The Columns of the ancient Hippodrome

The Dikilitas /Obelisk originally was built by the Pharaoh Thutmosis III in. Egypt in the 16th century B.C. It was erected in front of the Luxor temple to the honor of the God of Sun Amon Ra.

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The emperor Theodosius I brought the obelisk to Istanbul about 390 A.D. The stolen good was put on a marble base and used for the decoration of the Hippodrome. The ancient Hippodrome was the center of the cultural life during the Byzantine period. Of the ornaments which once decorated it, only three remain: the here mentioned Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine and Constantine Column. The Egyptian obelisk is covered by numerous hieroglyphics and made of pink granite. After translations of the hieroglyphs it is assumed nowadays that the bottom of the obelisk is missing as the inscriptions are incomplete. Specialists think that the large column brought during transportation.

The Örmetsütün Column: This massive obelisk is also located in the area of the ancient Hippodrom. It is made of pink granite and approximately 18 meter long. It is decorated with inscriptions about the victories of Thutmosis III. The obelisk was originally located in front of the Karnak temple in Heliopolis. It was brought by Julianus to Istanbul and Thedosius I. erected it on a marble platform and used it as the the Dikilitas for decoration of the hippodrome. The Örmetsütün Column shows sceens of Thutmosis and its family.

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Last but not least when mentioning all columns of the Hippodrome the Yilanli Sütün Column can not be missing. The Column is made of three coiled snakes made of bronze which once hold a golden cup. It is also known as the bronze serpentine column. The monument was built in memory of the Greek victory over the Persians. The Byzantine emperor Constantinus brought the column to Istanbul. The column was strongly damaged during the crusades and it is said that at this time the golden cup disappeared. As late as in 1856 the lower part of the column was digged out and a water-pipeline was discovered. So it seems that the Yilanli Column was also used as a fountain in Byzantine times. Unfortunately the heads of the snakes where removed in the 16th century, the column remained at the hippodrome. Nowadays the heads are stored in the British museum in England. The lower part of the second snake head is to be found in the Archaeological museum of Istanbul. The third head disappeared.