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Triumphal honours

• Message 1. 

  Posted by TonyG (U1830405) on Tuesday, 5th July 2011

  Here is one for you Roman buffs.
  
  In the imperial era, only members of the imperial family were entitled to parade in a formal triumph but other generals could be awarded triumphal honours. Dio Cassius often refers to “triumphal garb”, “triumphal regalia” or “triumphal dress” but doesn’t actually say what comprised these honours. There is mentin of Nero wearing a purple toga decorated with gold but as he was an emperor, that probably does not reflect what a general would be entitled to wear.
  
  Does anyone have any idea what a general awarded triumphal honours would actually receive?
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by CASSEROLEON (U11049737) on Tuesday, 5th July 2011

  TonyG
  
  Far from being a Roman buff myself I am sure that my response will be quickly surpased,.
  
  But as I understand it, a victorious general was granted the right to march into Rome (and other cities within the Roman Empire) through a great Triumphal Arch- the kind of thing that, like Marble Arch or the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, normal traffic had to go around. And he could wear a crown of laurel leaves. No doubt like the victors at Wimbledon more material benefits might flow as well, but as a consequence of being such a "hero".
  
  I suspect other items of dress might vary to some extent according to fad and fashion- like wedding dresses.
  
  Cass

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  Posted by an ex-nordmann - it has ceased to exist (U3472955) on Wednesday, 6th July 2011

  Hi TonyG
  
  By Cassius Dio's time public triumphal honours were, thanks to Vespasian, back to those originally defined by law at the outset of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and these were quite explicit. The feted person (who was not typically a general by the way) received the right to wear the corona triumphalis and the toga picta you describe, as well as carry an ivory stick, all for a period not exceeding one month. He could not have a procession. He could commission two statues of himself in triumphal garb, one to be erected in the forum and one in his own house.
  
  It is important to note that this applied only to "public" celebration. Private recognition was dispensed during imperial times via grants of land and money. It is also important to note that this tradition did not survive much longer after Cassius Dio's time when all records of "triumph" abruptly cease. It is rumoured that Stilicho celebrated a triumph in Constantinople after his brokerage of a deal with Shapur III and this is widely assumed to have included a procession but there is also serious doubt cast on the nature of this "triumph" in that Stilicho did not apparently adopt traditional triumphal garb and the "procession" appears to have been between his house and the nearest church. However it is often listed as the "last" Roman triumph and, if it occurred, was well over a century after its predecessor.

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• Message 4

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  Posted by TonyG (U1830405) on Thursday, 7th July 2011

  Thanks Nordmann. Much appreciated, as always. I did not know about the right to erect statues but I supose that was how Romans got themselves noticed.
  
  I must say I find Dio quite vague and frustrating in some parts. Of course, it may be the translation I have is not great.. For example, it says in the descriptionof Boudica that she had yellow hair, while I have read other tranlated excerpts that say it was red. Irecently heard someone pose the question, "Is translation a creative art?" I think perhaps it is.
  
  Cheers
  
  Tony

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  Posted by an ex-nordmann - it has ceased to exist (U3472955) on Thursday, 7th July 2011

  Hi
  
  Try Earnest Cary's translation from 1914. It's direct from Cassius Dio's original Greek whenever possible (as opposed to some which are via Latin) and Cary also explains rather well the problems with identifying which excerpts are more trustworthy than others. There is no extant copy of Cassius Dio's book and even the attributed title "Roman History" is a later presumption. What we cakll his "book" therefore is a compilation of quotes, fragments and citations from other authors, not all of which are in Greek. Cary's translation - albeit with a few typos on the part of the transcriber Bill Thayer - can be found online on this excellent website:
  
  
  
  He describes her hair as "tawny" (Gr. επίθ "spith") which is close to "red" in the hair sense and a very accurate translation of the Greek word. The "blonde" or "yellow" connotation might have come about when Boudicca's hair was given a Latin rinse on the way to the page and was described as "flavus".

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• Message 6

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  Posted by an ex-nordmann - it has ceased to exist (U3472955) on Thursday, 7th July 2011

  "epith" - sorry. Just proving that Bill Thayer doesn't have a monopoly on typos.

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