View source for Wreaths and crowns in antiquity

{{Short description|Aspect of history}}
[[File:Kameo Tiberius KHM IXa 61.jpg|thumb|[[Cameo (carving)|Cameo]] of the Roman emperor [[Tiberius]] ({{Reign|14|37|era=AD}}) wearing a laurel wreath ([[Kunsthistorisches Museum]])]]
[[File:Porphyrios Hippodrome Istanbul (3).JPG|thumb|The [[Tyche of Constantinople|''tyche'' of Constantinople]], wearing a ''corona muralis'', awards [[Porphyrius the Charioteer|Porphyrius]], in his ''[[quadriga]]'', a laurel wreath in the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople|Hippodrome]], carved on a base for a commemorative statue of the charioteer in the Hippodrome itself ([[Istanbul Archaeology Museums]])]]
In [[classical antiquity|classical]] and [[late antiquity]] [[wreath]]s or [[crown (headgear)|crowns]] ({{Langx|grc|στέφανος|translit=stéphanos|lit=wreath', 'crown}}; {{Langx|la|corona|lit=[[wreath]]', '[[garland]]', '[[chaplet (headgear)|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 [[Ancient Greek sculpture|sculpture]], and in [[Roman art]] and [[Roman sculpture|sculpture]]. As well as being awarded for merit and military conduct, they were worn by [[orators]], priests performing [[sacrifices]], by the [[Greek chorus|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 [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic]], [[Pythian Games|Pythian]], [[Nemean Games|Nemean]], and [[Isthmian Games|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 and punishments|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 [[Laurus nobilis|laurel]], [[Olive leaf|olive]], [[oak]], [[Myrtus communis|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 [[grass wreath|wreath of grass]]. In [[Classical Greece]], gold crowns were commonly sent – and recorded in inscriptions – as tribute to the renowned shrines of [[Delos]] and [[Classical Athens|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.
== Function ==
[[File:Golden crown Armento Staatliche Antikensammlungen 01.jpg|thumb|The [[Kritonios Crown]] – a 4th-century BC gold wreath from [[Armento]], representing a crown of oak, [[convolvulus]], [[Narcissus (plant)|narcissus]], ivy, roses, and myrtle with figurines of a winged goddess and six others ([[Staatliche Antikensammlungen]])]]
As can be inferred from [[Apuleius]]'s ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' and [[Aristophanes]]'s ''[[Plutus (play)|Plutus]]'', to wear a wreath was a sign of distinction, and an assault on a wreath's wearer was considered especially blameworthy.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Hurschmann|first=Rolf|year=2006|title=Wreath, Garland|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/*-e622060|journal=Brill's New Pauly|language=en|edition=online|volume=|pages=|doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e622060|via=}}</ref><ref>[[Apuleius]], ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' XI.24.4</ref><ref>[[Aristophanes]], ''[[Plutus (play)|Plutus]]'' XXI</ref> According to [[Tertullian]]'s ''De corona'', the wearing of wreaths was an ancient practice.<ref name=":2" /><ref>[[Tertullian]], ''De corona'' XIII</ref> Indeed, it was rare for religious rites and cult practices to omit the wearing of wreaths.<ref>[[Pseudo-Apollodorus]], ''Bibliotheca'' III.15.7.4</ref> Priests wore wreaths for the performance of sacrifices, as did other participants in the ceremony and the sacrificial victim.<ref name=":2" /> Similarly, altars, statues, and religious buildings and accoutrements could all be wreathed.<ref name=":2" /> Wreaths were sacred objects, and removing one and disposing of it could not be done casually or without due reverence, neither could an unauthorized person wear one without committing sacrilege.<ref name=":2" /><ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Naturalis Historia]]'', XXI.8</ref><ref>[[Tibullus]], I.2.82</ref>
Different wreaths were worn, depending on the god or goddess to be propitiated.<ref name=":2" /> Laurel wreaths were appropriate [[Apollo]] and his father [[Zeus]] ([[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]]), as well as for [[Aphrodite]] ([[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]). The mother-and-daughter fertility goddesses [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone]] ([[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]] and [[Proserpina]]) were honoured with crowns of ears of [[Wheat|corn]].<ref name=":2" /> The cult of [[Dionysus]] (Bacchus) was associated with wreaths of ivy and vines.<ref name=":2" />
Besides sacrificial rituals, festival rites of marriage, birth, and death all involved wreaths.<ref name=":2" /> As in [[Catullus]]'s [[Catullus 61|''Poem 61'']] and Apuleius's ''The Golden Ass'', couples to be married were both wreathed on the occasion.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Catullus, ''Poema LXI''.6</ref><ref>Apuleius, ''Metamorphosis'' IV.27</ref> To mark the occasion of a new birth, the household would hang a wreath of olive or wool on the door.<ref name=":2" /> As part of ancient funerary practice, the death were wreathed, funerary urns were wreathed, and wreaths were lain on and within tombs. [[Euripides]]'s ''[[The Trojan Women]]'', [[Athenaeus]]'s ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'', and Pliny's ''Natural History'' all include references to the dead as wreathed, while Pliny even mentions a raven, celebrated talking as a [[talking bird]], being awarded wreaths at its lavish funeral.<ref name=":2" /><ref>[[Euripides]], ''[[The Trojan Women]]'', 1144</ref><ref>[[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'' XI.460{{Smallcaps|b}}</ref><ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], ''[[Naturalis Historia]]'', XXI.7 & X.60</ref> Funerary monuments might be painted with wreaths as well as hung with them, and from the Hellenistic period, wreaths awarded to the deceased during a lifetime could be carved on the monument marking the grave.<ref name=":2" />
[[File:The Gemma Claudia, a Roman five-layered onyx cameo of ca. 49 AD depicting Claudius and Agrippina the Younger (left), Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder (right), Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum, Austria (21885155418).jpg|thumb|The ''[[Gemma Claudia]]'', an onyx cameo showing the emperor [[Claudius]] ({{Reign|41|54}}) wearing an oak wreath (L) and [[Germanicus]] and his wife [[Agrippina the Elder]] (R) wearing olive wreaths ([[Kunsthistorisches Museum]])]]According to the ''Deipnosophistae'', it was the god [[Dionysus]] that introduced the practice of wearing wreaths at [[Symposium|symposia]]; he had worn an ivy wreath to ward off the ill-effects of drinking wine.<ref>[[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'' XV.675{{Smallcaps|b–c}}</ref> Wreaths of roses, violets, or myrtle leaves were also appropriate to be worn by symposiasts.<ref name=":2" /> The vessels from which wine was distributed to the attendees were themselves wreathed.<ref name=":2" /> According to [[Petronius]]'s ''[[Satyricon]]'', even the hands and feet of symposiasts might be wreathed.<ref name=":2" /><ref>[[Petronius]], ''[[Satyricon]]'' LXXVIII</ref> A wreath might be left as a token of love on the door of the object of one's affections on the night-time ritual procession that followed (a ''[[komos]]''), as in the ''[[Palatine Anthology]]'' and in the work of [[Theocritus]].<ref name=":2" /><ref>''[[Anthologia Palatina]]'', V.92</ref><ref>[[Theocritus]] II.153</ref>
Wreaths were also worn in preparation for war; artistic representations might show both victors and vanquished wearing wreaths.<ref name=":2" /> According to [[Herodotus]]'s ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'', the [[Spartans]] wreathed themselves in preparation for battle.<ref name=":2" /><ref>[[Herodotus]], ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Historiae]]'' VII.209</ref> Wreaths as the prize of victory in athletic competitions were comparable to the awarding wreaths for military accomplishments, as at a Roman triumph.<ref name=":2" /> From the Hellenistic period onwards, wreaths had become a prestigious and established awards for merit and virtue in the ''[[polis]]''.<ref name=":2" />
;Greek and Hellenistic gold funerary crowns; these are the main type to survive
<gallery>
File:Φίλιππος Β ΕΛΛΑΔΑ.jpg|Funerary gold oak crown from the tomb of [[Philip II of Macedon]] ({{Reign|359|336|era=BC}}) in [[Aegae (Macedonia)|Aegae]]  ([[Vergina]])
File:Royal crown Aigai.jpg|Funerary gold oak crown from the royal tombs at [[Aegae (Macedonia)|Aegae]]  ([[Vergina]])
File:Gold wreath BM 1908.4-14.1.jpg|Late 4th-century BC Hellenistic gold oak wreath, including gold cicadas and a bee ([[British Museum]])
File:Silver ampulla.jpg|Silver ''[[ampulla]]'' with a gold wreath from the [[Kingdom of Macedon]]'s royal tombs at [[Aegae (Macedonia)|Aegae]] ([[Vergina]])
</gallery>
== Crown Games ==
{{Main|Laurel wreath|Olive wreath}}
[[File:Metropolitan athletic prizes Roman 2C.jpg|thumb|[[Antonine period]] relief of athletic prizes, including the [[Isthmian Games]]' pine crown (L, marked {{Langx|grc|ΙΣΘΜΙΑ|translit=[[Isthmia (sanctuary)|Isthmia]]}}) and the celery wreath of the [[Nemean Games]] (R, marked: {{Langx|grc|ΝΕΜΕΑ|label=none|translit=[[Nemea|Neméa]]}}) ([[Metropolitan Museum of Art]])]]
Every four years the wild olive tree ''[[Olea oleaster]]'' ({{Langx|grc|κότινος|translit=kótinos|links=no}}) growing at [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]] provided the branches to fashion the crowns which were awarded at the ancient Olympic Games in honour of [[Zeus]] ([[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]]). At the [[Pythian Games]] at [[Delphi]], also held every four years, the bay laurel ''[[Laurus nobilis]]'' – sacred to [[Apollo]] – was used for the crowns awarded. At [[Nemea]], a crown of [[Celery|wild celery]] was awarded to the victor at the [[Nemean Games]], held every two years in honour of [[Heracles]] ([[Hercules]]) and Zeus. In honour of [[Poseidon]] ([[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]]), every two years at [[Isthmia (ancient city)|Isthmia]] on the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] a crown of [[pine]] was awarded at the [[Isthmian Games]], though according to [[Pliny the Elder]]'s encyclopaedic ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'', the prize was originally a wreath of celery, as at Nemea.<ref>[[Pliny's Natural History|Pliny, ''Natural History'']] XIX.46.</ref><ref name="Fragiska">{{cite journal|last=Megaloudi|first=Fragiska|year=2005|title=Wild and Cultivated Vegetables, Herbs and Spices in Greek Antiquity (900&nbsp;B.C. to 400&nbsp;B.C.)|journal=Environmental Archaeology|volume=10|issue=1|pages=73–82|doi=10.1179/146141005790083858}}</ref> At the [[Panathenaic Games]] instituted during [[Classical Greece]], the prize was a crown of olive.<ref name=":2" />
== Rome ==
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| image1 = Lucius Verus Frater Arvalis Louvre Ma1169.jpg
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| caption1 = [[Lucius Verus]] ({{reign|161|169}})
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| header = Imperial Arval Brothers wearing corn-sheaf crowns (Louvre)
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[[Laurel wreath|Laurel wreaths]] from the bay laurel tree ''[[Laurus nobilis]]'' were worn by ''triumphatores'' – victorious generals celebrating a [[Roman triumph]]. Generals awarded a lesser celebration ritual, the [[ovation]] ({{Langx|la|ovatio|links=no}}) wore wreaths of myrtle (''[[Myrtus communis]]'').<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last=Campbell|first=John Brian|title=crowns and wreaths|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1942|work=The Oxford Classical Dictionary|volume=|pages=|year=2012|editor-last=Hornblower|editor-first=Simon|edition=4th|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-954556-8|access-date=2020-10-14|editor2-last=Spawforth|editor2-first=Antony|editor3-last=Eidinow|editor3-first=Esther}}</ref>
Wreaths ({{Langx|la|coronae|links=no|lit=crowns}}) were awarded as [[military awards and decorations]]. In the [[Roman Republic]], the nature of the feat determined the nature of the wreath awarded. It was a custom for soldiers rescued from a siege to present a [[grass crown|wreath made of grass]] ({{Langx|la|corona graminea|links=no}} or {{Langx|la|corona obsidionalis|label=none}}) to the commander of the relieving force. This award was extremely rare, and [[Pliny the Elder]] enumerated only eight times occasions that had warranted the honour, ending with the emperor [[Augustus]].<ref name=":0" /> The [[oak]] leaf [[Civic Crown|civic crown]] ({{Langx|la|corona civica|links=no}}) was awarded to Romans who had saved the life of another citizen in battle.<ref name=":0" /> The award was open to soldiers in the [[Roman army]] of all ranks, unlike most other wreaths, which were awarded to commanders and officers only in the [[Roman imperial period (chronology)|Roman imperial period]] of the [[Roman Empire]].<ref name=":0" />
A gold wreath ({{Langx|la|corona aurea|links=no}}) was also awarded for gallant military conduct.<ref name=":0" /> In the [[Roman navy]], the [[naval crown]] ({{Langx|la|corona navalis|links=no}}, {{Langx|la|corona classica|label=none}}, or {{Langx|la|corona rostrata|label=none}}) was a wreath awarded for feats in naval battles.<ref name=":0" /> In an assault on a fortified position, a [[mural crown]] ({{Langx|la|corona muralis|links=no}}) was awarded to the first man onto the walls of the enemy fortification.<ref name=":0" />
Crowns became essential parts of the regalia of the [[Roman emperor|Roman emperors]] during the [[Roman imperial period (chronology)|Roman imperial period]].<ref name=":1">{{Citation|last=Wienand|first=Johannes|title=crown, Roman and post-Roman|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001/acref-9780198662778-e-1317|work=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity|volume=|pages=|year=2018|editor-last=Nicholson|editor-first=Oliver|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780198662778.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-866277-8|access-date=2020-10-24}}</ref> The laurel wreaths of a ''triumphator'' were often worn by imperial portraits, as were [[radiate crown]]s.<ref name=":1" />
According to Pliny the Elder, the [[Arval Brethren]], an ancient Roman priesthood, were accustomed to wear a wreath of grain [[Sheaf (agriculture)|sheaves]].<ref>Pliny the Elder, ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]]'' XVIII.2</ref>
Crowns and wreaths were associated by [[early Christians]] with [[Roman paganism]] and [[Hellenistic religion]].<ref name=":1" /> The 2nd and 3rd century Latin theologian [[Tertullian]] opposed the wearing of wreaths in his work {{Langx|la|De corona|lit=''About the Crown''|label=none}}.<ref name=":1" /> This opposition had little effect, and [[Christian martyrs]] were lauded as having won "martyrs' crowns".<ref name=":1" />
; Roman coins
<gallery>
File:Marcus Iunius Brutus 10100420 (obverse).jpg|''Aureus'' of [[Marcus Junius Brutus]], whose portrait is surrounded by a laurel wreath
File:Augustus, aureus, 19-18 BC, RIC I 30a.jpg|Oak wreath on an ''aureus'' of [[Augustus]]
File:INC-1888-r Ауреус. Агриппина Младшая и Нерон. Ок. 54 г. (реверс).png|Oak wreath on an ''aureus'' of [[Nero]] as son of the [[Imperial cult of ancient Rome|deified]] [[Claudius]]
File:Aureliancng8391.jpg|''[[Aureus]]'' of the emperor [[Aurelian]] ({{Reign|270|275}}) wearing a laurel wreath on the obverse, with [[Victoria (mythology)|Victoria]] presenting another on the reverse
File:ClaudiusGothicusSC265569.jpg|''[[Aureus]]'' of the emperor [[Claudius Gothicus]] ({{Reign|268|270}}) wearing a laurel wreath
File:INC-1822-a Солид Крисп цезарь ок. 317 г. (аверс).png|Laureate portrait of the ''caesar'' [[Crispus]] ({{Reign|317|324}}), on a ''[[Solidus (coin)|solidus]]''  marked:
{{Smallcaps|{{Abbreviation|fl·|FLAVIUS}} {{Abbreviation|iul·|IULIUS}} crispus {{Abbreviation|nob·|NOBILISSIMUS}} {{Abbreviation|caes·|CAESAR}}}}{{Small|(''Flavius Julius Crispus, Noblest Caesar'')}}
</gallery>
== Late Antiquity ==
[[File:Arcadius Istanbul Museum.PNG|thumb|The ''[[Beyazit head]]'' – a portrait head of [[Arcadius]] ({{Reign|383|408}}) wearing a pearl diadem ([[Istanbul Archaeology Museums]])]]
[[File:Carmagnola 1.jpg|thumb|The [[Carmagnola (Venice)|''Carmagnola'']] – a portrait head, probably of [[Justinian the Great]] ({{Reign|527|565}}), wearing a jewelled diadem ([[St Mark's Basilica]])]]
Radiate crowns were associated with the sun, and the 3rd-century Roman emperors issued coins – ''[[antoniniani]]'' – with the imperial portrait wearing a radiate crown.<ref name=":1" /> Soon after the [[Christianization of the Roman Empire]] in the reign of [[Constantine the Great]] ({{Reign|306|337}}), the radiate crown disappeared from official use.<ref name=":1" /> Constantine began the practice of wearing a [[diadem]] on coinage, hitherto avoided by the Romans and a symbol of the kingdoms of the [[Hellenistic period]].<ref name=":1" /> Thereafter, the laurel wreath was usually the crown of a ''[[Caesar (title)|caesar]]'', a junior imperial rank, while the diadem was worn by an ''[[Augustus (title)|augustus]]''.<ref name=":1" /> Imperial diadems could be plain bands, or adorned with [[Pearl|pearls]] or with [[Rosette (design)|rosettes]].<ref name=":1" /> Emperors were frequently shown crowned by [[Victoria (mythology)|Victory]] or another protective deity on their coinage and medallions, and later this function was performed by the [[Hand of God (art)|hand of God]] ({{Langx|la|Dexter Dei}}).
A [[coronation]] linked with an individual's accession to imperial rank is first attested in the 4th century; the [[Roman army]] participated in the ceremonies, as well as the [[Roman Senate]] or the [[Byzantine Senate]]. After the imperial capital settled at Constantinople in the reign of [[Arcadius]] ({{Reign|383|408}}), the urban population also played a particular role.<ref name=":1" />
After the [[fall of the western Roman empire]] during the late 5th century, crowns in the post-Roman west, as in the [[eastern Roman empire]], crowns were more elaborate than previously, constructed from beaten gold and ornamented with precious stones.<ref name=":1" /> Some were also endowed with [[relics]], making them [[reliquaries]].<ref name=":1" />
From the 7th century [[Visigothic Kingdom]] survive the many gold [[votive crown]]s of the [[Treasure of Guarrazar]], among which is the crown of the Visigothic king [[Recceswinth]] ({{Reign|649|672}}).<ref name=":1" /> These crowns were never to be worn, and were [[votive offerings]].<ref name=":1" /> The oldest royal crown to survive is likely the [[Iron Crown of Lombardy]], whose present form dates from the 8th or 9th centuries.<ref name=":1" />
<gallery>
File:00MINIR GolD Roman IMG 6136.JPG|Gold oak wreath ([[National Museum of Romanian History]])
File:Corona de (29049230050).jpg|[[Votive crown]] of [[Recceswinth]] from the [[Treasure of Guarrazar]] ([[National Archaeological Museum, Madrid]])
</gallery>
== See also ==
{{div col |colwidth=8em |content=
* [[Civic Crown]]
* [[Corolla (headgear)]]
* [[Grass Crown]]
* [[Kether]]
* [[Klila]]
* [[Laureate]]
* [[Mural crown]]
* [[Naval crown]]
* [[Nobel laureate]]
* [[Olive wreath]]
* [[Polos]]
* [[Coat of arms of Greece]]
* [[Crown of Immortality]]
* [[Five Crowns]]
* [[Halo (religious iconography)|Halo]]
* [[Velificatio]]
* [[Laurel wreath]]
* [[Radiate crown]]
}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Crowns (headgear)]]
[[Category:Hellenistic art]]
[[Category:Iconography]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman jewellery]]
[[Category:Culture of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Culture of ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Military awards and decorations of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Wreaths (attire)]]