Obelisco Pinciano
The Obelisco Pinciano or Antinous Obelisk is an original Roman obelisk 9.25 meters high.
description
It is located on the Pincio in Viale dell'Obelisco. Originally it stood on the tomb of Antinous , the beloved Emperor Hadrian , who drowned in 130 while traveling the Nile. Since the obelisk was discovered at the Porta Maggiore , it was initially assumed that the grave must have been there. The grave is now believed to be in the Palatine Gardens . Hadrian established a cult for his deceased lover, which led to the establishment of several sanctuaries and the obelisk. After Hadrian's death, the cult of Antinous was persecuted and the name fell to the damnatio memoriae . Since the obelisk was inscribed with hieroglyphics, it survived the persecution that fell victim to the other sanctuaries.
In the 3rd century it was removed from its original location and placed on the spina of the Circus Varianus in front of the Porta Maggiore. In 1589 the obelisk came into the garden of Cardinal Barberini, but was not installed. This only happened in 1822 at its current location.
The obelisk does not come from Egypt, but was carved from rose granite in Rome and provided with a memorial inscription made of hieroglyphics. The inscription is thought to have been designed by an Egyptian priest who lived in Rome.
On the east side, Antinous, who is equated with Osiris, asks Re for redemption and for a reward from Hadrian for having this obelisk built. On the north side it is reported, among other things, that a competition site was founded in the city of Antinoupolis , which Hadrian had built on the spot where Antinous drowned. The south side also reports on the founding of the city and the construction and furnishing of a temple for Antinous-Osiris. The west side contains praise to Antinous-Osiris with a plea to Thoth to save his soul.
See also
literature
- Cesare D'Onofrio: Gli obelischi di Roma. Rome 1967.
- Erik Iversen: Obelisks in exile. Volume 1: The obelisks of Rome. Gad, Copenhagen 1968.
- Alfred Grimm , Dieter Kessler , Hugo Meyer : The Obelisk of Antinous. An annotated edition. Fink, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-7705-2913-8 .
Web links
Coordinates: 41 ° 54 ′ 38.9 " N , 12 ° 28 ′ 47.1" E