Talk:Elephant of the Bastille

A fact from Elephant of the Bastille appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 28 August 2011 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that a giant elephant (engraving pictured) in Paris was protected by a man living in one of its legs?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2011/August. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Elephant of the Bastille.

Wikipedia

Observation platform[edit]

Is it worth observing that the observation platform, looking a bit like a crenellated fortification, is a widespread European symbol through historyHowdah#Elephant_and_castle_symbol, and is thought to represent a howdah? 86.159.192.28 (talk) 17:16, 28 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

That is certainly worthy of inclusion. violet/riga _^[talk] 19:29, 28 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Man Inside the Leg[edit]

Today the front page says that the elephant was protected by a man living inside the elephant's leg but I see no mention of this in the article. What's up with that? Dave (djkernen)|Talk to me|Please help! 17:23, 28 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It's the bit that says "Completed in 1814, the model was protected by a guard named Levasseur who lived in one of the elephant's legs." Hchc2009 (talk) 17:26, 28 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Why an elephantine monument?[edit]

As mentioned within the text:

"Napoleon planned many urban regeneration projects for Paris and was particularly fond of monuments to his victories. He wanted to create a significant triumphal structure to demonstrate his military prowess and began the process of designing a 24 m (78 ft) bronze elephant."

It would be nice to include the emperor's rationale for choosing an elephant to celebrate his victories. Was it related to his Egyptian campaign for example? Best: HarryZilber (talk) 13:05, 9 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Some sources regard it as having been regarded as a symbol of the Roman Caesar, and thus, in turn, a suitable emblem for Napoleon. Hchc2009 (talk) 22:11, 11 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

What was really there between 1840 and 1848?[edit]

The "Demolition" portion of the article ends with "The model elephant was not removed until 1846 . . . ", but the introduction states that "the elephant itself was replaced a few years later by the July Column (1835-40) constructed on the same spot."

So it appears that from 1840 through 1846, both monuments occupied the same space.

Was the elephant possibly moved to make room for the July Column? Could the Elephant have been destroyed sooner? (before the July Column was started with " . . . the Citizen-King placed a first stone on 28 July 1831."

MarkHotchkiss (talk) 05:30, 27 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Moulin Rouge[edit]

The elephant in Moulin Rouge was a different elephant (please don't add to article). See: "The Forgotten Elephant of the Moulin Rouge Garden Party". Messy Nessy Chic. 18 September 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015. --2606:A000:1126:28D:B5B6:B7C1:7A7:18D0 (talk) 17:48, 16 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]