Serpent Column

About Serpent Column

The Serpent Column is one of the oldest objects standing in Istanbul, and it wasn't made for this city at all. It was originally cast in bronze around 479 BC to celebrate the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Plataea, and it stood at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi for centuries before the Roman emperor Constantine had it moved to his new capital in the 4th century AD. It was set up on the central spine of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, the chariot-racing arena that was once the social heart of the city. That open square, now called Sultanahmet Square or At Meydani, is where you'll find it today.

The column takes its name from its shape: three intertwined bronze snakes twisting upward, which originally supported a golden tripod and bowl at the top. Those upper parts are long gone, and the column stands lower now than it once did because ground levels around the Hippodrome have risen over the centuries. The three serpent heads survived into the 18th century but were broken off; one of the surviving fragments is kept in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums nearby. What remains is the coiled bronze shaft, sunk slightly below the level of the modern square and usually surrounded by a low protective railing.

You don't need a ticket or set opening hours to see it, since it sits out in the open in a public square that's free to walk through at any time. It's very close to the Egyptian Obelisk and the Walled Obelisk, the other two monuments along the old Hippodrome spine, and the whole square is a short walk from Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Most guided Old City walks pass through here, so many visitors see the column as part of a wider tour rather than a stop on its own. Give it a few minutes, read the story behind it, and it turns from an easy-to-miss lump of metal into one of the more remarkable survivors in the city.