How much do you know about Cleopatra's Needle?

Cleopatra's Needle: An Obelisk of Mythological Significance

• Cleopatra's Needle is an obelisk from Ancient Egypt located in central London, standing over 20 meters tall.
• The obelisk was originally one of a pair made for the entrance to the great temple of the sun god, Ra, in Heliopolis.
• The priests of Heliopolis were renowned for their knowledge and wisdom, and many of the myths discussed in the book may have originated there.
• The obelisks were made to facilitate the daily cycle in which the sun god renewed the universe, and were covered in an alloy of gold and silver.
• Cleopatra's Needle represents the western horizon, the place of sunset and death, while the other obelisk represents the eastern horizon, the place of dawn and rebirth.
• Individual obelisks also stood for the primeval mound, the place of the very first sunrise at the dawn of creation, and acted as markers of mythological time.
• The obelisks were inscribed by Ramesses II and may have been moved to the Nile Delta before ending up in Alexandria during the Ptolemy dynasty.
• The obelisks were re-erected by Emperor Augustus outside a temple dedicated to the cult of Julius Caesar.
• The western obelisk was toppled by an earthquake and later offered to Britain in 1801 as a gift.
• The obelisk was transported to Britain on the barge 'Cleopatra' in 1877, with the loss of six lives during the journey.
• The successful erection of the obelisk on the Thames embankment inspired the transportation and erection of the other obelisk in Central Park, New York in 1881.
• Egyptian obelisks have been assigned new meanings in new contexts, but in their original setting, they celebrated the victory of life over death.

Cleopatra's Needle: An Obelisk of Mythological Significance

• Cleopatra's Needle is an obelisk from Ancient Egypt located in central London, standing over 20 meters tall.
• The obelisk was originally one of a pair made for the entrance to the great temple of the sun god, Ra, in Heliopolis.
• The priests of Heliopolis were renowned for their knowledge and wisdom, and many of the myths discussed in the book may have originated there.
• The obelisks were made to facilitate the daily cycle in which the sun god renewed the universe, and were covered in an alloy of gold and silver.
• Cleopatra's Needle represents the western horizon, the place of sunset and death, while the other obelisk represents the eastern horizon, the place of dawn and rebirth.
• Individual obelisks also stood for the primeval mound, the place of the very first sunrise at the dawn of creation, and acted as markers of mythological time.
• The obelisks were inscribed by Ramesses II and may have been moved to the Nile Delta before ending up in Alexandria during the Ptolemy dynasty.
• The obelisks were re-erected by Emperor Augustus outside a temple dedicated to the cult of Julius Caesar.
• The western obelisk was toppled by an earthquake and later offered to Britain in 1801 as a gift.
• The obelisk was transported to Britain on the barge 'Cleopatra' in 1877, with the loss of six lives during the journey.
• The successful erection of the obelisk on the Thames embankment inspired the transportation and erection of the other obelisk in Central Park, New York in 1881.
• Egyptian obelisks have been assigned new meanings in new contexts, but in their original setting, they celebrated the victory of life over death.

Cleopatra's Needle: An Obelisk of Mythological Significance

• Cleopatra's Needle is an obelisk from Ancient Egypt located in central London, standing over 20 meters tall.
• The obelisk was originally one of a pair made for the entrance to the great temple of the sun god, Ra, in Heliopolis.
• The priests of Heliopolis were renowned for their knowledge and wisdom, and many of the myths discussed in the book may have originated there.
• The obelisks were made to facilitate the daily cycle in which the sun god renewed the universe, and were covered in an alloy of gold and silver.
• Cleopatra's Needle represents the western horizon, the place of sunset and death, while the other obelisk represents the eastern horizon, the place of dawn and rebirth.
• Individual obelisks also stood for the primeval mound, the place of the very first sunrise at the dawn of creation, and acted as markers of mythological time.
• The obelisks were inscribed by Ramesses II and may have been moved to the Nile Delta before ending up in Alexandria during the Ptolemy dynasty.
• The obelisks were re-erected by Emperor Augustus outside a temple dedicated to the cult of Julius Caesar.
• The western obelisk was toppled by an earthquake and later offered to Britain in 1801 as a gift.
• The obelisk was transported to Britain on the barge 'Cleopatra' in 1877, with the loss of six lives during the journey.
• The successful erection of the obelisk on the Thames embankment inspired the transportation and erection of the other obelisk in Central Park, New York in 1881.
• Egyptian obelisks have been assigned new meanings in new contexts, but in their original setting, they celebrated the victory of life over death.