OBELISCUS ANTINOI
the obelisk now standing on the Pincian hill, which
was brought to Rome by Hadrian. The hieroglyphics were probably
cut in Rome, and state that the obelisk was erected on the site where
Antinous was buried, just outside the limits of the city (
Mitt. 1896,
113-121;
BC 1891, 277-279;
1897, 208-215=Ob. Eg. 132-139; Erman
in Preuss.Abh. 1917, Abh. 4. 10-17), but it is uncertain whether this means
that the body of Antinous was actually brought to Rome or not. The
fragments of this obeliskwere set up in 1570 in the vigna Saccoccia outside
porta Maggiore at a point marked by an inscription recording the fact, which
was fixed to one of the piers of the aqua Claudia, about 360 metres east of
the Aurelian wall. This was made one of the piers of the acqua Felice in
1585, The original site of the obelisk was probably not far from this point
(
Mitt. 1896, 122-130; HJ 251;
LS iii. 165). In 1633 it was removed by
the Barberini to their palace, and afterwards presented to Clement XIV
(1769-1777). It lay in the Giardino della Pigna in the Vatican until 1822,
when Pius VII erected it on the Pincian. The obelisk is about 9 metres
high, and may have stood at the entrance to the tomb or cenotaph of
Antinous, perhaps with another of the same size (
NS 1922, 137-where
the old identification with the horti Variani or spei Veteris is still
retained: T x. 386).
