Obelisk (pronounced ob-uh-lisk)
(1) Classically, a tapering, four-sided shaft of stone, usually monolithic and having a pyramidal apex. Most are vertical constructions.
(2) Something resembling such a shaft.
(3) An obelus.
(4) In printing, an alternative name for the dagger sign (†), especially when used as a reference mark.
1540-1550: From the sixteenth century French obélisque, from the Classical Latin obeliscus (obelisk, small spit), from the Greek obelískos (small spit, obelisk, leg of a compass), diminutive of obelos (a spit, pointed pillar, needle, broach; obelisk; bar of metal used as a coin or weight), of uncertain origin but said by etymologists to be pre-Greek. Literal translations of obelos were variously “a spit, pointed pillar, needle”, the construct being obel(ós) + iskos, the diminutive suffix while the meaning in English was picked up from the Middle French obélisque. The Greek obeliskos, reflecting the influence of Medieval translations, is sometimes translated as “leg of a compass". The related adjectival forms are obeliscal and obeliskoid. In printing, the sign resembling a small dagger dates from the 1580s; in dictionaries it's used to mark obsolete words (the Greek obelos also was "a mark used in writing; horizontal line used as a diacritic".
Ruins with an obelisk in the distance (1764), by Hubert Robert (1733–1808).
The terms “obelisk” and “monolith” are sometimes used interchangeably and while in the case of many large stone structures this can be appropriate, the two terms have distinct meanings. Classically, an obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow pillar that tapers to a pyramid-like point at the top. Obelisks often are carved from a single piece of stone (and are thus monolithic) but can also be constructed in sections and archaeologists have discovered some of the multi-part structures exists by virtue of necessity; intended originally to be a single piece of stone, the design was changed after cracks were detected. A monolith is a large single block stone which can be naturally occurring (such as a large rock formation) or artificially shaped; monoliths take many forms, including obelisks, statues and even buildings. Thus, while an obelisk can be a monolith, not all monoliths are obelisks.
Lindsay Lohan walking in front of the Obélisque de Louxor (the Luxor Obelisk), Place de la Concorde in Paris, Paris Fashion Week, March 2010.
The mysterious black structures in Sir Arthur C Clarke's (1917–2008) Space Odyssey series (1968-1997) became well known after the release in 1968 of Stanley Kubrick's (1928–1999) film of the first novel in the series, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Although sometimes described as “obelisk”, the author noted they were really “monoliths”. The noun monolith was from the French monolithe (object made from a single block of stone), from Middle French monolythe (made from a single block of stone) and their etymon the Latin monolithus (made from a single block of stone), from the Ancient Greek μονόλιθος (monólithos) (made from a single block of stone), the construct being μονο- (mono-) (the prefix appended to convey the meaning “alone; single”), from μόνος (monos) (alone; only, unique), ultimately from the primitive Indo-European mey- (little, small) + λίθος (líthos) (a stone; stone as a substance). The English form was cognate with the German monolith (made from a single block of stone). In recent years, enthusiasts, mischief makers and click-bait hunters have been erecting similar monoliths in remote parts of planet Earth, leaving them to be discovered and publicized. With typical alacrity, modern commerce noted the interest and soon, replicas were being offered for sale, a gap in the market for Christmas gifts between US$10,000-45,000 apparently identified.
Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968; Soviet pilot and cosmonaut and the first human to travel to “outer space”) with his 1965 Matra Djet (left), standing in front of the Покори́телям ко́смоса (Monumént Pokorítelyam kósmosa) (Monument to the Conquerors of Space), the titanium obelisk erected in 1964 to celebrate the USSR's pioneering achievements in space exploration. The structure stands 351 feet (107 metres) tall and assumes an incline of 77° which is a bit of artistic licence because the rockets were launched in a vertical path but it was a good decision because (1) it lent the monument a greater sense of drama and (2) the wider base enhanced structural integrity. Underneath the obelisk sits the Музей космонавтики (Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics (known also as the Memorial Museum of Astronautics or Memorial Museum of Space Exploration)) and in the way which was typical of projects in the Brezhnev-era (Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982; Soviet leader 1964-1982) USSR, although construction was begun in 1964, it wasn't until 1981 the museum opened to the public.
The Luxor Obelisk sits in the centre of the Place de la Concorde, one of the world’s most photographed public squares. Of red granite, 22.5 metres (74 feet) in height and weighing an estimated 227 tonnes (250 short (US) tons), it is one of a pair, the other still standing front of the first pylon of the Luxor Temple on the east bank of the Nile River, Egypt. The obelisk arrived in France in May 1833 and less than six month later was raised in the presence of Louis Philippe I (1773–1850; King of the French 1830-1848). The square hadn’t always been a happy place for kings to stand; in 1789 (then known as the Place de Louis XV) it was one of the gathering points for the mobs staging what became the French Revolution and after the storming of the Bastille (of of history’s less dramatic events despite the legends), the square was renamed Place de la Revolution, living up to the name by being the place where Louis XVI (1754–1793; King of France 1774-1792), Marie Antoinette (1755–1793; Queen Consort of France 1774-1792) and a goodly number of others were guillotined. Things were calmer by 1833 when the obelisk was erected.
The structure was a gift to France by Pasha Mehmet Ali (1769–1849, Ottoman Albanian viceroy and governor of Egypt 1805-1848) and in return Paris sent a large mechanical clock which to this day remains in place in the clock tower of the mosque at the summit of the Citadel of Cairo and of the 28 obelisks, six remain in Egypt with the rest in various displays around the world. Some 3000 years old, in its original location the Obelisk contributed to scientific history wine in circa 250 BC Greek geographer & astronomer Eratosthenes of Cyrene (circa 276 BC–circa 195 BC) used the shadow it cast to calculate the circumference of the Earth. By comparing the shadow at a certain time with one in Alexandria, he concluded that the difference in distance between Alexandria and Aswan was seven degrees and 14 minutes and from this he could work out the Earth’s circumference.
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