Pompey's PHlar
Preserved but no longer current.
A Corinthian column of red granite, nearly 100 ft. high, erected at Alexandria by Publius, Prefect of Egypt, in honour of Diocletian and to record the con- quest of Alexandria in 296. It has about as much right to be called Pompey's pillar as the obelisk of Heliopolis, re-erected by Rameses II at Alexandria, has to be called Cleopatra's Needle.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Pompey's PHlar” mean?
A Corinthian column of red granite, nearly 100 ft. high, erected at Alexandria by Publius, Prefect of Egypt, in honour of Diocletian and to record the con- quest of Alexandria in 296. It has about as much right to be called Pompey's pillar as the obelisk of Heliopolis, re-erected by Rameses II at Alexandria, has to be called Cleopatra's Needle.
Is “Pompey's PHlar” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.