The Triumphal Processions in Ancient Rome

What already said about the triumphal arches in the Forum pertains to the general phenomenon of the triumphal processions. When the Romans arrived in Greece in the third century BCE, they began to discover how important was the self representation. Once they became aware of the Greek statues representing the deities in nude poses, they immediately realized that their carved heads can be placed on these marble bodies. Talented slaves working as artists in Rome implemented an enormous amount of imagery that dcorated the Roman houses but also the public squares in the Fora. As soon as the Romans, who were frugal by nature, initiated to collect these works of art, they became so fond of the Greek culture that some of the Roman emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius spoke Greek. The Forum was the stage where all the major triumphal processions took place, and writers such as Livy and Plutarch give us many details on the display of the new stautes coming from the Eastern side of the Roman empire.