Alexandria, Egypt: Pompey's Pillar

Touring the city of Alexandria nestled in the Delta of Egypt, one encounters all kinds of magnificent sites of this once great metropolis of the ancient world. Looking up towards the sky, one monuments stands out above all others that has its origins deep in the past: Pompey's Pillar. This pillar, or column, is Greek in style and made of red granite that came from Aswan. Even though it is known to the modern world as Pompey's Pillar, the pillar was actually installed and dedicated to the Roman emperor Diocletian who ruled from 284 to 305 C.E. Erected around 292, it was meant to honor the emperor for saving the city of Alexandria from a famine caused by an internal revolt of the city against Roman rule. Diocletian entered the city ordering a counter siege, but part of the result was a massive famine which he resolved by providing food for the residents and exempting them from paying taxes during their economic hardship.

The column has a total height of 26.85 meters, with the base diameter 2.70 meters, and the top, 2.30 meters in size. The top of the column has a Corinthian capital and the Crusaders who first entered Egypt believed that the ashes of the Roman general Pompey, who was murdered in 48 BCE, were once stored in a pot on top of this capital. The upper part of the base bears an inscription in Greek that says: "To the most just Emperor, tutelary of Alexandria, Diocletian, the invincible. Posthumous the prefect of Egypt."

Pompey's Pillar was originally part of a temple dedicated to Serapis located in the same area. Serapis was a god with Greek and Egypt attributes; the name comes from Osiris and Apis. Apis was a bull deity worshiped in Memphis that began during the Second Dynasty, which spanned from 2890 to 2650 BCE. Osiris, one of the most familiar deities of ancient Egypt known to the modern world, was the god of the underworld and the dead. Serapis was thus depicted with Greek features including a beard. When it comes to what Serapis presided over, a plethora of other Greek deities were included: Dionysus, Apollo, and Asclepius, creating a powerful deity in Alexandria. Being a god of the afterlife and fertility was the primary role of Serapis to his followers.

Just south of the column are two sphinxes that flank either side of the column. These sphinxes date back to Ptolemy VI, who ruled from 181 to 145 BCE. In 1943 to 1944 parts of the former Serapis temple were unearthed, including foundation deposits containing a number of plaques with hieroglyphs inscribed on them. Subterranean galleries also formed part of the temple where the column stands.

Even though most of the Serapeum, or Temple to Serapis is now gone, the site is worth visiting if only to see the grand column known as Pompey's Pillar.

Guide to the Alexandrian Mounuments, Henri Riad et al. Alexandrian Tourism Guide, Balagh Press, Cairo, n.d.