The ovation (Latin: ovatio from ovare: to rejoice) was a form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted when war was not declared between enemies on the level of nations or states; when an enemy was considered basely inferior (e.g., slaves, pirates); or when the general conflict was resolved with little or no danger to the army itself.[1] The Ovation could also be given rather than a triumph when there were extenuating circumstances, such as when Marcus Marcellus was given an ovation in lieu of a triumph as his army remained in Sicily and therefore was unable to cross the pomerium.

The general celebrating the ovation did not enter the city on a biga, a chariot pulled by two white horses, as generals celebrating triumphs did, but instead rode on horseback in the toga praetexta of a magistrate.[2]

The honoured general also wore a wreath of myrtle (sacred to Venus) upon his brow, rather than the triumphal wreath of laurel. The Roman Senate did not precede the general, nor did soldiers usually participate in the procession.

Perhaps the most famous ovation in history is that which Marcus Licinius Crassus celebrated after his victory of the Third Servile War.

Etymology

From latin ovis, sheep, because a sheep was sacrificed on the occasion.[3]

Ovation holders

Republic

There were 23 known ovations during the Republic.[4]

Principate

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Maxfield, Valerie A. (1981). The Military Decorations of the Roman Army. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-0-520-04499-9. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  2. ^ Goldsworthy, Adrian (2014). Augustus: First Emperor of Rome. Yale University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-300-21666-0.
  3. ^ Hall, Whitmore (1859). The principal roots of the Greek tongue. Longman. p. 47. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  4. ^ G. Rohde. Ovatio, RE XVIII, 1939, pp. 1890–1903
  5. ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 15:38
  6. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic pp. 19–20
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fasti Triumphales
  8. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic pp. 69–70
  9. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic p. 77
  10. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic p. 92
  11. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic pp. 183–184
  12. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic pp. 273–274
  13. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic p. 294
  14. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic p. 324
  15. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic p. 373
  16. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic p. 383
  17. ^ Florus, Epitome of Roman History, book 2:7–8
  18. ^ T. Robert S. Broughton. The magistrates of the Roman Republic, p. 3 Archived 2015-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Plutarch, The Life of Crassus 11:8
  20. ^ Lendering, Jona, Arch of Drusus
  21. ^ Suetonius, The Life of Tiberius 9
  22. ^ Alan K. Bowman, Edward Champlin, Andrew Lintott. The Cambridge Ancient History: The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C. – A.D. 69, p. 554
  23. ^ Suetonius, The Life of Caligula 49
  24. ^ Tacitus, "Annales" (xiii. 32)
  25. ^ Alan K. Bowman, Edward Champlin, Andrew Lintott. The Cambridge Ancient History: The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C. – A.D. 69, p. 224
  26. ^ John Donahue, Titus Flavius Domitianus (A.D. 81–96)
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