The Serpentine Column

This second oldest monument in the Hippodrome is dated as 479 BC and it is the Serpentine Column brought from the Apollon Temple in Delphi, Greece by Constantine in 326 BC and was place here. This monument symbolize the victory of the Grek States against the Persians in Palatea and its original form consists of a giant golden trophy with 2 M of the diameter and which is set on the heads of three snakes wrapped around each other. Before bringing it to İstanbul, the thropy was lost and the heads of the snakes were broken with Stones during the Otoman Period. One of these heads is exhibited in the Archeological Museum of İstanbul and the other in British Museum in London. The original height was 6.5 M, and it is 5 M today.