Tropaion – an Ancient Symbol of Victory

Abstrakt

This paper aims to summarize current knowledge on the tropaion. The Warsaw Relief, held in the Gallery of Ancient Art at the National Museum in Warsaw, depicts Emperor Caracalla being crowned with a wreath of victory by his mother, who is shown as Victory. Opposite to the ruler is the title tropaion: a wooden post on which the armour and weapons of defeated enemies were hung (the enemies, in turn, are portrayed at the bottom of the structure). This motif, popular in the Roman world, dates back to at least the fifth century BC. Born in Greece, it was originally linked to the custom of offering the weapons of vanquished foes to the gods. Over the centuries, this practice evolved until, in classical times, it took the form of a post ‘dressed’ in the captured weapons of an opponent, erected immediately after victory. During the era of the great Greek triumphs, a need arose for their lasting commemoration, leading to the creation of permanent stone monuments, also called tropaea. In Republican times, this tradition was adopted by the Romans, who also took over the iconography of the earlier tropaion. A post decorated with captured armaments became one of the most popular propaganda motifs in Roman art.