In ancient Rome these objects were surrounded with cult and special attention and almost every emperor desired to mark his reign with putting up at least one. Doing this, no difficulty was spared, special ships were built, while throngs of slaves were employed to transport them from Egypt. Their popularity was so great, that when it turned out that there are simply not enough Egyptian obelisks, they were manufactured on the spot, adorning them with Egyptian hieroglyphs, since they constituted a particular, veiled in mystery value to the Romans.

Along with the arrival of Christianity they were torn down and shattered, while subsequent centuries covered them with layers of dirt. Centuries had to pass, in order for them to once again attract interest. And it was the popes who spared no efforts to once again place them in the most representative squares of Catholic Rome, this time adorning them with their own coats of arms and crosses. This one, which currently stands in a rather distant and slightly less representative location on Pincio Hill (viale dell’Obelisco) was however, treated in a rather peculiar way. It was found, in three parts at the end of the XVI century not far from porta Maggiore, next to the Aurelian Walls, thus its original name “obelisco Aureliano”. It was put up, but only for a short time, then once again, found itself in a horizontal position. Was it at that time that a problem of ideological nature was noticed, we do not know. Finally in 1633 the monument found its way to the courtyard of Palazzo Barberini, and in the possession of the cardinals from the Barberini family it stayed, having never been put up for nearly a century. It was not until a descendant of the family, Cornelia Constanza Barberini, at the beginning of the XVIII century gifted the troublesome object to Pope Clement XIV. It was troublesome not only due to its cubature, but also because of the hieroglyphs which adorn it. They describe a story of a man who died at a young age. Perhaps this would not be anything worth noting, if it had not been for the fact that this youth was Antinous – a favorite of Emperor Hadrian and his lover, after whose death the emperor suffered from months of depression. The boy drowned in the Nile in 130 A.D., during one of the emperor’s journeys. After his death numerous images to commemorate him were made, temples were devoted to him (he was deified), and this was the case with this obelisk, which was further proof of the torment of the emperor. In the image of old Egyptian monuments of this type, it was made of pink granite and measured 9.25 meters. The inscriptions (hieroglyphs) found on its sides inform, that Antinous identified with the Egyptian god Osiris, asks the god Re for intercession and salvation for Hadrian, who had put up this obelisk. We also find out that not far from the place where Antinous’s life came to an unfortunate end and where games which commemorate him take place, the emperor ordered the city of Antinoopolis to be built. On another wall we can read of the construction of a temple for Antinous-Osiris, while the last inscription praises him and asks the god Thot for intercession on the behalf of his soul. If it had not been for the pagan figures and old Egyptian gods, we could have thought that this is a thoroughly Christian inscription. It is an evidence, of how strong the need of a mystic religion was in the Roman culture, a religion giving them perspective of renewed life and immortality of the soul, which they found in Egyptian beliefs.

Initially the obelisk was found on Hadrian’s property in Tivoli (Hadrian’s Villa). It most likely adorned the tombstone of Antinous found there, while it was brought to Rome at the beginning of the III century in order to decorate the spina of Circus Varianus – an antique hippodrome, of which construction started during the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus and ended during the reign of Heliogabalus.

We do not know, whether Pope Clement XIV realized the nature of the gift he had received. However, the obelisk found itself on the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace (Cortile della Pigna). Another century had passed and in the year 1822 it was transferred to Pincio Hill and a plinth was added, which raised its height to over 17 meters. The inscription found on the plinth, this time commemorates Pope Pius VII, during whose pontificate this transfer was made. It does not mention the name of the emperor’s favorite, while the obelisk itself was named Aureliano – from the place where it was found.