An
obelisk (Greek ?ße??s??? [
obeliskos], diminutive of ?ße??? [
obelos], "needle") is a tall, narrow, four-sided, tapering
monument which ends in a
pyramidal top. Ancient obelisks were made of a single piece of stone (a
monolith). The term
stele (plural
stelae) is generally used for other monumental standing
inscribed sculpted stones not of classic obelisk form.
Obelisks were a prominent part of the architecture of the ancient Egyptians, who placed them in pairs at the entrance of temples. The word "Obelisk" is of Greek rather than Egyptian origin because Herodotus, the Greek traveler, was the first to describe the objects. Twenty-eight ancient Egyptian obelisks are known to have survived, plus the "Unfinished Obelisk" found partly hewn from its quarry at Aswan. These Obelisks are now dispersed worldwide, and only eight remain in Egypt.
The earliest temple Obelisk still in its original position is the 68 ft. high red granite Obelisk of Senusret I of the XIIth Dynasty at Heliopolis.[1]
The obelisk symbolized the sun God Ra, or Re as some know him, and during the brief religious reformation of Akhenaten was said to be a petrified ray of the Aten, the sundisk. It was also thought that the God existed within the structure.
