12-02-2014, 09:29 AM
Quote:There are two figures flanking the trophy of arms that appear to be wearing Phrygian caps, but who are captors and who captives is difficult to work out on that panel. The level of detail is not great, and subject to the interpretation of the artist who drew the representations. All I can say for sure is that on the photographs each kneeling group is internally homogeneous as to details of dress, and that the dress of the two groups differ.
It's the top drawing of the three that is the one in question I believe.
The interpretation of this side of the Column is as follows-
The top panel shows the Emperors Arcadius and Honorius flanked by their guard, with Victory holding the victory wreath over their heads, signifying their defeat over the Gainas and his Goths below them.
The next panel shows captured Goths giving up their arms, those to the left are armoured whilst those to the right have presumably been stripped of their armour. There are Roman troops behind them overseeing the Goths and to the right are more Romans with a fierce dog supervising the Goths.
The bottom panel shows the captured arms of the Goths being piled up with several of the Goths who are doing this wearing Phrygian caps. As Gainas was at that time employed as a Roman officer he commanded Roman troops as well as his Goths and the Goths under his command would presumably have been armed and armoured as the Roman troops under Gainas' command, hence most of the arms and armour being 'Roman' in appearance.
Adrian Coombs-Hoar
