Cameo of the Roman emperor Tiberius (r. 14–37 AD) wearing a laurel wreath (Kunsthistorisches Museum)The tyche of Constantinople, wearing a corona muralis, awards Porphyrius, in his quadriga, a laurel wreath in the Hippodrome, carved on a base for a commemorative statue of the charioteer in the Hippodrome itself (Istanbul Archaeology Museums)
In classical and late antiquity wreaths or crowns (Ancient Greek: στέφανος, romanized: stéphanos, lit. 'wreath', 'crown'; Latin: corona, lit. 'wreath', 'garland', 'chaplet') usually made of vegetation or precious metals were worn on ceremonial occasions and were awarded for various achievements. The symbolism of these different types of wreaths depended on their composition; different crowns were worn and awarded for different purposes. Such wreaths or crowns were represented in classical architecture, in ancient Greek art and sculpture, and in Roman art and sculpture. As well as being awarded for merit and military conduct, they were worn by orators, priests performing sacrifices, by the chorus in ancient Greek drama, and by attendees of a symposium.
From Archaic Greece until late antiquity, wreaths were the prizes competed for at the Panhellenic Games – the Olympic, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games – the "crown games", each with a different vegetation crown awarded. In the military of ancient Rome, wreaths were among the traditional Roman military decorations; as a result of the revival in ancient artistic and literary models in the Renaissance they are frequently encountered in Western art and heraldry.
Wreaths of leaves from laurel, olive, oak, myrtle, and celery were particularly symbolically significant, with the laurel wreath the victor's crown at the Pythian Games and at a Roman triumph, and the olive wreath the prize at the Olympic Games. Symposiasts wore crowns of roses, while maenads and other followers of Dionysus wore wreaths of ivy or of vine leaves. The highest martial distinction possible in the Roman state was a wreath of grass. In Classical Greece, gold crowns were commonly sent – and recorded in inscriptions – as tribute to the renowned shrines of Delos and Athens by members of the Delian League. Until Late Antiquity, gold crowns became a tribute demanded by the Roman Empire from cities under its rule. In such cases, an actual crown was frequently never made and the nominal value was often paid in silver.
and 24 Related for: Wreaths and crowns in antiquity information
In classical and late antiquitywreaths or crowns (Ancient Greek: στέφανος, romanized: stéphanos, lit. 'wreath', 'crown'; Latin: corona, lit. 'wreath'...
and coins of crowns is the king Shapur I. Numerous crowns of various forms were used inantiquity, such as the Hedjet, Deshret, Pschent (double crown)...
we have mentioned at the proper place, won fourteen Civic Wreaths, and Capitolinus six, one in his case being actually for saving the life of his commanding...
A mural crown (Latin: corona muralis) is a crown or headpiece representing city walls, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem...
were also used to crown victorious athletes in important sports games inantiquity. It was later applied to a metal crown, generally in a circular or "fillet"...
years old. Heinecken painted portraits and still lifes with flowers and fruit, and she made crownsandwreaths, which she rented to wedding parties. Her...
The Cross andCrown (a cross passing through a crown) is a Christian symbol used by various Christian denominations. It has also been used in heraldry...
sometimes wreaths with six candles, in line with the six-week duration of the Nativity Fast / Advent. In Sweden, white candles, symbol of festivity and purity...
classical antiquity, and further to the Ancient Near East (especially the "Crowns of Egypt"). Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were believed to be divine. In the coronation...
ceremony and other state functions. The term refers to the following objects: the crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords, rings, crosses, holy relics and royal robes...
some Sefardic and Hasidic traditions. In the Mandaean religion, myrtle wreaths (klila) are used by priests in important religious rituals and ceremonies...
Septimius Severus, and to the left Julia Domna. In front of them are the boys Caracalla and Geta. All wear jeweled gold wreathsand imperial insignia,...
garlands for the dead, and the wreaths of the winners at the Isthmian Games were first made of celery before being replaced by crowns made of pine. According...
bronze would be painted pale and gleaming like flesh to its viewers of the ancient world. In the late 1980s antiquity scholars, and Getty Museum curator, Frel...
Furthermore, radiate crowns were not solely worn by emperors: The wreaths awarded to victors at the Actian Games were radiate. In AD 274, the emperor Aurelian...
counterchanged), with the addition of St Edward's Crown atop a continuous scroll which, together with a wreath consisting of the plant emblems of the four countries...
many stylized flowers and acanthus leaves. Acanthus leaves are an ornament dating back to antiquityand were often heavily employed in Greco-Roman architectural...
worked mainly in Italy. He is mostly known for his pastoral nude studies of Sicilian boys, which usually featured props such as wreaths or amphoras, suggesting...
Stiglmair between 1844 and 1850 and is the first colossal statue since Classical Antiquity to consist entirely of cast bronze. It was and is up to the present...
prize was an olive wreath or crown, made from the branches of a sacred olive tree. This crown was the most revered prize awarded. In the early period,...
athletes and religious pilgrims could travel from their cities to the games in safety. The prizes for the victors were olive leaf wreaths or crowns. The games...
night, the flower wreaths are set alight in bonfires known as Saint John's fires. Youths leap over the flames consuming the flower wreaths. This custom has...
Global Information
