Serpent Column (originally from Plataea monument group)

E70946

The Serpent Column is an ancient bronze victory monument originally dedicated at Delphi to commemorate the Greek city-states’ triumph over the Persians at the Battle of Plataea, later moved to Constantinople.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Serpent Column 0

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient monument
bronze column
victory monument
approximateDateOfDedication 5th century BCE
artStyle Classical Greek
associatedEvent Battle of Plataea
Greco-Persian Wars
commemorates Battle of Plataea
Greek victory over the Persians
countryAtTimeOfCreation Greek Antiquity
surface form: Ancient Greece
culturalContext Ancient Greek
currentLocation Hippodrome of Constantinople
Istanbul
Sultanahmet Square
dedicatedBy Greek city-states
Hellenic League
depicts intertwined snakes
function votive offering
war memorial
hasPart serpentine shaft
three intertwined serpents
tripod base (originally supporting a golden tripod)
hasType inscribed column
war trophy
height approximately 8 meters (originally, including tripod)
heritageDesignation monument of the Hippodrome of Constantinople
inscription names of Greek city-states that fought at Plataea
inscriptionLanguage Ancient Greek
material bronze
movedBy Constantinus Magnus
surface form: Constantine the Great
movedTo Istanbul
surface form: Constantinople
movementReason to decorate the Hippodrome of Constantinople
notableDamage loss of golden tripod
loss of serpent heads
notableFor inscribed list of Greek poleis
one of the oldest surviving monuments in Istanbul
oneSerpentHeadLocation Istanbul Archaeological Museums
surface form: Istanbul Archaeology Museums (fragment)
originalLocation Delphi
Panhellenic sanctuary of Delphi
surface form: Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi
partOf Plataea monument group
presentHeight approximately 5 meters (surviving shaft)
region Eastern Mediterranean
religiousContext dedicated to Apollo
supported golden tripod (originally)
symbolism triumph over Persia
unity of Greek city-states

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Sacred Way hasNotableMonument Serpent Column (originally from Plataea monument group)
subject surface form: Sacred Way (Delphi)