The Pharos of Alexandria was built by Sostratus, a Greek
architect, in the reign of Ptolmey Philadelphus. Ptolemy ordered
that a marble tablet be built into the wall with his name
conspicuously inscribed upon it as the builder of the famous
edifice. Instead, Sostratus cut in Greek characters his own name
deep upon the face of the tablet, then covered the whole with
an artificial composition, made of lime, to imitate the natural
surface of the stone, and cut a new inscription in which he
inserted the name of the king. In due time the lime moldered
away, name and all, leaving his own name to come out to view and
to remain as long as the lighthouse stood.