Legion Symbols

The signa militaria were the Roman military ensigns or standards carried by signiferi. Early in the Roman Republic the soldiers entrusted to carry and protect them were simply known as signifer. Later, in the Empire, more specialist standards were added with different military ranks created for specific tasks.

The spiritual centre of any Roman military fort was the “sacellum”, a space consecrated to the signa militaria and where they were stored. On special holidays, the legion standards were anointed, decorated with laurel and garlands, as well as adorned with bands. One of these occasions was the “dies natalis aquilae”, the “birthday of the (legionary) eagle”, the day on which the soldiers celebrated the anniversary of the legion’s founding. The legion standards were symbols and warrantors for religious commitment to the state as well as for military virtues and successes.

The legion standards were ritually worshipped as representatives of military religion (“religio castrensis”). Consequently, losing them was the ultimate humiliation that could happen to a legion, and everything in their power was done to regain them. For example, some years after Marcus Licinius Crassus had lost an eagle to the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, when the Emperor Augustus succeeded in regaining it, the event was celebrated by minting special coins.

The Roman army standards also exerted a strong psychological influence on the soldiers, who would gather around them before a battle and during lulls. They always had the standards’ protection on their minds when following the signiferi into battle. Thus, the legion standards were literally both a guiding motif and a motive; a point of reference as well as a symbol of the troops’ morale. The Latin language knows numerous military terms that refer to the army standards, for example “signa tollere” (“lifting the army standards”), which meant “to break camp”, or “signa movere”, (“moving the army standards”) for marching off, and many more.

Aquila Originally Roman legions had one of the following five creatures as an insignia: an eagle, a wolf, a minotaur, a horse or a boar. From 104 BC onwards, each legion carried a single aquila (“eagle”) as its standard symbol. The aquila only ever accompanied the full legion on deployment. When not in use it was housed, and guarded, in the sacellum within the legionary fort.

Eagles were initially made of silver using the repoussé technique and then gold-plated. Later, aquilae were made of pure gold. Typically they were perched on top of the standard with up-raised wings surrounded by a laurel wreath and holding Jupiter’s lightning bolts in its talons. Sometimes the eagle also held an acorn in its beak, also symbolizing Jupiter, the supreme god of the Roman pantheon, whose holy tree was the oak.

As previously mentioned, the standards had a quasi-religious importance to the Roman soldier, far beyond being merely a symbol of his legion. Thus the “Primipilus”, the highest-ranking Centurion and leader of the first cohort, watched over of the aquila, while a highly reliable and trustworthy soldier, known as an aquilifer (the “eagle-bearer”), was tasked with carrying and caring for it. Both men were entrusted with the eagle’s protection since to lose a standard was extremely grave.

In his account Gallic War (Bk IV, Para. 25), Gaius Julius Caesar describes an incident at the start of his first invasion of Britain in 55 BC that illustrated how fear for the safety of the eagle could motivate Roman soldiers. When Caesar's troops hesitated to leave their ships for fear of the Britons, the aquilifer of Legio X threw himself overboard and, carrying the eagle, advanced alone against the enemy. His comrades, fearing disgrace, “with one accord, leapt down from the ship” and were followed by troops from the other ships.

Despite the reverence offered to the eagles, none are known to have survived. Other Roman eagles, either symbolizing imperial rule or used as funerary emblems, have been discovered, however.

Imago With the birth of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the Imperial Cult in the reign of Augustus, the legions created a bond with their leader, the emperor himself. Each legion, therefore, had an imago (image, sculpture) of the Emperor as pontifex maximus [1]. The imago, a three-dimensional portrait made from beaten metal, was carried only in the first cohort by an Imaginifer.

Signum Each of the six sub-divisions of a cohort, called centuries, had a signum carried and protected by a signifer (“standard-bearer”). In a legion, therefore, there were fifty-nine signa. Each of these standards incorporated the number of both the cohort and of the century. This, together with the diversities of the crests worn by the centurions, enabled each soldier to identify and take his place in the century with ease.

A typical signum consisted of a pole topped with either a leaf-shaped spearhead or a manus (open human hand) image denoting the oath of loyalty taken by the soldiers. It sometimes included a representation of a wreath, probably denoting an honour or award. Significantly, signa had several phalarae (disks or medallions) mounted on the pole. The number of phalerae may indicate a given century within its cohort. Of all the signa we have seen depicted, the largest number of phalerae shown on individual signum appears to be six. If correct, then the first century’s signum would have one disc, the second century two discs, the number increasing until reaching the six phalerae representing the sixth century.

Vexillum It was common for a legion to detach some sub-units from the main camp to strengthen other corps. In these cases, the legionary standard, the aquila, remained with the legion and the detached sub-units, known as vexillationes, carried a vexillum. This standard consisted of a woven fabric banner, displaying the name and emblem of the legion, hung on a crossbar attached to a pole or lance. It was used by both infantry and cavalry detachments. The duty of carrying the vexillum fell to one of the signiferi in the legion, known as a vexillarius, (or vexillifer).

A miniature vexillum, mounted on a silver base, was sometimes awarded to officers as a recognition of their service upon retirement or reassignment.

---

Endnote:

1. Pontifex (Latin: “bridge builder”, plural Pontifices) a member of a council of priests in ancient Rome. The ponitfex maximus was therefore the “Chief Priest” and chief administrator of religious law. The role was quickly identified with and assumed by the emperors. ▲