In the article we will talk about what an obelisk is, when this element of architecture was first born, we will analyze the history of the Luxor obelisk.
Architecture
People have always attached great importance to art, including architecture. We know the life of most ancient civilizations mainly thanks to the preserved buildings and elements of the architectural style, for example, these include the Mayan pyramids in South America. Of course, not all peoples left behind such significant traces in history, besides, even in our time, houses and other buildings are primarily used from a practical point of view, and they do not differ in centuries of durability with exquisite building solutions.
Probably the most famous historical era is Ancient Egypt. To this day, the culture of this now dead people is admired. And, in addition to the pyramids, one very important architectural element for the ancient Egyptians, such as an obelisk, has survived to this day. So what is an obelisk and how is it used today? We'll talk about that.
Definition
Obelisks were also used in ancient Greece, but there they had a purely practical meaning, for example, as gnomon (specialpointers, prototypes of hour hands) sundial. While in ancient Egypt, the obelisk is a symbol of the sun, and, in general, one of the favorite elements of architecture and symbolism. Let's take a closer look at the history of Egyptian obelisks and their purpose.
Design and purpose
Egyptian obelisks (at least those that have survived to this day) are monoliths that were carved from a homogeneous block of stone. Usually the material was red granite, which was mined in Aswan. And they were installed in pairs along the entrances to the temples.
Due to the imperfection of the tools, obelisks were made for a very long time and painstakingly. For example, the obelisk of Hatshepsut was carved for seven months. Now we know what an obelisk is. Consider the main characteristics.
It was customary to cover their sides with hieroglyphs, whose texts in most cases boiled down to the glorification of the gods and acting pharaohs. Sometimes, if such a structure was of particular importance, it was covered with an alloy of gold and silver. True, this was done only with the top of the obelisk. So in ancient Egypt, the obelisk is an important element of religious cult and symbolism.
Historians know for sure that the Egyptians already mastered the art of making obelisks during the 4th dynasty, but the most ancient ones that have survived to this day date back to the 5th dynasty. Their distinctive feature is their small size, a little more than three meters. If we talk about those that have survived to our times in the same place as they wereinstalled, the oldest is the obelisk of Senusret. And the tallest of the completed ones is the one installed in Karnak, its height is more than 24 meters. By the way, according to approximate estimates, it weighs 143 tons. As you can see, an obelisk is a structure that can be very different in size.
Distribution
Gradually from Egypt, obelisks began to spread around the world. The first countries in which the fashion for them appeared were Palestine and Phoenicia. True, they were produced there by composing them from separate segments, which greatly simplified the manufacturing process. Further, the obelisks began to spread throughout Byzantium, Assyria and even Ethiopia. A considerable number of them were taken to the Roman Empire. For example, the one that is now installed in front of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, was created in Karnak, weighs 230 tons and is 32 meters high. True, the first thing that comes to mind when looking at such an obelisk is how was it transported? Even today, transporting such a cargo is not an easy task.
During the Renaissance, obelisks became popular among Italian architects as elements of the overall composition. And then, starting from the middle of the 19th century, as the interest of the public and historians in Ancient Egypt grew, many countries were engaged in uncontrollably exporting various objects of art and antiquities to themselves. For example, in St. Petersburg, on the Neva embankment, there are sphinxes, but few people know that they were brought straight from Egypt, and their age is several thousand years.
Our time
Today, obelisks are very popular as an architectural element and as a separate symbolic sculpture or monument. The largest is the Washington Monument in the United States, its height is 169 meters.
In Russia, however, obelisks have been widespread since the reign of Catherine II, and were erected in honor of military victories and achievements. That is, you can determine the meaning of the word "obelisk" yourself. This is an architectural monument that looks like a pillar tapering upwards.
Gradually, obelisks fell out of fashion as an element of design or architecture, but began to be used as monuments of military glory. For example, very often you can find obelisks over the mass graves of the Great Patriotic War. And in Russian cities, monuments to outstanding historical and military figures of the past years have been erected, for example, an obelisk in honor of Minin and Pozharsky in Nizhny Novgorod, at the site of Suvorov's command post on the Borodino field, and others.
Luxor Obelisk
In 1831, the ruler of Egypt, Mehmet Ali, presented France with the Luxor obelisk, which was originally erected in honor of Ramses II. Already in 1833, he was taken to Paris and, after a royal meeting, installed on the Place de la Concorde, where to this day you can see the obelisk. His photo is provided just above. The bottom of the monument depicts the process of its delivery.
