The Serpent Column; a bronze sculpture that has stood in Delphi and Constantinople; today Istanbul; is a Greek representation of the Near Eastern primordial combat myth: it is Typhon; a dragon defeated by Zeus; and also Python slain by Apollo. The column was created after the Battle of Plataia (479 BC); where the sky was dominated by serpentine constellations and by the spiralling tails of the Milky Way. It was erected as a votive for Apollo and as a monument to the victory of the united Greek poleis over the Persians. It is as a victory monument that the column was transplanted to Constantinople and erected in the hippodrome. The column remained a monument to cosmic victory through centuries; but also took on other meanings. Through the Byzantine centuries these interpretation were fundamentally Christian; drawing upon serpentine imagery in Scripture; patristic and homiletic writings. When Byzantines saw the monument they reflected upon this multivalent serpentine symbolism; but also the fact that it was a bronze column. For these observers; it evoked the Temples brazen pillars; Moses brazen serpent; the serpentine tempter of Genesis (Satan); and the beast of Revelation. The column was inserted into Christian sacred history; symbolizing creation and the end times. The most enduring interpretation of the column; which is unrelated to religion; and therefore survived the Ottoman capture of the city; is as a talisman against snakes and snake-bites. It is this tale that was told by travellers to Constantinople throughout the Middle Ages; and it is this story that is told to tourists today who visit Istanbul. In this book; Paul Stephenson twists together multiple strands to relate the cultural biography of a unique monument.
#3531694 in eBooks 2016-04-07 2016-04-07File Name: B01LETUTAQ
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