Spolia opima

Highest war trophy for an Ancient Roman The spolia opima (Latin for 'rich spoils') were the armour, arms, and other effects that an ancient Roman general stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in single combat. The spolia opima were regarded as the most honourable of the several types of war trophies a commander could obtain, including enemy military standards and the beaks of warships. Royal and Republican periods For the majority of the city's existence, the Romans recognized only three instances when spolia opima were taken. The precedent was imagined in Rome's mythical history, which tells that in 752 BC Romulus defeated and stripped Acron, king of the Caeninenses, following the Rape of the Sabine Women. In the second instance, Aulus Cornelius Cossus obtained the spolia opima from Lars Tolumnius, king of the Veientes, during Rome's semi-legendary fifth century BC. The third and most historically grounded occurred before the Second Punic War, when Marcus Claudius Marcellus (consul 222 BC) galloped forward beyond his battle line and speared the Celtic warrior Viridomarus, a king of the Gaesatae, before stripping him of his armour on the battlefield. The ceremony of