Читать книгу Rambles in Rome - S. Russell Forbes - Страница 21

of the Piazza del Popolo was brought to Rome by Augustus, and erected in the Circus Maximus. It is 78 feet 6 inches high, and was erected on its present site by Pope Sixtus V. in 1589. This was the first obelisk erected in Rome, having been brought by Augustus after the death of Antony and Cleopatra. Pliny (xxxvi. 16) says:—

"But the most difficult enterprise of all was the carriage of these obelisks by sea to Rome, in vessels which excited the greatest admiration. Indeed, the late Emperor Augustus consecrated the one which brought over the first obelisk, as a lasting memorial of this marvellous undertaking, in the docks at Puteoli; but it was destroyed by fire.

"And then, besides, there was the necessity of constructing other vessels to carry these obelisks up the Tiber; by which it became practically ascertained that the depth of water in that river is not less than that of the river Nile.

"The one that he erected in the Campus Martius is nine feet less in height, and was originally made by order of Sesothis. They are both of them covered with inscriptions which interpret the operations of Nature according to the philosophy of the Egyptians."

This has the name of two kings upon it: Seti, who went blind, and his son Rameses, who succeeded him. It stood before the Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis, and was placed by Augustus on the Spina of the Circus Maximus, and re-dedicated, 10 B.C., to the Sun, as the inscription informs us: IMP. CAES. DIVI. F.—AUGUSTUS—PONTIFEX MAXIMUS—IMP. XII. COS. XI. TRIB. POT.—POPULI ROMANI REDACTA.—SOLI DONUM DEDIT.

Ammianus Marcellinus (xvii. 4) supplies us with the following information relative to obelisks:—

"In this city of Thebes, among many works of art and different structures recording the tales relating to the Egyptian deities, we saw several obelisks in their places, and others which had been thrown down and broken, which the ancient kings, when elated at some victory or at the general prosperity of their affairs, had caused to be hewn out of mountains in distant parts of the world, and erected in honour of the gods, to whom they solemnly consecrated them.

"Now, an obelisk is a rough stone, rising to a great height, shaped like a pillar in the stadium; and it tapers upwards in imitation of a sunbeam, keeping its quadrilateral shape, till it rises almost to a point, being made smooth by the hand of a sculptor.

"On these obelisks the ancient authority of elementary wisdom has caused innumerable marks of strange forms all over them, which are called hieroglyphics.

"For the workmen, carving many kinds of birds and beasts, some even such as must belong to another world, in order that the recollection of the exploits which the obelisk was designed to commemorate might reach to subsequent ages, showed by them the accomplishment of vows which the kings had made.

"For it was not the case then, as it is now, that the established number of letters can distinctly express whatever the human mind conceives; nor did the ancient Egyptians write in such a manner, but each separate character served for a separate noun or verb, and sometimes even for an entire sentence.

"Of which fact the two following may for the present be sufficient instances:—By the figure of a vulture they indicate the name of nature; because naturalists declare that no males are found in this class of bird. And by the figure of a bee making honey they indicate a king; showing by such a sign that stings as well as sweetness are the characteristics of a ruler. And there are many similar emblems."

To the right of the Porta del Popolo is the