During the Second World War, towards the end of 1935, Italian troops invaded and conquered Ethiopia. During their raid, they made away with a statue known as the Lion of Judah, a bronze statue and symbol of the Ethiopian monarchy. Alongside this statue was another statue of national importance to the Ethiopians, the Obelisk of Axum. Both Statues were taken as war booty by the Italian troops in their conquest of Ethiopia.
The Obelisk of Axum stood tall at the Porta Capena square during the historic 1960 Olympics in Rome. As a matter of fact, the Marathon route was planned to show the world as much as possible of Rome’s architecture, splendour, and history. Therefore, the race designed to neither start nor end at the Olympic Stadium.
On the path of this Marathon route stood this over 1000 years, 24 meter and 160 tonnes Obelisk of Axum. This statue turned out to spark a history defining moment in the Olympics competition.
Stay with me, we are on a very interesting journey.
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(Transforming the World through the Word)