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All Turkey Istanbul Serpent Column

Serpent Column

Ancient serpentine sacrifice holder that has stood the test of time.

Istanbul, Turkey

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Serpent column with the Obelisk of Theodosius in the background.   Gryfinndor on Wikipedia
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
The Serpent Column and behind the obelisk of Theodosious   Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
  https://www.flickr.com/photos/lazzo13/
  https://www.flickr.com/photos/lazzo13/
Hippodrome: Serpent Column   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
  Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Serpent Column at night   Kirby Fling, 2013
The serpent coloumn   katielou106 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Part of a snake-headed bronze tripod set up in 478 BCE at the shrine of Apollo in Delphi, Greece, to commemorate the victory of the Greeks over the invading Persians the previous year at the battle of Plataea (think the ending of the movie '300'). The names of the city-states that sent soldiers to the battle were inscribed on the column's coils. The tripod was moved to Constantinople (now Istanbul) by Constantine the Great in 324 CE. One of its heads is in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul, its lower jaw missing - possibly because, according to the British historian Edward Gibbon, when the Ottoman Sultan took the city on May 29, 1453, he shattered it with his mace as a test of strength. Now the remaining coiled pole stands in a fenced-off enclosure.

Related Tags

Statues Monuments Ruins

Know Before You Go

The Hippodrome, now called Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultan Ahmet Square), lies on the northwest side of Sultanahmet Mosque, aka the Blue Mosque.

Community Contributors

Edited By

kirbyf, hrnick, aribrown, TravelTourist...

  • kirbyf
  • hrnick
  • aribrown
  • TravelTourist
  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • Luis Morato
  • Collector of Experiences
  • katielou106

Published

July 28, 2013

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Sources
  • http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/lsag/ESEGW.17.html
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpent_Column
  • http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/serpentine.html
Serpent Column
Sultan Ahmet Park
Istanbul, 34122
Turkey
41.005639, 28.975132
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