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height, and was originally made by order of Sesothis.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.
[Illustration: PIAZZA DEL POPOLO.]
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_