The ovation ( Latin : ovatio from ovare : to rejoice) was a lesser 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. 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 .
68-445: 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 . 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
136-589: A tribunus celerum to serve as both the tribune of the Ramnes tribe in Rome and as the commander of the king's personal bodyguard, the celeres . The king was required to appoint the tribune upon entering office and the tribune left office upon the king's death. The tribune was second in rank to the king and also possessed the power to convene the Curiate Assembly and lay legislation before it. Another officer appointed by
204-576: A chariot race in Western literature is an event in the funeral games of Patroclus in the Iliad . In Homeric warfare, elite warriors were transported to the battlefield in two-horse chariots, but fought on foot; the chariot was then used for pursuit or flight. Most Bronze Age chariots uncovered by archaeologists in Peloponnesian Greece are bigae . The date at which chariot races were introduced at
272-555: A council for the city. As such, the Senate was the King's advisory council as the Council of State . The Senate was composed of 300 senators, with 100 senators representing each of the three ancient tribes of Rome: the Ramnes ( Latins ), Tities ( Sabines ), and Luceres ( Etruscans ). Within each tribe, a senator was selected from each of the tribe's ten curiae . The king had the sole authority to appoint
340-547: A council for the purposes of determining their government. Romulus established the Senate as an advisory council with the appointment of 100 of the most noble men in the community. These men he called patres (from pater , father, head), and their descendants became the patricians . To project command, he surrounded himself with attendants, in particular the twelve lictors. He created three divisions of horsemen ( equites ) , called centuries : Ramnes (Romans), Tities (after
408-466: A dispute, Romulus began building the city on the Palatine Hill . His work began with fortifications. He permitted men of all classes to come to Rome as citizens, including slaves and freemen without distinction. He is credited with establishing the city's religious, legal and political institutions. The kingdom was established by unanimous acclaim with him at the helm when Romulus called the citizenry to
476-423: A minimum. The design facilitated speed, maneuverability and stability. The weight of the vehicle has been estimated at 25–30 kg, with a maximum manned weight of 100 kg. The biga is typically built with a single draught pole for a double yoke, while two poles are used for a quadriga . The chariot for a two-horse racing team is not thought to differ otherwise from that drawn by a four-horse team, and so
544-423: A new king was elected. Once the interrex found a suitable nominee to the kingship, he would bring the nominee before the Senate and the Senate would review him. If the Senate passed the nominee, the interrex would convene the Curiate Assembly and preside over it during the election of the king. Once the nominee was proposed to the Curiate Assembly, the citizens of Rome could either accept or reject him. If accepted,
612-773: A number of wars against Rome's neighbours, including against the Volsci , Gabii and the Rutuli . He also secured Rome's position as head of the Latin cities. He also engaged in a series of public works, notably the completion of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus , and works on the Cloaca Maxima and the Circus Maximus . However, Tarquin's reign is remembered for his use of violence and intimidation to control Rome and his disrespect for Roman custom and
680-404: A one-year term, who could veto each other's actions. Later, the consuls' powers were broken down further by adding other magistrates that each held a small portion of the king's original powers. First among these was the praetor , which removed the consuls' judicial authority from them. Next came the censor , which stripped from the consuls the power to conduct the census. The Romans instituted
748-579: A revolution that deposed and expelled Tarquinius and his family from Rome in 509 BC. Tarquin was viewed so negatively that the word for king, rex , held a negative connotation in the Latin language until the fall of the Roman Empire . Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus became Rome's first consuls , marking the beginning of the Roman Republic . This new government would survive for
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#1732852866548816-438: A series of seven kings ruled the settlement in Rome's first centuries. The traditional chronology, as codified by Varro (116 BC – 27 BC) and Fabius Pictor ( c. 270 – c. 200 BC), allows 243 years for their combined reigns, an average of almost 35 years. Since the work of Barthold Georg Niebuhr , modern scholarship has generally discounted this schema. The Gauls destroyed many of Rome's historical records when they sacked
884-430: A serpent-drawn biga as he sows grain in response to Demeter 's appeal to him to teach mankind the skill of agriculture, such as on an Alexandrine drachma . In his chapter on gemstones, Pliny records a ritualized use of the biga, saying those who seek the draconitis or draconitias , "snake stone", ride in a biga. The bigatus was a silver coin so called because it depicted a biga . Luna in her two-horse chariot
952-412: A two-man criminal court ( duumviri perduellionis ), which oversaw cases of treason. According to Livy , Lucius Tarquinius Superbus , the seventh and final king of Rome, judged capital criminal cases without the advice of counsellors, thereby creating fear amongst those who might think to oppose him. Whenever a king died, Rome entered a period of interregnum . Supreme power of the state would devolve to
1020-490: A vision and told him that he was the god Quirinus . He became not only one of the three major gods of Rome , but the very likeness of the city itself. A replica of Romulus's hut was maintained in the centre of Rome until the end of the Roman Empire. After Romulus died, there was an interregnum for one year, during which ten men chosen from the Senate governed Rome as successive interreges . Under popular pressure,
1088-581: A white diadem around the head. Of all these insignia, the most important was the purple toga picta . The king was invested with supreme military, executive, and judicial authority through the use of imperium , formally granted to the king by the Curiate Assembly with the passing of the Lex curiata de imperio at the beginning of each king's reign. The imperium of the king was held for life and protected him from ever being brought to trial for his actions. As
1156-567: Is also used by modern scholars for the similar chariots of other Indo-European cultures, particularly the two-horse chariot of the ancient Greeks and Celts . The driver of a biga is a bigarius . Other Latin words that distinguish chariots by the number of animals yoked as a team are quadriga , a four-horse chariot used for racing and associated with the Roman triumph ; triga , or three-horse chariot, probably driven for ceremonies more often than racing (see Trigarium ); and seiugis or seiuga ,
1224-516: Is held by the British Museum . Other sources are reliefs and mosaics . These show a lightweight frame, to which a minimal shell of fabric or leather was lashed. The center of gravity was low, and the wheels were relatively small, around 65 cm in diameter in proportion to a body 60 cm wide and 55 cm deep, with a breastwork of about 70 cm in height. The wheels may have been rimmed with iron, but otherwise metal fittings are kept to
1292-539: Is the Circus Maximus , a giant stadium for chariot races. After that, he started the building of the temple-fortress to the god Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. However, before it was completed, he was killed by a son of Ancus Marcius, after 38 years as king. His reign is best remembered for introducing the Roman symbols of military and civil offices, and the Roman triumph , being the first Roman to celebrate one. Priscus
1360-602: The Olympian Games is recorded by later sources as 680 BC, when quadrigae competed. Races on horseback were added in 648. At Athens, two-horse chariot races were a part of athletic competitions from the 560s onward, but were still not a part of the Olympian Games. Bigae drawn by mules competed in the 70th Olympiad (500 BC), but they were no longer part of the games after the 84th Olympiad (444 BC). Not until 408 BC did bigae races begin to be featured at Olympia. In myth,
1428-576: The Palatine Hill along the river Tiber in central Italy , and ended with the overthrow of the kings and the establishment of the Republic c. 509 BC. Little is certain about the kingdom's history as no records and few inscriptions from the time of the kings have survived. The accounts of this period written during the Republic and the Empire are thought largely to be based on oral tradition . The site of
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#17328528665481496-473: The Roman Senate . Tensions came to a head when the king's son, Sextus Tarquinius , raped Lucretia , wife and daughter to powerful Roman nobles. Lucretia told her relatives about the attack, and committed suicide to avoid the dishonour of the episode. Four men, led by Lucius Junius Brutus , and including Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus , Publius Valerius Poplicola , and Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus incited
1564-467: The biga often functions structurally to create a complementary pair or to link opposites. The chariot of Achilles in the Iliad (16.152) was drawn by two immortal horses and a third who was mortal; at 23.295, a mare is yoked with a stallion. The team of Adrastos included the immortal "superhorse" Areion and the mortal Kairos. A yoke of two horses is associated with the Indo-European concept of
1632-496: The Campus Martius. He was reported to have been taken up to Mt. Olympus in a whirlwind and made a god. After initial acceptance by the public, rumours and suspicions of foul play by the patricians began to grow. In particular, some thought that members of the nobility had murdered him, dismembered his body, and buried the pieces on their land. These were set aside after an esteemed nobleman testified that Romulus had come to him in
1700-563: The Heavenly Twins, one of whom is mortal, represented among the Greeks by Castor and Pollux , the Dioscuri, who were known for horsemanship. Horse- and chariot-races were part of the ludi , sacred games held during Roman religious festivals , from Archaic times . A magistrate who presented games was entitled to ride in a biga . The sacral meaning of the races, though diminished over time,
1768-567: The Sabine king) and Luceres (Etruscans). He also divided the populace into 30 curiae , named after 30 of the Sabine women who had intervened to end the war between Romulus and Tatius. The curiae formed the voting units in the popular assemblies ( Comitia Curiata ). Romulus was behind one of the most notorious acts in Roman history, the incident commonly known as The Rape of the Sabine Women . To provide his citizens with wives, Romulus invited
1836-477: The Senate finally chose the Sabine Numa Pompilius to succeed Romulus, on account of his reputation for justice and piety. The choice was accepted by the Curiate Assembly. Numa's reign was marked by peace and religious reform. He constructed a new temple to Janus and, after establishing peace with Rome's neighbours, closed the doors of the temple to indicate a state of peace. They remained closed for
1904-516: The Senate possessed the authority to convene itself. Son of the Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia , ostensibly by the god Mars , the legendary Romulus was Rome's founder and first king. After he and his twin brother Remus had deposed King Amulius of Alba and reinstated the king's brother and their grandfather Numitor to the throne, they decided to build a city in the area where they had been abandoned as infants . After killing Remus in
1972-425: The Senate, which was responsible for finding a new king. The Senate would assemble and appoint one of its own members—the interrex —to serve for a period of five days with the sole purpose of nominating the next king of Rome. If no king were nominated at the end of five days, with the Senate's consent the interrex would appoint another Senator to succeed him for another five-day term. This process would continue until
2040-743: The borders of Rome and only fought wars to defend the territory. He also built Rome's first prison on the Capitoline Hill . Ancus further fortified the Janiculum Hill on the western bank, and built the first bridge across the Tiber River . He also founded the port of Ostia Antica on the Tyrrhenian Sea and established Rome's first salt works, as well as the city's first aqueduct . Rome grew, as Ancus used diplomacy to peacefully unite smaller surrounding cities into alliance with Rome. Thus, he completed
2108-472: The charioteer who must control a soul divided by genesis and apogenesis . Greek and Roman art depicts deities driving two-yoke chariots drawn by a number of animals. A biga of oxen was driven by Hecate , the chthonic aspect of the Triple Goddess in complement with the "horned" or crescent-crowned Diana and Luna, to whom the biga was sacred. Triptolemus is depicted on Roman coins as driving
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2176-490: The circus. Luna in her biga drawn by horses or oxen was an element of Mithraic iconography, usually in the context of the tauroctony . In the Mithraeum of S. Maria Capua Vetere, a wall painting that uniquely focuses on Luna alone shows one of the horses of the team as light in color, with the other a dark brown. It has been suggested that the duality of the horses drawing a biga can also represent Plato 's metaphor of
2244-562: The city after the Battle of the Allia in 390 BC (according to Varro; according to Polybius , the battle occurred in 387–6), and what remained eventually fell prey to time or to theft. With no contemporary records of the kingdom surviving, all accounts of the Roman kings must be carefully questioned. The kings following Romulus , the city's founder, were elected by the people of Rome to serve for life, and did not rely upon military force to gain or keep
2312-531: The conquest of the Latins and relocated them to the Aventine Hill , thus forming the plebeian class of Romans. He died a natural death, like his grandfather, after 25 years as king, marking the end of Rome's Latin–Sabine kings. Lucius Tarquinius Priscus was the fifth king of Rome and the first of Etruscan birth. After immigrating to Rome, he gained favor with Ancus, who later adopted him as son. Upon ascending
2380-563: The conquests to build great monuments for Rome. Among these were Rome's great sewer systems, the Cloaca Maxima , which he used to drain the swamp-like area between the Seven Hills of Rome. In its place, he began construction on the Roman Forum . He also founded the Roman games. Priscus initiated great building projects, including the city's first bridge, the Pons Sublicius . The most famous
2448-618: The founding of the Roman Kingdom (and eventual Republic and Empire ) included a ford where one could cross the river Tiber in central Italy . The Palatine Hill and hills surrounding it provided easily defensible positions in the wide fertile plain surrounding them. Each of these features contributed to the success of the city. The traditional version of Roman history, which has come down principally through Livy (64 or 59 BC – AD 12 or 17), Plutarch (46–120), and Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( c. 60 BC – after 7 BC), recounts that
2516-430: The horses of a biga pulled 50 kg each, while those of the quadriga pulled 25 kg each. The models or statuettes of bigae were art objects , toys , or collector's items . They are perhaps comparable to the modern hobby of model trains . In his Etymologiae , Isidore of Seville explains the cosmic symbolism of chariot racing, and notes that while the quadriga , or four-horse chariot, represents
2584-416: The idea of a dictatorship . A dictator would have complete authority over civil and military matters within the Roman imperium . Since he was not legally responsible for his actions as a dictator, he was unquestionable. However, the power of the dictator was so absolute that Ancient Romans were hesitant in electing one, reserving this decision only to times of severe emergencies. Although this seems similar to
2652-526: The king on his action but by no means could prevent him from acting. The only thing that the king could not do without the approval of the Senate and the Curiate Assembly was to declare war against a foreign nation. The king's imperium both granted him military powers and qualified him to pronounce legal judgement in all cases as the chief justice of Rome. Though he could assign pontiffs to act as minor judges in some cases, he had supreme authority in all cases brought before him, both civil and criminal. This made
2720-416: The king passed the Curiate Assembly, the Senate could either veto it or accept it as law. The king was, by custom, to seek the advice of the Senate on major issues. However, it was left to him to decide what issues, if any, were brought before them and he was free to accept or reject their advice as he saw fit. Only the king possessed the power to convene the Senate, except during the interregnum , during which
2788-467: The king supreme in times of both war and peace. While some writers believed there was no appeal from the king's decisions, others believed that a proposal for appeal could be brought before the king by any patrician during a meeting of the Curiate Assembly. To assist the king, a council advised him during all trials, but this council had no power to control his decisions. Also, two criminal detectives ( quaestores parricidi ) were appointed by him as well as
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2856-473: The king upon him. Accordingly, the king himself proposed to the Curiate Assembly a law granting him imperium , and the Curiate Assembly by voting in favor of the law would grant it. In theory, the people of Rome elected their leader, but the Senate had most of the control over the process. According to legend, Romulus established the Senate after he founded Rome by personally selecting the most noble men (wealthy men with legitimate wives and children) to serve as
2924-405: The king was the praefectus urbi , who acted as the warden of the city. When the king was absent from the city, the prefect held all of the king's powers and abilities, even to the point of being bestowed with imperium while inside the city. The king also received the right to be the only person to appoint patricians to the Senate . What is known for certain is that the king alone possessed
2992-415: The king was the sole owner of imperium in Rome at the time, he possessed ultimate executive power and unchecked military authority as the commander-in-chief of all of the Roman legions . Also, the laws that kept citizens safe from magistrates' misuse of imperium did not exist during the monarchical period. The king had the power to either appoint or nominate all officials to offices. He would appoint
3060-415: The king-elect did not immediately enter office. Two other acts still had to take place before he was invested with the full regal authority and power. First, it was necessary to obtain the divine will of the gods respecting his appointment by means of the auspices, since the king would serve as high priest of Rome. This ceremony was performed by an augur, who conducted the king-elect to the citadel, where he
3128-523: The neighbouring tribes to a festival in Rome where the Romans committed a mass abduction of young women from among the attendees. The accounts vary from 30 to 683 women taken, a significant number for a population of 3,000 Latins (and presumably for the Sabines as well). War broke out when Romulus refused to return the captives. After the Sabines made three unsuccessful attempts to invade the hill settlements of Rome,
3196-431: The next 500 years until the rise of Julius Caesar and Augustus , and would cover a period during which Rome's authority and area of control extended to cover vast areas of Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. He ruled 25 years. In order to replace the leadership of the kings, a new office was created with the title of consul . Initially, the consuls possessed all of the king's powers in the form of two men, elected for
3264-399: The poor in order to gain support from plebeians , often at the expense of patricians. After a 44-year reign, Servius was killed in a conspiracy by his daughter Tullia and her husband Lucius Tarquinius Superbus . The seventh and final king of Rome was Lucius Tarquinius Superbus . He was the son of Priscus and the son-in-law of Servius, whom he and his wife had killed. Tarquinius waged
3332-573: The population into five economic classes, and formed the Centuriate Assembly . He used the census to divide the population into four urban tribes based on location, thus establishing the Tribal Assembly . He also oversaw the construction of the Temple of Diana on the Aventine Hill . Servius' reforms made a big change in Roman life: voting rights based on socio-economic status, favouring elites. However, over time, Servius increasingly favoured
3400-504: The power to control the Roman calendar , he conducted all religious ceremonies and appointed lower religious offices and officers. It is said that Romulus himself instituted the augurs and was believed to have been the best augur of all. Likewise, King Numa Pompilius instituted the pontiffs and through them developed the foundations of the religious dogma of Rome. Under the kings, the Senate and Curiate Assembly had very little power and authority. They were not independent since they lacked
3468-530: The procession. Perhaps the most famous ovation in history is that which Marcus Licinius Crassus celebrated after his victory of the Third Servile War . There were 23 known ovations during the Republic. Biga (chariot) The biga ( Latin ; pl. : bigae ) is the two-horse chariot as used in ancient Rome for sport, transportation, and ceremonies. Other animals may replace horses in art and occasionally for actual ceremonies. The term biga
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#17328528665483536-552: The rest of his reign. He established the Vestal Virgins at Rome, as well as the Salii , and the flamines for Jupiter , Mars and Quirinus . He also established the office and duties of pontifex maximus . Numa reigned for 43 years. He reformed the Roman calendar by adjusting it for the solar and lunar year, as well as by adding the months of January and February to bring the total number of months to twelve. Tullus Hostilius
3604-458: The right to meet together and discuss questions of state at their own will. They could be called together only by the king (and the tribune in the case of the Curiate Assembly) and could discuss only the matters that the king laid before them. While the Curiate Assembly had the power to pass laws that had been submitted by the king, the Senate was effectively an honorary council. It could advise
3672-444: The right to the augury on behalf of Rome as its chief augur , and no public business could be performed without the will of the gods made known through auspices. The people knew the king as a mediator between them and the gods (cf. Latin pontifex , "bridge-builder", in this sense, between men and the gods) and thus viewed the king with religious awe. This made the king the head of the national religion and its chief executive. Having
3740-526: The roles of a king, dictators of Rome were limited to serving a maximum six-month term limit. Contrary to the modern notion of a dictator as a usurper, Roman dictators were freely chosen, usually from the ranks of consuls, during turbulent periods when one-man rule proved more efficient. The king's religious powers were given to two new offices: the Rex Sacrorum and the Pontifex Maximus . The Rex Sacrorum
3808-404: The senators, but this selection was done in accordance with ancient custom. Under the monarchy, the Senate possessed very little power and authority as the king held most of the political power of the state and could exercise those powers without the Senate's consent. The chief function of the Senate was to serve as the king's council and be his legislative coordinator. Once legislation proposed by
3876-428: The six-horse chariot, more rarely raced and requiring a high degree of skill from the driver. The biga and quadriga are the most common types. Two-horse chariots are a common icon on Roman coins ; see bigatus , a type of denarius so called because it depicted a biga . In the iconography of religion and cosmology , the biga represents the moon, as the quadriga does the sun. The earliest reference to
3944-491: The sun and its course through the four seasons, the biga represents the moon, "because it travels on a twin course with the sun, or because it is visible both by day and by night – for they yoke together one black horse and one white." Chariots frequently appear in Roman art as allegories of the Sun and Moon, particularly in reliefs and mosaics , in contexts that are readily distinguishable from depictions of real-world charioteers in
4012-466: The throne, he waged wars against the Sabines and Etruscans, doubling the size of Rome and bringing great treasures to the city. To accommodate the influx of population, the Aventine and Caelian hills were populated. One of his first reforms was to add 100 new members to the Senate from the conquered Etruscan tribes, bringing the total number of senators to 200. He used the treasures Rome had acquired from
4080-404: The throne. The only king to break fully with this tradition was Lucius Tarquinius Superbus , the final king, who according to tradition seized power from his predecessor and ruled as a tyrant. The insignia of the kings of Rome were twelve lictors (attendants or servants) wielding the symbolic fasces bearing axes, the right to sit upon a curule seat , the purple toga picta , red shoes, and
4148-551: The women themselves intervened during the Battle of the Lacus Curtius to end the war. The two peoples were united in a joint kingdom, with Romulus and the Sabine king Titus Tatius sharing the throne. In addition to the war with the Sabines, Romulus waged war with the Fidenates and Veientes and others. He reigned for thirty-seven years. According to the legend, Romulus vanished at age fifty-four while reviewing his troops on
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#17328528665484216-479: The worship of the gods until, towards the end of his reign, he fell ill and became superstitious. However, when Tullus called upon Jupiter and begged assistance, Jupiter responded with a bolt of lightning that burned the king and his house to ashes. His reign lasted for 32 years. Following the mysterious death of Tullus, the Romans elected a peaceful and religious king in his place, Numa's grandson, Ancus Marcius . Much like his grandfather, Ancus did little to expand
4284-571: Was as warlike as Romulus had been, completely unlike Numa as he lacked any respect for the gods. Tullus waged war against Alba Longa , Fidenae and Veii and the Sabines . During Tullus's reign, the city of Alba Longa was completely destroyed and Tullus integrated its population into Rome. Tullus is attributed with constructing a new home for the Senate, the Curia Hostilia , which survived for 562 years after his death. According to Livy, Tullus neglected
4352-454: Was depicted on the first issue of the bigatus . Victory in her biga was later featured. Kingdom of Rome Timeline The Roman Kingdom , also referred to as the Roman monarchy or the regal period of ancient Rome , was the earliest period of Roman history when the city and its territory were ruled by kings. According to tradition, the Roman Kingdom began with the city's founding c. 753 BC, with settlements around
4420-420: Was placed on a stone seat as the people waited below. If found worthy of the kingship, the augur announced that the gods had given favourable tokens, thus confirming the king's priestly character. The second act which had to be performed was the conferral of the imperium upon the king. The Curiate Assembly's previous vote only determined who was to be king, and had not by that act bestowed the necessary power of
4488-402: Was preserved by iconography in the Circus Maximus , Rome's main racetrack. Inscriptions referring to the bigarius as young suggest that a racing driver had to gain experience with a two-horse team before graduating to a quadriga . A main source for the construction of racing bigae is a number of bronze figurines found throughout the Roman Empire, a particularly detailed example of which
4556-510: Was succeeded by his son-in-law Servius Tullius , Rome's second king of Etruscan birth, and the son of a slave. Like his father-in-law, Servius fought successful wars against the Etruscans. He used the booty to build the first wall all around the Seven Hills of Rome, the pomerium . He also reorganized the army. Servius Tullius instituted a new constitution, further developing the citizen classes . He instituted Rome's first census , which divided
4624-473: Was the de jure highest religious official for the Republic. His sole task was to make the annual sacrifice to Jupiter, a privilege that had been previously reserved for the king. The Pontifex Maximus, however, was the de facto highest religious official and held most of the king's religious authority. He had the power to appoint all vestal virgins , flamens, pontiffs, and even the Rex Sacrorum himself. By
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