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Minerva Obelisk

Monument at Egyptian obelisks of Rome · also called Elephant and Obelisk, Obelisco della Minerva, Pulcino della Minerva, Bernini elephant obelisk, Obelisk of Apries

The obelisk on the back of Bernini's marble elephant names Apries, a king of the 26th Dynasty, who set it up at Sais in the Nile Delta around 580 BC. At about five and a half metres, it is the smallest of Rome's ancient obelisks.

Point your camera at a wall

Signs to look for

  1. Fibre swab V29wꜣḥ The fibre swab (wah) begins Wahibre, the Egyptian name of Apries.
  2. Heart F34ib The heart (ib) follows it: Wah-ib-re, 'constant is the heart of Ra'.
  3. Sun N5rꜥ The sun disc writes Ra at the end of his names.
  4. Cartouche V10 The cartouche rings each of the king's names. With the obelisk this small, they are within easy reach of the camera.

The story of Minerva Obelisk

Its hieroglyphs give the king's names in cartouches. The Greeks called him Apries, and his Egyptian name was Wahibre, 'constant is the heart of Ra'. A second obelisk of his stands in Urbino and is thought to be its pair.

It came to Rome in imperial times for the sanctuary of Isis and Serapis on this side of the Campus Martius. In 1665 it was found in the garden of the Dominican convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Pope Alexander VII had Bernini design the elephant, and his assistant Ercole Ferrata carved it. It was unveiled in 1667, weeks after the pope died.

Athanasius Kircher, the Jesuit who also tried to read the Navona obelisk, published a reading of its four faces as Christian symbols. The base's Latin inscription takes up his idea: the elephant, strongest of beasts, shows that a robust mind is needed to carry solid wisdom.

What to see and read

Apries' cartouches

Look for the cartouche with the fibre swab and the heart: Wahibre, the king's own name.

The elephant

Bernini's design, carved by Ercole Ferrata. Its saddle cloth carries the arms of Alexander VII.

The base inscriptions

Two Latin texts of 1667, one about the wisdom of Egypt carried by the elephant, the other on the obelisk's discovery.

Reading the hieroglyphs here

  • This is the easiest obelisk in Rome to photograph whole: stand by the church steps and zoom.
  • The square is narrow and shaded for much of the day. A sharp photo helps more than waiting for light.
  • Trace a cartouche on the camera page to check each sign of Wahibre.

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 the obelisk on the elephant in Rome?

An Egyptian obelisk of Apries, a king of the 26th Dynasty, from Sais. Bernini designed the elephant that carries it, and it was set up in Piazza della Minerva in 1667.

Who made Bernini's elephant?

Bernini designed it for Pope Alexander VII, and his assistant Ercole Ferrata carved it. Romans call it the Pulcino della Minerva.

Also at Egyptian obelisks of Rome

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Pantheon Obelisk

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Pamphilj Obelisk

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Dogali Obelisk

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Read more about Minerva 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.