Lateran Obelisk, Rome Italy
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon..and he shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, …He shall break the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.” Jeremiah 43 : 10,13
The term ‘Obelisks’ in this verse is variously translated “standing stone “ or “stele” or ”pillar” or obelisk”. In the setting of Egypt there were certainly incredible obelisks erected at the temples of their pagan gods and at their royal tombs long before the time of Jeremiah, including the obelisk that now stands outside the Basilica of San Giovanni In Laterano in Rome. This obelisk, as attested by the hieroglyphic inscriptions on all four sides, was commissioned by Thutmose III and finished by his grandson Thutmose IV - dating to sometime in the 15th century BC. This red granite obelisk was quarried at the Answan quarries in ancient Egypt and erected at the temple of Amun-Ra in Thebes. The hieroglyphs praise Thutmose III and Thutmose IV as sons of the gods.
The Latin inscriptions around the base of the obelisk tell the story of its travels. Constantine wanted the obelisk for his new capital - Constantinople - and had it moved up the Nile from Karnak of Thebes to Alexandria. For some reason, it remained in Alexandria and never made it to Constantinople. Constantine’s son, Constantius II, then had it moved to Rome in 357 AD via a barge ship across the sea and up the Tiber River. It was erected on the spina of the Circus Maximus. At some point after the decline of Rome, the obelisk fell and lay in the dirt until 1587 when Pope Sixtus V had it moved to just outside the baptistery of St John’s Lateran Basilica and topped it with a cross. The latin inscriptions on the base commemorate Constantine and call him a “victor through the cross”. There was a 4 stanza inscription on the original base that gave the details of the obelisk’s long journey.
This is the largest obelisk in Rome and the tallest in Italy (even though 4 meters were removed from the bottom when it was moved from the Circus Maximus!) and may be the oldest thing standing in Rome. It stood at the temple of the Egyptian sun god for over 17 centuries before it even started its journey to Rome. Now it stands topped with a cross as testament to faith in the victory of the risen Savior Jesus Christ.
Obelisk at St John’s Lateran Basilica in Rome. Originally quarried at Answan in ancient Egypt and erected the temple of the god Amun-Ra in Thebes in the 15th century BC.
