PILLARS OF COMMEMORATION.
The erection of a column or pillar, on the highest point of that ridge of hills, called Blackdown, which separates the county of Somerset from that of Devon, in commemoration of the great victories obtained by the Duke of Wellington, is an inducement to look into history, to see how the nations of antiquity, particularly those of Greece and Rome, rewarded their heroes who signalized themselves by the performance of feats of military courage, valour, and skill.
Among the Grecians it was usual to confer honours and rewards upon those who distinguished themselves in battle by valiant and courageous conduct. The ordinary rewards presented to conquerors in all the states of Greece, were crowns, which were sometimes inscribed with the person’s name and actions that had merited them, as appears from the inscription upon the crown presented by the Athenians to Conon. The Athenians sometimes honoured those who had performedgreat actions with permission to raise pillars, or erect statues to the gods, with inscriptions declaring their victories. Plutarch, however, supposes this to have been a grant rarely yielded to the greatest commanders. Cimon, who commanded the Athenian fleet against the Persians, became master of the city of Eion, in Thrace, and was, on account of his not imitating former commanders, by standing upon the defensive, but repulsing the enemy, and carrying the war into their own country, highly respected and admired by his countrymen, who allowed him, in honour of his success over the enemy, to erect three pillars of stone or marble, each surmounted with the head of Mercury; but though they bore an inscription, Cimon was not permitted to inscribe his name upon them. These pillars were considered by his contemporaries as the highest honour which had then been conferred upon any commander.
Various Pillars were erected at Rome in honour of great men, and to commemorate illustrious actions. Thus there were theColumna Ænea, a pillar of Brass, on which a league with the Latins was written. TheColumna Rostrata, the Rostral Column, erected in the Forum, in honour of Duillius, was adorned with figures of ships, and was constructed of white marble. This column is still remaining with its inscription. It was built in honour of a great victory gained byDuillius over the Carthaginian fleet near Lipara, in the first Punic war. Another Pillar was erected by M. Fulvius, the Consul, consisting of one stone of Numidian marble, nearly 20 feet high.
But the most remarkable columns were those ofTrajanandAntoninus Pius.
Trajan’s Pillar was erected in the middle of his Forum, and was composed of twenty-four great pieces of marble, but so curiously cemented as to seem but one. Its height is 128 feet. It is about 12 feet in diameter at the bottom, and 10 at the top. It has in the inside 185 steps for ascending to the top, and forty windows for the admission of light. The whole pillar is incrusted with marble, on which are represented the warlike exploits of that Emperor and his army, particularly in Dacia. On the top was a Colossal figure of Trajan, holding in his left hand a sceptre, and in his right a hollow globe of gold, in which his ashes were put, but Eutropius affirms that his ashes were put under the pillar.
The pillar of Antoninus was erected after his death, by the Senate, in honour of his memory. It is 176 feet high, the steps of ascent 106, and the windows 56. The sculpture and other ornaments are much of the same kind with those of Trajan’s pillar, but the work is greatly inferior.
Both these pillars are still standing, and justly reckoned among the most precious remains ofantiquity. Pope SixtusV.instead of the statues of the Emperors, caused the statue ofSt.Peter to be erected on Trajan’s pillar, and ofSt.Paul on that of Antoninus.
Pompey’s Pillar, as it is commonly called, in the city of Alexandria in Egypt, is equally celebrated with the two just mentioned. It is composed of red granite. The base is a square of about 15 feet on each side; this block of marble, 60 feet in circumference, rests on two layers of stone bound together with lead. The shaft and the upper member of the base are of one piece of 90 feet long, and nine in diameter. The capital is corinthian, with palm leaves, and not indented; it is 9 feet high. The whole column is 114 feet in height. It is perfectly well polished, and only a little shivered on the eastern side. Nothing can equal the majesty of this column; seen from a distance it overtops the town, and serves as a signal for vessels. Approaching it nearer, it produces astonishment mixed with awe. The eye can never be tired with admiring the beauty of the capital, the length of the shaft, nor the extraordinary simplicity of the pedestal.
Among the first inhabitants of the world after the flood there were pillars erected sacred to the Pythonic god, Apollo, or the Sun. These pillars had curious hieroglyphical inscriptions; they were very lofty and narrow in comparison oftheir length; hence among the Greeks, who copied from the Egyptians, every thing gradually tapering to a point was stiled an Obelisk.