Abstract

The serpentine column of Istanbul is recognized as one of the oldest artifacts that have been described in historical sources. It is a monolithic fusion in bronze high about six / eight meters representing three snakes twisted together. It was translated by the Emperor Constantine from Delphi to Constantinople in 324 AD and placed in his glory in the plug in the circus. It is still visible in the same place where Constantine placed it, despite filling the stadium, the looting of the fourth crusade, the conquest of Muhammad II, the numerous wars and various periods of foreign domination, and mutilation of the heads of snakes. It is thought that what the column has undergone over the centuries altered the initial functionality making it an object now only statically exposed. This study proposes a model to search of the lost functionality of the column standing in Delphi, on the access ramp to the sacred area, as a wonderful machine to intimidate and to bless. After a brief reminder of the history of the column and its iconography, from the analysis of the base stones, the size of the internal cavities, the shape of the remaining head, argue choices follow the design and the construction of the proposed model. This study would like also to move the international interest to sprone the local government to find a place in a museum for the column, now extensively cracked, replacing it the field by a copy.