Amid the majestic ancient monuments of Rome, there looms an unexpected and awe-inspiring sight – a monumental pyramid that seems to have been teleported from the banks of the Nile to the banks of the Tiber. The Pyramid of Cestius, a 2,000-year-old marvel of engineering and artistry, is a testament to the deep and enduring connection between two of the ancient world‘s greatest civilizations, Rome and Egypt.
A Tomb Fit for an Egyptophile
The Pyramid of Cestius was built around 18-12 BC as the flamboyant tomb of Gaius Cestius Epulo, a fabulously wealthy and powerful Roman at the peak of his society. Cestius held prestigious positions as a praetor, tribune of the plebs, and member of the Septemviri Epulonum priesthood that staged sacred feasts. Most significantly, historical records suggest he also served as a general in the Roman campaigns in Egypt and Nubia.
Egypt had long fascinated the Romans, but this reached a fever pitch after Octavian (later Augustus) conquered the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 30 BC, making Cleopatra‘s realm a Roman province. A tidal wave of Egyptian art, religion, and fashion swept the Empire. Obelisks, sphinxes, animal-headed gods, and pyramid tombs became the ultimate status symbols, especially among those with ties to the new province like Cestius.
The Roman writer Pliny the Elder records that the pyramid was built at astronomical expense in just 330 days by Cestius‘ heirs, a testament to his wealth and their determination to fulfill his dying wish.
Marvel of Roman Engineering
The Pyramid of Cestius is a marvel of ancient engineering that continues to inspire awe today. Archaeological surveys show it is built of brick-faced concrete covered with glistening slabs of white Luni marble.
The pyramid‘s vital statistics are:
- Base: 29.6 meters (100 Roman feet) square
- Height: 36.4 meters (125 Roman feet)
- Slope: 69°23′
- Total Weight: Approx. 3,700 metric tons
Inside the pyramid are pedimented barrel-vaulted corridors leading to the rectangular burial chamber measuring 5.95 x 4.10 meters and 4.80 meters high. The chamber was lavishly decorated with vibrant frescoes, some still visible today, depicting the ritual banquets Cestius hosted in life.
The east and west faces bear duplicate inscriptions in deep carved Latin letters identifying Cestius and his titles:
C · CESTIVS · L · F · POB ·
EPULO · PR · TR · PL
VII · VIR · EPOLONVM
Enduring Allure Through the Ages
Over the millennia, the Pyramid of Cestius has been a source of mystery, legend, and inspiration for everyone from medieval pilgrims to Romantic poets.
In the chaos after Rome‘s fall, the pyramid‘s origins were largely forgotten. Local legends arose that it was the tomb of Remus, tragically slain brother of Rome‘s founder Romulus. This myth held that a matching pyramid tomb of Romulus once stood on the Vatican Hill where St. Peter‘s Basilica now stands.
The tomb‘s true occupant was only rediscovered in 1660 when antiquarian scholars sponsored by Pope Alexander VII tunneled in, discovering the inscriptions naming Cestius and fragments of the long-looted statuary.
From the 18th century onward, the pyramid was a standard stop on the Grand Tour of Europe. Romantic artists and writers were enthralled by its eternal mystique – J.M.W. Turner painted shimmering watercolors of it, poet Percy Bysshe Shelley praised "one keen pyramid with wedge sublime," and Bram Stoker sent Count Dracula skulking past it on his way to defile the Eternal City.
The Pyramid Today
Today, the Pyramid of Cestius stands as one of the most intact and accessible monuments of ancient Rome, incorporated into the later Aurelian Walls between the Porta San Paolo gate and the Protestant Cemetery holding the graves of Shelley and Keats.
21st century archaeological studies, including laser scans and thermal imaging, are revealing more of the pyramid‘s millennia of secrets. A major restoration project from 2013-2015 cleaned and stabilized the monument for generations to come.
Though the interior is currently closed to the public except by special permit, the pyramid remains an iconic sight, a symbol of ancient grandeur and mystery merging Rome and Egypt. Gaius Cestius took a bold gamble building his tomb in the shape of eternity – and 2,000 years later, he‘s still winning his bet.
The Pyramid of Cestius in Context
The Pyramid of Cestius is a unique example of the Egyptian pyramid tomb tradition being translated into Roman terms, but it is not entirely alone. A larger pyramid tomb, the so-called "Pyramid of Romulus," once stood on the Vatican Hill, but was dismantled in the 16th century to build the monumental steps to St. Peter‘s Basilica. Remnants of a few other pyramid tombs have been found across the former Roman Empire, from Falicon, France to Lambaesis, Algeria.
However, the Pyramid of Cestius is by far the most complete and best preserved of these, a testament to the skill of its builders and the strange trick of fate that incorporated it into the later city walls.
Compared to the most famous ancient pyramids, those of Egypt, the Pyramid of Cestius is far more modest in scale. The Great Pyramid of Giza, for instance, is over 130 meters tall compared to the Pyramid of Cestius‘ 36 meters. However, the Roman pyramid is steeper and sharper, built of stone blocks rather than solid limestone.
Perhaps the closest analogue to the Pyramid of Cestius is the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus in modern Bodrum, Turkey. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, this monumental tomb from the 4th century BC combined a massive square base with a steep pyramidal roof, decorated with sculpted friezes and topped with a colossal chariot statue. Sadly, unlike the Pyramid of Cestius, it was destroyed by successive earthquakes, leaving only foundations and fragments today.
In the long history of grandiose tombs, the Pyramid of Cestius holds a unique and enduring place, an eternal monument to one man‘s ambition and to the ambition of Rome itself to rival the eternal glory of Egypt and merge its monumental legacy with the empire on the Tiber. For as long as the Eternal City endures, the Pyramid of Cestius will keep its eternal watch, an echo in stone of the might and mystery of Egypt in Rome.
