10-27-2005, 07:35 PM
Quote:I find it hard to believe that it carried on 200 years after Marius' reforms
Why not? Symbols can last for a VERY long time- even after their original meaning has been lost. I see no reason that the manus atop a signum couldn't have been a throwback to the old maniple. A modern-day example of something analogous is the 'air cavalry'- no horses involved, and yet they still use the term. Symbols are even more timeless. Consider a five-pointed star- it's had a zillion different meanings over time...
As for the figures with their hands on the their helmets- maybe their helmets are just ichy?
Seriously though, in the scenes from Traian's Column, I figure it's just as likely the soldiers are waving and cheering the Emperor as enacting a formal means of salute. Is anyone aware of a literary source that describes any kind of salute? Sculptural 'evidence' to me is a rather shaky thing given how much artistic licence there seems to be around, as well it is an interpretational thing- rather subjective I think.
Matt
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