ABSTRACT
The previous chapter aimed to create a theoretical framework for understanding the trophy as it existed in ancient Greece. For that purpose the most useful source was the literary evidence, which is relatively plentiful and directly addresses the Greeks’ own abstract ideas concerning the trophy. There is, however, a small body of visual evidence for the Greek trophy, which is crucial to the construction of a real history of the trophy as a physical object and monument-type. The perishable nature of the temporary trophy has restricted this evidence to representations of trophies and a very meagre corpus of fragments that might have belonged to permanent trophies. Thus, actual trophies, both temporary and permanent, are best understood in light of textual and visual representations. This chapter will combine the literature reviewed in Chapter 4 with a new study of visual evidence for the trophy, first in the form of representations and then in the form of the battered fragments that can be understood with reference to these representations. Ultimately, the chapter will suggest conclusions concerning the identity, nature and development of the ‘real’ Greek trophy. These, in turn, will form a backdrop against which to view the burgeoning Roman trophy.
