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Flaminio Obelisk

Monument at Egyptian obelisks of Rome · also called Obelisco Flaminio, Piazza del Popolo obelisk, Obelisk of Seti I Rome, Popolo obelisk

The obelisk in the middle of Piazza del Popolo carries the names of Seti I and his son Ramesses II. Seti's columns fill three faces, and Ramesses II inscribed the fourth face and added the side columns.

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Signs to look for

  1. Goddess Maat C10mꜣꜥt The goddess Maat sits in both throne names, Menmaatre and Usermaatre. Spotting her is the quickest way into the cartouches.
  2. Game board Y5mn The game board (men) opens Seti I's throne name Menmaatre and spells Amun in Ramesses II's name.
  3. Head and neck of a canine F12wsr The head of a canine (user) begins Usermaatre, so a cartouche starting with it is Ramesses II.
  4. Column O28iwn The column writes Iunu, Heliopolis, the city the texts say the obelisk was made for.
  5. Three fox skins F31ms The three fox skins (mes) form the middle of Ramesses II's name on the east face.

Names you can find here

The story of Flaminio Obelisk

Seti I had it cut from Aswan granite for the temple of the sun god at Heliopolis, and died before the work was done. Ramesses II finished it and set it up there. Seti's texts call him the king who fills Heliopolis with obelisks, and his son's say he made his father's monument beautiful.

Augustus brought it to Rome in 10 BC and stood it on the spine of the Circus Maximus. Two faces of the base carry his Latin dedication to the Sun, after Egypt had come under the power of the Roman people. Once the circus was abandoned it fell and broke into three pieces. Sixtus V had them dug up, and Domenico Fontana raised the obelisk in Piazza del Popolo in 1589. The lions and basins around the base were added in the nineteenth century by Giuseppe Valadier.

What to see and read

Seti I's three faces

The central columns give his throne name Menmaatre and his name Seti, beloved of the gods of Heliopolis.

The east face of Ramesses II

The side toward the Pincio is all his: Usermaatre Setepenre and Ramesses, beloved of Amun, said to have beautified this monument of his father.

Offering scene near the top

Below the tip of the south face, Seti I kneels and offers two jars to the sun god, who promises him all lands in peace.

Augustus' dedication

The Latin on the ancient base ends SOLI DONUM DEDIT, 'he gave it as a gift to the Sun'.

Reading the hieroglyphs here

  • Stand on the side toward the Pincio steps to read the face Ramesses II carved alone.
  • Compare one cartouche from each king: Seti's opens with the game board, his son's with the canine head.
  • The square is open and bright at midday. The signs read best in low morning or evening light.

Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.

Questions

What is written on the obelisk in Piazza del Popolo?

Royal texts of Seti I and Ramesses II for the sun god of Heliopolis, with the kings' names in cartouches. The base adds Augustus' Latin dedication to the Sun and inscriptions of Sixtus V.

How old is the Piazza del Popolo obelisk?

It was made under Seti I, around 1290 BC, and completed by Ramesses II. Augustus brought it to Rome in 10 BC, and it has stood in Piazza del Popolo since 1589.

Also at Egyptian obelisks of Rome

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Dogali Obelisk

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Read more about Flaminio Obelisk

Where it is

Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.