Serpent Column

Welcome, esteemed travelers and curious scholars, to the heart of what was once Constantinople, the majestic capital of the Byzantine Empire. You are presently standing in Sultan Ahmet Square, though your feet rest directly above…

To comprehend the true significance of the Serpent Column, we must cast our minds back to the fifth century BC, to an era defined by the existential struggle between the Greek city-states and the vast Persian Empire. Stand near…

As we examine the lower portion of the Serpent Column, you will notice a series of faint inscriptions etched into the coils of the bronze. Though worn by time and the elements, these markings represent one of the most vital…

The Serpent Column stood at the sanctuary of Delphi for nearly a thousand years, weathering the rise and fall of empires, the Macedonian conquests, and the eventual absorption of Greece into the vast Roman sphere. But in the…

During the long centuries of the Byzantine Empire, the character of the Hippodrome evolved, and so too did the function of the monuments upon its Spina. The Serpent Column, originally a hollow bronze sculpture holding a static…

As your eyes travel up the twenty-nine surviving coils of the Serpent Column, they arrive at an abrupt and somewhat melancholy conclusion. The monument stands today at just over five and a half meters, clearly truncated. …

It is something of a miracle that the Serpent Column survives at all, particularly when one considers the catastrophic events of the year 1204. During the Fourth Crusade, Western Christian armies, originally bound for the Holy…

As we conclude our examination of the Serpent Column, take a step back and view it in harmony with its towering neighbors on the Spina. It may not possess the soaring, monumental grace of the Egyptian obelisk, nor does it command…