The Obelisks in Egypt · The Obelisks of Ancient Rome · Piranesi in Rome (2024)

FAQs

What do the obelisks in Rome represent? ›

In the Pharaonic era, the obelisks were considered solar symbols, were placed in front of the temples' entrance, and enriched with commemorative engravings. For the Romans, the gigantic basalt stelae acquired symbolic significance as spoils of war and testimony of imperial strength.

The oldest and largest Egyptian obelisk in Rome and the world stands in front of the Basilica of Rome Saint John in Lateran. It was originally brought to Rome in the 4th century to decorate the spina or spine of the Circus Maximus; it is over 3400 years old and soars to a height of 32 m or 90 ft.

For Egyptians, the obelisk was a reverential monument, commemorating the dead, representing their kings, and honoring their gods. These monuments were representational in both structure and arrangement, serving as monuments with a complete structure of understanding.

Ancient Egyptians further believed that the obelisk could guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife. Its shape, symbolism, and use made it a powerful symbol of the strength of Egyptians' faith and the power of the Sun God Ra. Ra was an ancient deity worshiped as the primary God of the sun, order, and creation.

In Egyptian mythology, the obelisk symbolized the sun god Ra, and during the religious reformation of Akhenaten it was said to have been a petrified ray of the Aten, the sundisk.

In choosing ancient Egyptian monuments as the new symbols to embody the triumph of the reformed Catholic Church, Sixtus gave Christian meaning to these colossal stones by linking them to Apostles and Christian relics, and he thus created a Christian lineage for the obelisks that assured their permanent place in Rome's ...

Some interpret Broken Obelisk as a universal monument to all humanity. However, the severed, upended form could also suggest that there is nothing to celebrate—perhaps an allusion to the social unrest of the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War protests occurring in the United States in the 1960s.

Pope Gregory was driven by a passion for learning. He ordered that all Egyptian and “Egyptianized” artifacts in the Pontifical states (and Roman antique markets, private villa collections etc.) be gathered together in a new museum.

Obelisk is from obeliscus - "in the shape of a spear". For pagans, the obelisk was a solar symbol that represented a vital flow between heaven and earth, a way of communicating to the divine. As a pagan monument in the greatest Christian square, it is a symbol of humanity reaching out to Christ.

Scholars believe that obelisks represented eternity and immortality, and their long, tapering form functioned to connect the heavens and the earth.

What is the difference between a pyramid and an obelisk? ›

The obelisk enacts the same formula as the pyramid - maximum height for minimum base - but in different material, leading to different scale and architectural setting.

There are plenty of coins surviving with Cleopatra's portrait on them, and they generally repeat the same features that seemed to astound reporters: a prominent nose, sloping forehead, sharply pointed chin and thin lips, and hollow-looking eye sockets.

Cleopatra's Needle is flanked by two faux-Egyptian sphinxes, designed by the English architect George John Vulliamy. The sphinxes are cast in bronze and bear hieroglyphic inscriptions that say netjer nefer men-kheper-re di ankh, which translates as "the good god, Thuthmosis III given life".

While the honor of the world's tallest obelisk belongs to the Washington Monument (standing 555 feet, or 169 meters, tall), Long believes the most famous obelisk on the planet is likely the Vatican Obelisk at the center of Rome's St. Peter's Square.

The Vatican obelisk was perfectly situated for the commencement of Sixtus' plan to make it a Christian symbol of the strength and endurance of Catholicism.

Erected at the time of Tutmosis III and Tutmosis IV, and dating from the 15th century BC, the Lateran Obelisk can be considered the oldest in Rome. The sides are completely decorated, and, among the various inscriptions, you can see an image of the pharaoh making offerings to the divinity.

History of the Obelisk

The Obelisk (Greek for "pointed instrument") was created roughly 3,500 years ago in Egypt. To celebrate Pharaoh Thutmose III's 30th year of reign, stonecutters carved two obelisks out of granite and installed them outside of the Temple of the Sun in the ancient Egyptian city of Heliopolis.

In the 1st century B.C., Ancient Rome discovers the charm of the Egyptian culture, as a result of the conquest of Egypt by Julius Caesar and Augustus. Since then, traces of Egyptian civilization appear more and more in the city. We might think of obelisks, but they are not the only Egyptian traces in town.