Serpentine Column

Serpentine Column

Serpentine Column, it is a bronze monument depicting three python snakes entangled in the Hippodrome (today’s Horse Square) in Sultanahmet square in Istanbul. It is the oldest large monument in Istanbul that has survived from the classical period to the present day. It was made in memory of the victory of the Battle of Plataea won by the Greek cities united against the Persian army in 479 BC. The eighteen meter high column was in the form of three snakes. The bronze column, which had reached the present day, was carrying a tripod made of gold with tails intertwined.
A 5-meter section can be seen in the hippodrome square. The top and bottom are broken. Two of the column’s snake heads are missing. One of them is exhibited in Istanbul Archeology Museum.
Nowadays, it is visited by people who come to visit the hippodrome square. It attracts great attention with other columns in the square.