The Altar of Victory () was located in the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

House (the

Curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

) and bore a gold statue of the goddess Victory. The altar was established by Octavian (later Augustus) in 29 BC to commemorate the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.

History

The statue had been captured by the Romans in 272 BC during the

Pyrrhic War The Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC) was largely fought between the Roman Republic and Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, who had been asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to help them in their war against the Romans. A sk ...

and was originally a representation of Nike. It depicted a winged goddess, holding a palm branch and descending to present a laurel wreath. A modern historian reflects on the importance of the altar and the statue: :At this Altar of Victory senators burned incense, offered prayers annually for the welfare of the empire, took their oaths and pledged on the accession of each new emperor. Thus the statue became one of the most vital links between the Roman state and Roman religion and also a tangible reminder of Rome's great past and her hopes for the future.

Removal

The altar was removed from the curia by the emperor Constantius II in 357. It was later restored by the emperor Julian, who was the only emperor after the conversion of

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

to adhere to the traditional religion of Rome. The altar was again removed by Gratian in 382. After Gratian's death, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, a senator and Prefect of Rome who sought to preserve Rome's religious traditions, in 384 wrote to the new emperor Valentinian II requesting the restoration of the altar. In the imperial court in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, the young emperor denied the request. Ambrose,

Bishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lo ...

successfully persuaded Valentinian to resist the request to preserve the altar. However, he was not the main person behind the resolution that removed the altar though he did participate in the debate. Further petitions to restore the altar were deflected in 391 by an edict of the emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

as part of his efforts to ensure that Christianity was the only religion practised in the Empire. The altar was restored by the usurper Eugenius during his short-lived rule (392–394), according to Paulinus of Milan in his ''Life of Ambrose.'' Writing in 403, Claudian mentioned that the statue (if not the altar) was then in the Senate House. Sheridan states "Some think that removals and restorations refer to both the Altar of Victory and the Statue of Victory. Others think that the Statue was never removed from its place. There is no statement in the ancient authors as to what happened to the Statue when the Altar was removed and certainty on this point is unattainable." Sheridan further suggests that "the fate of the Altar and Statue of Victory was finally sealed by the law of 408 against heathen statues," citing '' Codex Theodosianus'' XVI,10, 19.Sheridan, p. 206.

Notes

Bibliography

* * Richard Klein: ''Symmachus. Eine tragische Gestalt des ausgehenden Heidentums''. Darmstadt (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft mpulse der Forschung, Band 2 1971, . * Richard Klein: ''Der Streit um den Victoriaaltar. Die dritte Relatio des Symmachus und die Briefe 17, 18 und 57 des Mailänder Bischofs Ambrosius''. Darmstadt (WBG exte zur Forschung Band 7 1972, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Altar Of Victory Temples of the Roman Forum Roman altars Gold sculptures Roman temples by deity Roman Senate Destroyed temples Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire