTHOUSE NETWORK OF GREECE.
The lighthouse network of our country is considered to be one of the largest and best organized in the world. It consists of 1309 lighthouses, flashlights and flambeaux (flaming torches), 57 of which are supervised, while 6 of them are permanently manned.
Oral tradition mentions that the first lighthouse was built in Aegina in 1827, when Kapodistrias appointed it as the capital of the newly established Greek State. In 1887 under Charilaos Trikoupis’ Leadership a law was passed on “The Foundation of the Lighthouse Fund”, which permanently solved all the problems facing lighthouses until then, and gave a boost to lighthouse development. During the next 25 years (1913-1936) with the re-organization of the Lighthouse Service under the leadership of Stylianos Likoudis another 191 torches were added, a quite important number for the completion of the lighthouse network.
During the Second World War lighthouses suffered considerable damages since they were easy and visible targets in both air and naval raids.  After the liberation of our country, only twenty-eight out of the 400 lighthouses and flambeaux were found to be functioning in the Greek Seas. 
In 1945 a systematic attempt was made to repair the damages; consequently, in 1946, 374 lighthouses, flambeaux and light buoys were functioning.

C. THE LIGHTHOUSES OF MAGNESIA

The lighthouses network of Magnesia consists of (5) lighthouses made of stone, which in chronological order are:
1. The lighthouse of Trikeri.
2. The lighthouse Guruni (Pig) of Skopelos.
3. The lighthouse of Psathura.
4. The lighthouse of Argyronisi.
5. The lighthouse of Repi, Skiathos.

The lighthouse of Trikeri

The French Company of Ottoman Lighthouses built it in two phases: the first in 1854, during which the house was built. During the second phase, in 1918, the tower of the lighthouse was built by the Greek Public Service. It is square in plan with a height of 9 meters and has been characterized as a historical monument by the Ministry of Culture.

The lighthouse Guruni (Pig) of Skopelos

It lies on the northern edge of the island in the promontory “Guruni” after which it was named, and is about 10 km away from Glossa. Its geographical coordinates are 39º 15.5’ 24” latitude, 23º 35.6’ 36” longitude and its focal height from the sea level is 70 meters. According to the date inscribed in the illuminating machinery it was built in 1889 by the Greek Public Service.
It is an impressive building, which dominates the evergreen slopes of the mountain, and consists of the house and an incorporated tower on top of which is the illuminating body.
The tower of the lighthouse is square, stone-built and its  dome is formed by small arches of poros which support its cornice and forms the level upon which the illuminating cage lies.
The height of the stone body of the tower is 14 m, while together with the illuminating cage it  rises up to about 17.8 m
The illuminating cage includes the illuminating machinery with its rotating dioptre; according to its inscription “SAUTER LE MONNIER AND SIE PARIS 1887” it was made in Paris at the end of the 19th century.
Initially, the lighthouse functioned with petroleum as fuel, while during the years of the German occupation it remained switched off. It was put into operation again in 1944, and in 1984 it operated with electricity. It was supervised until 1989 when it became automatic. Its characteristic is three white flashes every 30 seconds, and its signal extends to 20 nautical miles. In 1996 it was characterized as a Historical Preservable Monument by the Ministry of Culture.  

The lighthouse of Psathura

It was built at the end of the 19th century and operated for the first time in 1895, initially with petroleum and a characteristic fixed light (without flashes). In 1987 the petroleum was replaced by the solar energy. It is an impressive stone made building, one of the highest in the Aegean, with a tower height 26 meters. It has been characterized as a Preservable Monument by the Ministry of Culture.

The lighthouse of Argyronisi.

It was built in 1899 and the height of its cylindrical tower is 6 meters. It has been characterized as a Historical Preservable Monument by the Ministry of Culture.

The lighthouse of Repi, Skiathos.

It is located on the homonymous islet and was built in 1914; the height of its cylindrical tower is 11 meters.

                                                  Dimitris Paliouras
                                                  Architect - Engineer
                                                 Director of the 5th Ephorate
                                              Of Modern Monuments