Pompey's Pillar & Catacombs

Introduction

Pompey's Pillar is a towering ancient granite column in Alexandria, a grand triumphal column of single red Aswan granite atop a temple ruin—one of the city's most famous ancient (Roman-era) relics, full of historical weight. Pompey's Pillar is a massive column of single red Aswan granite (with base and capital, about 20-plus meters total), soaring and majestic, the most prominent ancient relic in Alexandria. Note: though popularly called "Pompey's Pillar" (a later misnomer linking it to the Roman general Pompey), it has nothing to do with Pompey—it was erected in the late 3rd century AD to honor the Roman emperor Diocletian (likely thanking him for relief during famine or for quelling rebellion), thus a Roman triumphal column. It stands where an ancient temple once rose—the Serapeum (dedicated to Serapis, an important religious sanctuary said to have housed a famous library branch)—now ruined, leaving only this soaring column as witness to past glory. Some other ruins (such as a sphinx) scatter the site. Visiting Pompey's Pillar is a historically meaningful Alexandria stop.

✨ Highlights

🛈 Practical Info