Popular History of Rome, A (page 1/2)

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Vanquished Army Passing Under the Yoke

Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable says, in the entry for Yoke, “To pass under the yoke. To suffer the disgrace of a vanquished army. The Romans made a yoke of three spears—two upright and one resting on them. When an army was vanquished [i.e. beaten], the soldiers had to lay down their arms [i.e. weapons] and pass under this archway of spears.”

The illustration shows three vertical spears and one horizontal. The conquored soldiers appear to be encouraged to pass under the horizontal spear by a man brandishing a long dagger or possibly a whip. The losers have a cloth wrapped round their waist, but are bare-backed, bare-legged and either barefoot or wearing light shoes or sandals. It might be that they were [more...] [$]

Gladiators, detail

A detail from Combat of Gladiators with Wild Animals [$]

The Storming of Jerusalem by Titus

The city wall here is topped by people with shields and spears, and people in the front are using a battering ram to make a hole in a tower. Further back we see archers, and behing them I think a ballista. In the far back, a stream of cavalry has broken through the gate and [...] [more...] [$]

Christians Flung To The Wild Beasts

A scene in the Roman Colosseum, the great theatre where the gladiators fought. But in this case a group of Christians, including men, women and children, has been made available to lions, tigers and bears, [...] [more...] [$]

Head of a Roman House Offering Sacrifice

A man, bare-headed and robed, pours from a two-handled jug into a lamp or jug. He is standing by a shrine. [more...] [$]