An architectural element that came from ancient Egypt: an obelisk is ...

In the article we will tell about what an obelisk is, when this element of architecture was born for the first time, let us analyze the history of the Luxor obelisk.

Architecture

People have always attached great importance to art, including architecture. The life of most ancient civilizations we know mainly due to the preserved structures and elements of the architectural style, for example, to the Mayan pyramids in South America. Of course, not all people left behind such significant traces in history, moreover, even in our time houses and other buildings are primarily used from a practical point of view, and they do not differ for centuries with durable building solutions.

Perhaps the most famous historical era is Ancient Egypt. And to this day the culture of this now dead people is admired. And, in addition to the pyramids, one very important for the ancient Egyptians has reached such an architectural element as the obelisk. So what is an obelisk, as it is used nowadays? We will talk about this.

Definition

Obelisks were also used in ancient Greece, but there they had purely practical significance, for example, as a gnomon (special pointers, prototypes of hour handers) of sunny hours. While in Ancient Egypt, the obelisk is a symbol of the sun, and, in general, one of the favorite elements of architecture and symbolism. Consider in more detail the history of Egyptian obelisks and their purpose.

Device and purpose

The Egyptian obelisks (at least those that have survived to this day) are monoliths that were carved from a homogeneous stone boulder. 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 imperfect 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. Let us consider the main characteristics.

Their parties were accepted to cover with hieroglyphs, whose texts in most cases boiled down to the glorification of the gods and acting pharaohs. Sometimes, if such a construction had a special significance, it was covered with a gold and silver alloy. True, this was done only with the top of the obelisk. So in Ancient Egypt the obelisk is an important element of the religious cult and symbolism.

Historians know for sure that the Egyptians owned the art of making obelisks already at the time of the 4th dynasty, but the oldest ones, which have survived to this day, date back to the 5th dynasty. Their distinctive feature is a small size, just over three meters. If we talk about those that have survived to our times in the same place that they were established, then the oldest is the obelisk of Senusert. And the highest of the finished ones is the one that is installed in Karnak, its height is more than 24 meters. By the way, according to rough estimates, it weighs 143 tons. As you can see, the obelisk is a structure that is very different in size.

Spread

Gradually from Egypt, obelisks began to spread around the world. The first countries in which there was a fashion for them were Palestine and Phenicia. True, there they were produced by composing from individual segments, which greatly simplified the manufacturing process. Further obelisks began to spread across Byzantium, Assyria and even Ethiopia. A lot 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 its height is 32 meters. True, the first thing that comes to mind when looking at such an obelisk, how did they transport it? Even in our time, the transportation of such cargo is not such a simple task.

During the Renaissance, the obelisks became popular among Italian architects as elements of the overall composition. And then, beginning with the middle of the XIX century, as the interest of the public and historians increased to ancient Egypt, many countries engaged in the fact that uncontrolledly exported to themselves various objects of art and antiquity. For example, in St. Petersburg on the Neva embankment there are sphinxes, but very few people know that they were brought straight from Egypt, and their age is several thousand years.

Nowadays

And nowadays obelisks are very popular as an architectural element and as a separate sculpture of symbolic value or a monument. The largest is the Washington Monument in the US, its height is 169 meters.

In Russia, obelisks have been distributed since the reign of Catherine II, and were established in honor of military victories and achievements. That is, you can determine the meaning of the word "obelisk" yourself. It is an architectural monument that looks like a pillar tapering upward.

Gradually obelisks went out of fashion as an element of design or architecture, but they were used as monuments of military glory. For example, you can often see obelisks over the mass graves of the Great Patriotic War. And in Russian cities there are monuments to outstanding historical and military figures of the past years, for example, the obelisk in honor of Minin and Pozharsky in Nizhny Novgorod, at the site of Suvorov command post at Borodino Field and others.

Luxor obelisk

In 1831, Egyptian ruler 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 the royal meeting was set on the Place de la Concorde, where to this day one can see an obelisk. His photo is given a little higher. The lower part of the monument depicts the process of its delivery.