This monument, along with its traveling partner, the Flaminian obelisk, allowed Augustus to display his conquests, while also maintaining the its original solar interpretation.
The monolith functioned as the gnomon, in the Solarium Augustae, a monument that served as a large sundial. In addition to the obelisk’s commemorative value, it held particular solar value as a dedication to Roman sun god, Sol. It was erected in the Campus Martius, topped with a gilt-bronze sphere, and inscribed with text commemorating Augustus's conquests in Egypt. Nearly 600 years after its erection in Heliopolis, the Obelisk of Montecitorio would become one of the two early obelisks Emperor Augustus ordered to Rome in around 10 BCE. Obelisks of Psamtik II’s time marked a revival in artistic form in Egypt, replicating styles of the Late Period kingly constructions from centuries before. It was quarried in Aswan, and them moved to the capital, Heliopolis, where it was erected with a twin monument at the sanctuary of Re. The obelisk, like many others of its time, was dedicated to the sun god. Upper and Lower Egypt, areas that had been divided until the reign of Psamtik II’s grandfather, Psamtik I, remained unified, and the dynasty was able to revitalize a number of structures throughout the kingdom. 1ĭespite these conflicts, however, Psamtik II’s kingdom was relatively prosperous. There was moderate political turmoil during this period, with a struggle for control at Egypt’s Southern border. The Obelisk of Montecitorio dates back to the 26th Dynasty of Egypt (664-525 BCE), and the reign of Late Period king Psamtik II (594-589 BCE). An example of the obelisk functioning as the gnomon in the Solarium Augustae.
0 kommentar(er)
