Who came up with the obelisk?

The first obelisks were built by ancient Egyptians. They were carved from stone and placed in pairs at the entrance of temples as sacred objects that symbolized the sun god, Ra. It's believed that the shape symbolized a single sun ray.



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The Sultan of Egypt and Sudan presented the obelisk to the British Government in 1819, in commemoration of Lord Nelson's victory at the Battle of the Nile in 1798 and Sir Ralph Abercromby's victory at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801.

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In 1830 the Sultan and Viceroy of Egypt Mehemet Ali decided to offer the two obelisks standing in front of the Luxor Temple (Thebes, Egypt) to King Charles X of France. It was a gesture of friendship and gratitude for the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs by Champollion.

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Scholars believe that obelisks represented eternity and immortality, and their long, tapering form functioned to connect the heavens and the earth. Their pinnacles were typically covered in gold to reflect the sunlight.

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The Egyptian monument represented a given pharaoh, expressing the fusion of earthly and divine power, a solar symbol of creation and regeneration. With a square base, the structure gradually tapered high up in a pyramid shape, called pyramidion.

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The earliest surviving obelisk dates from the reign of Sesostris I (1918–1875 bce) and stands at Heliopolis, a suburb of Cairo, where once stood a temple to Re.

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During the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt, the French attempted to steal the two obelisks and take them back to Paris. The campaign ended before they were successful, but the French did not give up then. A mere 30 years later, the obelisks were “gifted” to the French by the Ottoman monarch Muhammed Ali Pasha.

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  • Goshen Obelisk, Heliopolis, Egypt. ...
  • Philae Obelisk, Kingston Lacy, Dorset, England. ...
  • Cleopatra's Needle, Alexandria, Egypt.


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Below is a list of the world's most famous obelisks.
  • Washington Monument, Washington DC, United States.
  • 2.Obelisk at Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City.
  • Luxor Obelisk, Paris, France.
  • Obelisco de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Cleopatra's Needle, New York, United States.
  • Luxor Obelisk, Luxor, Egypt.


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For of the 21 ancient obelisks still standing, Egypt itself can claim fewer than five. Rome boasts 13, all snatched from the Land of the Pharaohs in Roman times, and the rest are spread from Istanbul to New York City.

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The city of Rome has the most obelisks in the world! 13 true obelisks, stone pillars made from single blocks of stone.

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