01-26-2016, 04:25 PM
By the reign of Theodosius the Great Imago's had been phased out as the Emperor's were no longer considered 'divine' as they had in previous times (I believe Theodosius was the last Emperor to accept the title 'Pontifex Maximus').
My view is based on the literary evidence as there is precious little artistic evidence or monumental evidence showing coloured Draco standards. The most telling was the Silvanius episode as it clearly showed that the troops who raised him to the Purple only had access to purple material via the Draco standards that they had, and enough material was gathered from them to be able to cloak Silvanius in a suitable manner.
My view is based on the literary evidence as there is precious little artistic evidence or monumental evidence showing coloured Draco standards. The most telling was the Silvanius episode as it clearly showed that the troops who raised him to the Purple only had access to purple material via the Draco standards that they had, and enough material was gathered from them to be able to cloak Silvanius in a suitable manner.
Adrian Coombs-Hoar
