ABSTRACT
This chapter continues to address the Greek trophy phenomenon. It is not the first study to approach the Greek trophy via ancient textual evidence: however, previous studies have relied for the most part on highly descriptive yet anachronistic sources including Pausanias and Plutarch. The concept driving this chapter is that trophies and their development are, instead, best understood through the words of contemporary Greek authors. Consequently I have treated Greek texts from historians, orators, philosophers and poets according to a chronological progression that reveals changes in the usage of the term across time. My approach demonstrates that over its history in Greek culture, the trophy shifted in nature from post-battle talisman to metaphorical emblem of state prowess. At the conclusion of the chapter I confront Diodorus Siculus, whose writings provide the most detail of any Greek source. His unusually in-depth discussion of the trophy, if it is to be trusted despite its 1st century B.C.E. date, provides explanations for many features of the 5th-century trophy. Through the following exploration of the ancient textual sources I create a frame of reference for constructing a modern understanding of the ancient Greek trophy.
It is worth noting that many English translations use the word ‘trophy‘ inaccurately: I have removed these from consideration.
