03-17-2006, 03:04 PM
Hi Luca,
Durry writes about it in Pauly-Wissowa Realencyklopädie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft (Durry, M.: Praetoriae Cohortes, RE XXII 2, 1954, col. 1624):
"In den Legionen gab es drei Arten von Feldzeichen: aquilae, signa, imagines der Kaiser; bei den Prätorianern gibt es keine Adler; die coronae und die imagines sind vereinigt. Dies zeigt sich an den Feldzeichen der Traianssäule (...); auf den grossen traianischen Reliefs des Constantinsbogens; auf den dem Claudius bogen zugesprochenen Reliefs (...); auf der Basis der Antoniussäule; auf den Reliefs der Marcussäule; auf den aurelischen Reliefs des Constantinsbogens; auf dem Bogen der Argentarii mit seinen imagines, auf denen man Septimius Severus und Caracalla erkennt (...)."
("In the legions there were three kinds of standards: aquilae, signa, imagines of emperor; the praetorians didn't have the eagle; coronae and imagines were combined. This is shown on the standards on the Trajan's Column (...); on the Great Trajanic Freeze on the Arch of Constantine; on the reliefs attributed to the Arch of Claudius (...); on the base of the Column of Antoninus Pius; on the reliefs of the Column of Marcus Aurelius; on the Aurelian reliefs on the Arch of Constantine; on the Arch of Argentarii with their imagines on which one can recognize Septimius Severus and Caracalla (...).")
- I hope I translated all the monuments rightly (I don't know exact english names)
I don't know, if Durry mentions it also in his Les Cohortes prétoriennes (unfortunately I don't have that book).
Rankov also writes about it (Rankov, B.: The Praetorian Guard, Oxford, 2001, p. 24-25.):
"Less out-of-the-ordinary is the special form of standard used by the Praetorians. Literary sources (Tacitus Histories I 41; Herodian II 6. 11; VIII 5. 9) indicate that Praetorian standards had imperial portraits (imagines) attached to them, whereas the legions and auxiliaries seem for the most part to have had such imagines carried separately by special portrait-bearers (imaginiferi). Praetorian standards have therefore been identified on Trajan's Column and other reliefs from their display of such portraits along with military decorations - mainly different types of crowns (von Domaszewski). Legionary standards, by contrast, tend to display only varying numbers of discs, possibly corresponding to the number of the legionary cohort to which they belong. These identifications are guaranteed by the two standards of the first type specifically labelled Coh(ors) III Pr(aetoria) which are depicted on the late 1st century monument of Marcus Pompeius Asper preserved in the Palazzo Albani at Rome."
Greetings
Alexandr
Durry writes about it in Pauly-Wissowa Realencyklopädie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft (Durry, M.: Praetoriae Cohortes, RE XXII 2, 1954, col. 1624):
"In den Legionen gab es drei Arten von Feldzeichen: aquilae, signa, imagines der Kaiser; bei den Prätorianern gibt es keine Adler; die coronae und die imagines sind vereinigt. Dies zeigt sich an den Feldzeichen der Traianssäule (...); auf den grossen traianischen Reliefs des Constantinsbogens; auf den dem Claudius bogen zugesprochenen Reliefs (...); auf der Basis der Antoniussäule; auf den Reliefs der Marcussäule; auf den aurelischen Reliefs des Constantinsbogens; auf dem Bogen der Argentarii mit seinen imagines, auf denen man Septimius Severus und Caracalla erkennt (...)."
("In the legions there were three kinds of standards: aquilae, signa, imagines of emperor; the praetorians didn't have the eagle; coronae and imagines were combined. This is shown on the standards on the Trajan's Column (...); on the Great Trajanic Freeze on the Arch of Constantine; on the reliefs attributed to the Arch of Claudius (...); on the base of the Column of Antoninus Pius; on the reliefs of the Column of Marcus Aurelius; on the Aurelian reliefs on the Arch of Constantine; on the Arch of Argentarii with their imagines on which one can recognize Septimius Severus and Caracalla (...).")
- I hope I translated all the monuments rightly (I don't know exact english names)
I don't know, if Durry mentions it also in his Les Cohortes prétoriennes (unfortunately I don't have that book).
Rankov also writes about it (Rankov, B.: The Praetorian Guard, Oxford, 2001, p. 24-25.):
"Less out-of-the-ordinary is the special form of standard used by the Praetorians. Literary sources (Tacitus Histories I 41; Herodian II 6. 11; VIII 5. 9) indicate that Praetorian standards had imperial portraits (imagines) attached to them, whereas the legions and auxiliaries seem for the most part to have had such imagines carried separately by special portrait-bearers (imaginiferi). Praetorian standards have therefore been identified on Trajan's Column and other reliefs from their display of such portraits along with military decorations - mainly different types of crowns (von Domaszewski). Legionary standards, by contrast, tend to display only varying numbers of discs, possibly corresponding to the number of the legionary cohort to which they belong. These identifications are guaranteed by the two standards of the first type specifically labelled Coh(ors) III Pr(aetoria) which are depicted on the late 1st century monument of Marcus Pompeius Asper preserved in the Palazzo Albani at Rome."
Greetings
Alexandr
