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((sources|date=May 2015))
((About|the short story|the collection of the same title that contains the story|The Tower of the Elephant (collection)))

((Infobox short story <!--See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]]-->
| name              = The Tower of the Elephant
| image             = Savagesword24 07.jpg
| caption           = An interior panel of "The Tower of the Elephant" comic adaptation by [[Roy Thomas]] featuring the art of [[John Buscema]] and [[Alfredo Alcala]]. The original short story was written by [[Robert E. Howard]] and first appeared in a 1933 issue of ''[[Weird Tales]]'' magazine.
| title_orig        = The Tower of the Elephant
| translator        = 
| author            = [[Robert E. Howard]]
| country           = [[United States]]
| language          = English
| series            = [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan the Cimmerian]]
| genre             = [[Fantasy]]
| published_in      = ''[[Weird Tales]]''
| publication_type  = [[Pulp magazine|Pulp]]
| publisher         = Rural Publishing Corporation
| media_type        = 
| pub_date          = March 1933
| english_pub_date  = 
| preceded_by       = [[The Scarlet Citadel]]
| followed_by       = [[Black Colossus]]
))

'''"The Tower of the Elephant"''' is one of the original [[short story|short stories]] starring  the fictional [[sword and sorcery]] hero [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan the Cimmerian]], written by American author [[Robert E. Howard]]. Set in the pseudo-historical [[Hyborian Age]], it concerns Conan infiltrating a perilous tower to steal a fabled gem from an evil [[Magician (fantasy)|sorcerer]] named Yara. Its unique insights into the Hyborian world and atypical [[science fiction]] elements have led the story to be considered a classic of Conan lore and is often cited by Howard scholars as one of his best tales.<ref>Patrice Louinet. ''Hyborian Genesis: Part 1'', pages 441 and 442, ''The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian''; 2003, Del Rey.</ref>

==Plot summary==
In the Zamorian city of Arenjun,<ref>The name added by [[L. Sprague de Camp]] in his introduction to ''Conan'' (Lancer, 1967)</ref> also known as the "City of Thieves,”<ref>The name given by Howard in a letter to [[P. Schuyler Miller]] and [[John Drury Clark]].</ref> Conan drinks in a [[tavern]]. He overhears a Kothic rogue describe a fabulous jewel known as the "Heart of the Elephant," which is kept in a tower by an evil sorcerer named Yara.

Conan ventures into Yara's garden to steal the jewel and encounters Taurus of Nemedia, known as the "Prince of Thieves,” who has the same agenda. Taurus is wily and fat, but amazingly agile. Impressed by Conan's daring, Taurus agrees to work together. After battling lions in the tower gardens,  the thieves ascend Yara's spire. Upon reaching the top, Taurus enters a treasure vault and is killed by the venomous bite of a giant spider. Conan crushes the spider with a chest of gems, then continues his search for the Heart of the Elephant.

He discovers a strange being with the body of a man and the head of an elephant. The creature, Yag-kosha, is a blind and tortured prisoner of Yara.

Yag-kosha reveals to Conan the pre-cataclysmic saga of his people, their arrival on Earth, and how he taught Yara the art of [[magic (fantasy)|magic]] only to have his apprentice betray him. At Yag-kosha's request, Conan grabs the fabled jewel, kills the being, extracts the heart from his corpse, and drips its blood over the Heart of the Elephant. When he sets the blood-infused relic in front of Yara in his sleeping-chamber, the gem's magic shrinks and draws the sorcerer into the jewel. Inside, a revived Yag-kosha, limbs and wings restored, pursues the screaming Yara, and the Heart vanishes.

Obeying Yag-kosha's instructions, Conan leaves, emerging empty-handed from the tower at dawn as it collapses behind him. He has nothing after his night's work except for his sword, loin-cloth, and sandals.
 
((-))

==Publication history==

*''[[Weird Tales]]'' magazine, March 1933
*''[[Skull-Face and Others]]'' ([[Arkham House]], 1946)
*''[[The Coming of Conan]]'' ([[Gnome Press]], 1953)
*''[[Conan (collection)|Conan]]'' ([[Lancer Books|Lancer]], 1967, later reissued by [[Ace Books]])
*''[[The Tower of the Elephant (collection)|The Tower of the Elephant]]'' ([[Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc.]], 1975)
*''[[The Conan Chronicles]]'' ([[Sphere Books]], 1989)
*''[[The Conan Chronicles, 1|The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle]]'' ([[Victor Gollancz Ltd|Gollancz]], 2000)
*''[[Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933)]]'' ([[Del Rey Books|Del Rey]], 2003)
*''Conan the Barbarian:  the Stories that Inspired the Movie'' ([[Del Rey Books|Del Rey]], 2011)

==Adaptations==
An [[Adventure (role-playing games)|adventure]] is based on this tale for ''[[Conan: The Roleplaying Game]]''.

''The Tower of the Elephant'' has been adapted into [[Conan (comics)|comic]] three times: twice by [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] and once by [[Dark Horse Comics|Dark Horse]].

The first adaptation by Marvel appeared in ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' #4.<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.comics.org/issue/24164/|title = GCD :: Issue :: Conan the Barbarian #4))</ref> The story was adapted by [[Roy Thomas]] and illustrated by [[Barry Windsor-Smith]] and [[Sal Buscema]].

The second adaptation by Marvel appeared in the ''[[Savage Sword of Conan]]'' #24<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.comics.org/issue/31657/|title = GCD :: Issue :: The Savage Sword of Conan #24))</ref> and was again written by [[Roy Thomas]] but this time drawn by [[John Buscema]] and [[Alfredo Alcala]].

The newest adaptation, in Dark Horse's ''[[Conan (Dark Horse comic)|Conan]]'' issues 20-22,<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.comics.org/issue/271430/|title = GCD :: Issue :: Conan #20 &#91;Direct Sales&#93;))</ref><ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.comics.org/issue/271432/|title = GCD :: Issue :: Conan #22 &#91;Direct Sales&#93;))</ref> was written by [[Kurt Busiek]] and illustrated by [[Cary Nord]], [[Dave Stewart (artist)|Dave Stewart]] and [[Mike Kaluta]]. Two of these have recently appeared in collections released by Dark Horse: the [[Conan the Barbarian]] adaptation in ''The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The Tower of the Elephant and other stories'', and the Dark Horse adaptation in ''Conan Volume 3: The Tower of the Elephant and other stories''.

Episode 3 of the animated series [[Conan the Adventurer (animated series)|''Conan the Adventurer'']] is adapted from "Tower of the Elephant", although the character of Taurus is replaced with Jezmine who becomes an ongoing character in the series rather than dying.

A variant on this story has been added into the [[massively multiplayer online role-playing game]] ''[[Wizard101]]'', a dungeon called the "Tower of the Helephant".  The thief Taurus is the only name that remains true to the original tale, however the parallels between the stories are evident to anyone that is familiar with the story. The players must scale a tower and descend into it, ultimately freeing the elephant-headed interstellar being by defeating the wizard that bound him and destroying the "Heart of the Helephant".

The story is the inspiration for a sequence in ''[[Conan the Barbarian (1982 film)|Conan the Barbarian]]'', which includes Conan and his fellow thieves scaling a tower, battling a giant snake, and stealing a jewel.((fact|date=June 2021))

In the 2011 film [[Conan the Barbarian (2011 film)|''Conan the Barbarian'']] a character extols Conan's past accomplishments and mentions his adventure in the Tower of the Elephant.

The story was adapted into a hack and slash video game for IOS by developer Chillingo, which was released as a tie-in for the 2011 film ''Conan the Barbarian''.<ref name="Touch Arcade">((cite web|last1=Bennett|first1=Colette|title='Conan: Tower of the Elephant' Review- A Hack 'n Slash Fit for a Barbarian|url=http://toucharcade.com/2011/08/22/conan-tower-of-the-elephant-review/|website=Touch Arcade|date=22 August 2011 |accessdate=1 April 2015))</ref>

==Notes==
((reflist|2))

==External links==
((wikisource))
* [https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600831h.html The Tower of the Elephant at Project Gutenberg]
* [http://www.amrathelion.com/ Conan the Barbarian at AmratheLion.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050718003025/http://www.conan.com/ Conan.com: The Official Website]
*((Isfdb title|id=68503))

((s-start))
((s-bef|before="[[The Scarlet Citadel]]"))
((s-ttl|title=Original Howard Canon<br><small>(publication order)</small>))
((s-aft|after="[[Black Colossus]]"))
((s-bef|before="[[The God in the Bowl]]"))
((s-ttl|title=Original Howard Canon<br><small>([[Conan chronologies#Dale Rippke chronology|Dale Rippke chronology]])</small>))
((s-aft|after="[[The Hall of the Dead]]"))
((s-bef|before=''[[Conan the Formidable]]''))
((s-ttl|title=Complete Conan Saga<br><small>([[Conan chronologies#William Galen Gray chronology|William Galen Gray chronology]])</small>))
((s-aft|after=''[[Conan and the Sorcerer]]''))
((s-end))

((Conan))

((DEFAULTSORT:Tower of the Elephant, The))
[[Category:1933 short stories]]
[[Category:Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard]]
[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos short stories]]
[[Category:Fantasy short stories]]
[[Category:Pulp stories]]
[[Category:Works originally published in Weird Tales]]

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