48 JULY/AUGUST 2019The sense of honor was overwhelming: In
a city that viewed monarchs with distrust,
the general would be allowed to be “king for a
day.” Dressed in royal purple, he would ride in a
quadriga, a carriage drawn by four horses. In his
hands, he would hold an ivory scepter and a lau-
rel branch. On his head was both a laurel wreath
and a golden crown held by a slave, who was also
given the task of whispering into the general’s
ear reminders of his mortality.
Ending at 19 B.C., the Fasti Triumphales is
an incomplete record of those who had been
awarded triumphs. Stretching back to Rome’s
founders, it shows that Romans believed this
accolade to be as old as the city itself. The first
triumph in the list is attributed to Romulus,
one of the city’s legendary founders. Like many
of Rome’s traditions, this connection with its
mythical past helped consolidate and sanc-
tify its institutions. The origins of the proces-
sion were probably rooted in a religious festi-
val meant to bring about plentiful harvests.
As the city grew in size, the triumphs grew
in splendor.N
OT ALL VICTORIES resulted in triumphs. If a general won
a battle but fell short of the minimum requirements, he
could be honored with an ovation, a celebration on a
smaller scale. Ovations were still grand parades, but
they were missing some of the more elaborate effects of a triumph.
Rather than ride in a chariot, the victor would march. Instead of the
toga picta that was solid purple and decorated with gold stars, he
would wear the toga praetexta, which was white with a broad purple
border. On his head he would wear a wreath of myrtle rather than
laurel, and instead of sacrificing oxen he’d have to make do with
sheep. Marcus Licinius Crassus, who completed the triumvirate
with Caesar and Pompey, received an ovation in 71 B.C. after defeat-
ing Spartacus’s rebel army. (Spartacus’s forces, despite being made
up of slaves, had already managed to inflict numerous defeats on
the Roman legions.) Crassus, though, was anything but content
at being denied a triumph. The reckless pursuit of his laurels led
him to an unprovoked attack against the Parthian Empire in 53 B.C.
that would cost him his life.WALKING
OVATIONS
PHOTO JOSSE/SCALA, FLORENCESURRENDER TO CAESAR
This 1886 oil painting by Henri-Paul Motte
recreates the moment when Vercingetorix
enters Caesar’s camp to present his surrender.
The Gaulish chief was held captive in Rome for
several years before Caesar’s Gallic triumph.
Crozatier Museum, Le Puy-en-Velay, FranceHERVÉ LEWANDOWSKI/RMN-GRAND PALAIS
A SILVER SKYPHOS DEPICTS TIBERIUS
DURING HIS TRIUMPH OF 8 B.C. HIS
IVORY SCEPTER AND LAUREL BRANCH,
AS WELL AS BEING BORNE IN A
QUADRIGA, ARE PRIVILEGES RESERVED
FOR TRIUMPHS. THOSE GRANTED AN
OVATION HAD TO WALK.