Tropaions as L. Cornelius Sulla’s means of self-presentation
Abstract
This text focuses on the use of trophies (tropaions) in the politics of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. It first of all draws attention to the monuments built after the victorious Battle of Chaeronea and Orchomenos in 86 BC. What is analyzed and discussed are numerous controversies pertaining to the trophy remnants found on Turion Hill. Then the article focuses on coins bearing the image of trophies following the leader’s initiative, which was supposed to symbolize the continuity of his military successes in Greece and Italy. Yet, the said motifs do not only related to the numismatic material, since Sulla also used it in his signet rings. Particularly important in this case is the one presenting the captured Jugurtha, probably modeled on the monument on the Capitolium, which became the bone of contention between Sulla and Gaius Marius.
Keywords
trophies; Sulla; symbol of the political authority; propaganda
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Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6538-9956
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