DH.038 Tripod of Plataea in Sanctuary of Apollo

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Creator

Denis Baly

Creation Year

1978

Image ID

DH.038

Subcollection

DH: Delphi

Abstract

Dedicated after the battle of Plataea against the Persians in 479 BCE, the round base seen here once supported a bronze pedestal inlaid with gold, in the shape of three intertwined serpents. Emperor Constantine I brought the pedestal east when he founded his new capital, and it remains in Istanbul today.

Description

A view of the base of the Tripod of Plataea, dedicated after the Greco-Persian battle of the same name in 479 BCE. This was the final battle of the Second Persian Invasion, and was fought and won by a large alliance of Greek city-states. After the victory, a magnificent monument was erected on this base, a 5.5 meter tall bronze pedestal inlaid with gold in the shape of three intertwined serpents and bearing the names of the 31 city-states that fought together. The heads of the serpents supported a golden tripod for which the monument is named. The monument's glory was short-lived though, as the tripod was taken by Phocians in 356 BCE, and in 324 CE Roman Emperor Constantine I relocated the pedestal to decorate the newly founded Constantinople, where it remains today. In 2015, after Baly's visit, a replica cast from the pedestal was erected next to the base at Delphi, but still does not approach the glory of the original monument.

Image Notes

Creation date unknown. Photograph processed July 1978. Notes written on the slide or index: Tripod of Platea.

Image Format

35 mm slide

Geographic Reference

Delfoi, Greece