Serpentine Column Detail

View looking north. The Serpentine Column was brought to Constantinople as “booty” from the sacred precinct at Delphi, Greece. It stood near the Temple of Apollo and had three intertwined heads (see diagram below; two heads now missing). It was dedicated in 479 B.C. It commemorated the victory of 31 Greek cities over the Persians in the battle at Plataea in 479 B.C. One of its surviving heads is in the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul.