All travellers agree that its present appellation is a misnomer; yet it is known that a monument of some kind was erected at Alexandria to the memory of Pompey, which was supposed to have been found in this remarkable column. Mr. Montague thinks it was erected to the honour of Vespasian. Savary calls it the Pillar of Severus. Clarke supposes it to have been dedicated to Hadrian, according to his reading of a half-effaced inscription in Greek on the west side of the base; while others trace the name of Diocletian in the same inscription. No mention occurring of it either in Strabo or Diodorus Siculus, we may safely infer that it did not exist at that period; and Denon supposes it to have been erected about the time of the Greek Emperors, or of the Caliphs of Egypt, and dates its acquiring its present name in the fifteenth century. It is supposed to have been surmounted with an equestrian statue. The shaft is elegant and of a good style; but the capital and pedestal are of inferior workmanship, and have the appearance of being of a different period. In respect to the inscription on this pillar, there are two different readings:--It must, however, be remembered, that many of the letters are utterly illegible. TO DIOCLETIANUS AUGUSTUS, MOST ADORABLE EMPEROR, THE TUTELAR DEITY OF ALEXANDRIA, PONTIUS, A PREFECT OF EGYPT, CONSECRATES THIS. Dr. Clarke's version is-- POSTHUMUS, PRÆFECT OF EGYPT, AND THE PEOPLE OF THE METROPOLIS, [_honour_] TO THE MOST REVERED EMPEROR, THE PROTECTING DIVINITY OF ALEXANDRIA, THE DIVINE HADRIAN AUGUSTUS. Now, since it is known that Hadrian lived from A.D. 76 to 130, it seems clear that Pompey has no connexion with this pillar, and that it ought no longer to bear his name. Some writers, however, are disposed to believe that the inscription is not so old as the pillar, and this is very likely to be the case.