Serpent Column
8 reviews
October 9
Serpent Column is an Ancient Greek monument made of bronze depicting three entwined python snakes, remaining from the Hippodrome in Sultanahmet Square. Today, two of the snake heads from this column are missing, and the third is exhibited in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums.
The Serpent Column was first built in Delphi in 478 BC in the name of the god Apollo.
The Serpent Column is one of the oldest large-scale monuments that have survived from the Classical period of Istanbul. The monument, which commemorates the victory of the Greek city states united against the Persian army in 479 BC, was first erected in the temple of Apollo in Delphi. It was later brought to Istanbul by Emperor Constantine in 324.
It was a part of the "three-legged cauldron" presented to the god Apollo at Delphi with the spoils obtained by the Greeks after their victory against the Persians in Platea. The names of the 31 Greek city-states that participated in the war were written on the column shaped like three intertwined snake bodies. It is thought that the Serpent Column was brought to Istanbul when the capital was being established.
(Istanbul's Tenth Island Submerged in the Sea by the 1010 Earthquake: Vordonisi)
Before the pillar was damaged, it depicted three snakes tightly entwined with each other. The heads of these three snakes carried a golden cauldron and formed the trivet of the cauldron. The trivet was later melted down by the Phocaeans to cover war expenses.
In the original version of the column, the names of the Greek city-states that participated in the war were also engraved on the spirals of the column. But these have worn away over time and are no longer visible. According to the ancient writer Herodotus, this column was built with Persian war spoils.
According to the ancient writer Herodotus, this column was built with Persian war spoils.
In the 4th century AD, the column was moved to Constantinople (Istanbul) by Emperor Constantine and started to be exhibited by erecting it in the middle of the Hippodrome, where it still stands today. Also, according to a rumor, it was believed to have magical powers to protect the city against insects and reptiles.
Disappearing snake heads
In the 18th century, two of the three snake heads broke off and disappeared. The third was found during the Hagia Sophia excavations in 1848 and is currently exhibited in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums.
Serpent Column; It last appeared with three snake heads in an engraving by European traveler A. De la Motraye dated 1699. The Serpent Column, which also found a place in Ottoman miniatures, was known for its eight-meter height until the 17th century.
Silahdar Mehmed Ağa, the palace historian in the Ottoman Empire, said that on October 21, 1700, during the evening prayer time, a sound like a tree was breaking was heard and the three snake heads on the column were found fallen to the ground, it was impossible for a person to break them and no one was seen around.
One of the snake heads of the Serpent Column in Sultanahmet Square.
Archaeologist Ord. Prof. Dr. Arif Müfid Mansel makes the following evaluation:
“In our opinion, deep cracks and holes occurred as a result of the penetration of bronze rust into the structure of the column in the upper parts of the column, where the weather affected the most, mostly in the snake necks and the points where they meet the body, and continuous rains and large temperature changes caused these cracks to grow and, in fact, quite heavy It caused the large heads and thick necks to separate from their bodies and once the balance was disturbed, they all fell to the ground.”
1
December 6
It's great that at least something remains of Constantinople. remnants of former greatness . Previously, it was believed that these columns protect the city from the invasion of snakes .
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September 19
An interesting object, especially from a historical point of view.
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March 9, 2023
The column was the base of the altar in the form of three intertwined snakes. A fragment of one snake's head is kept in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul (see photo). It is believed that the column was cast from captured Persian weapons captured during the Persian wars. It has always seemed that this is something from legends and myths, but here, please, is their material embodiment.
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20
February 9, 2023
I don't know.... somehow it so happened that her description on the Internet made a greater impression than she did. Or the neighboring columns were eclipsed by their height... but we need to look at it... I found my photos and decided to add them
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April 29
Come here in the evening, it's very beautiful.
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1
March 30
A column brought from Delphi. This is where the Oracle was
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1
January 1, 2023
Great column!
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1