Obelisk

For other uses, see Obelisk (disambiguation). For other monumental, upright, inscribed and sculpted stones, see Stele.

One of the two Luxor Obelisks, on the Place de la Concorde in Paris; a red granite monolithic column, 23 metres (75 feet) high, including the base, which weighs over 250 metric tons (280 short tons).
Lateran Obelisk in Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome. With its height of 32.18 metres (105.6 feet) (with the base and the cross it reaches 45.70 m) it is the largest standing ancient monolithic obelisk in the world.[1]

An obelisk (/ˈɒbəlɪsk/; from Ancient Greek ὀβελίσκος (obelískos),[2][3] diminutive of ὀβελός (obelós) 'spit, nail, pointed pillar')[4] is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top.[5] Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called tekhenu, the Greeks used the Greek term obeliskos to describe them, and this word passed into Latin and ultimately English.[6] Though William Thomas used the term correctly in his Historie of Italie of 1549, by the late sixteenth century (after reduced contact with Italy following the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth), Shakespeare failed to distinguish between pyramids and obelisks in his plays and sonnets.[7] Ancient obelisks are monolithic and consist of a single stone; most modern obelisks are made of several stones.[8]

  1. ^ "NOVA Online | Mysteries of the Nile | A World of Obelisks: Rome". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  2. ^ ὀβελίσκος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  3. ^ Harper, Douglas. "obelisk". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  4. ^ οβελός in Liddell and Scott.
  5. ^ Random House (2005). Random House Webster's college dictionary. Random House Reference, New York. p. 847. ISBN 9780375426001. 1. n. a tapering, four-sided shaft of stone, usu. monolithic and having a pyramidal apex.
  6. ^ Baker, Rosalie F.; Baker, Charles (2001). Ancient Egyptians: People of the pyramids. Oxford University Press. p. 69. ISBN 978-0195122213. Retrieved 10 March 2014. Tekhenu egyptian
  7. ^ Edward Chaney,' "Thy pyramyds buylt up with newer might":Shakespeare and the Cultural Memory of Ancient Egypt' Aegyptiaca. Journal of the History of Reception of Ancient Egypt (5), 263–344 [1]
  8. ^ "Befreiungskriege (Gertraudenfriedhof) | Halle im Bild". www.halle-im-bild.de. Retrieved 23 January 2023.