Spolia Opima: The Rarest Roman Military Honor
The feat that eluded even Rome's greatest generals.
In 222 BC, Roman legions led by Consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus met the forces of Northern Italian Gauls, led by Viridomarus, outside a minor Roman city known as Clastidium.
Marcellus attempted to outflank his Gallic foes with his cavalry, but just as he neared the enemy forces, his horse recoiled. In an attempt to save face, he wheeled his horse back around to the opposing army and declared that he would strip the enemy of their finest armor, return it to Rome, and dedicate it to Jupiter at the temple of Jupiter Feretrius.
Viridomarus, adorned in precious metals and vivid colors, charged out to meet the Roman commander in combat. The two leaders charged one another, and in a brief exchange, Marcellus planted his spear through the breastplate of his foe, knocking the Gaul from his horse and finishing him off with two more thrusts of his spear.
"O Jupiter Feretrius, arbiter of the exploits of captains, and of the acts of commanders in war and battles, be thou witness that I, a general, have slain a general: I, a consul, have slain a king with my own hand, third of all the Romans; and that to thee I consecrate these first and most excellent of the spoils. Grant to us to dispatch the relics of the war with the same course of fortune." - Marcellus.
Marcellus and his Co-Consul Scipio Calvus would go on to crush the northern Italian Gauls, and for his deeds, Marcellus would be awarded a Triumph. As he stated, Marcellus would take the trappings of his foe to the Temple of Jupiter Feretrius, becoming the third— and last— man to achieve this feat.
Historical Context
Apart from Marcellus, only Rome’s mythical founder Romulus and Aulus Cornelius Cossus dedicated the spolia opima. Both figures and their achievements are subject to some controversy.
But considering that Romulus is at best quasi-mythical, it’s entirely possible that only Marcellus and Cossus actually achieved the feat. Be that as it may, Romulus, even if just in folklore, was the inventor of this achievement and set the standard.
Romulus slew Acron, King of Caenina in either late 753 BC or early 752 BC, with their triumph celebrating their victory over the Latin tribes occurring in March 752 BC. After he killed the Latin King, Romulus stripped him of his armor and fashioned it upon an oak trunk. The Temple of Jupiter Feretrius had not been built at this point in Roman history, and it is believed Romulus either dedicated his spolia opima on the battlefield or on the grounds near a sacred oak.
Cossus
Cossus, however, was not one of the founders of Rome like Romulus or even a general like Marcellus. By all accounts, he was at most a master of horse or military tribune. Cossus completed his legendary feat at the Battle of Fidenae in 437 BC after Roman cavalry had broken through the lines of their Etruscan foes, and the Veii King Lars Tolumnius charged the Roman cavalry. Noticing the pristine apparel of Tolumnius, Cossus focused his attention on the King and speared the royal from his horse before deftly dismounting and pinning the wounded man to the ground with his shield, finishing him off with a few more stabs of his spear. It is said that Cossus then disarmed Tolumnius, cut his head off, and placed it on the end of his spear, causing the enemy forces to immediately flee the field of battle.
Interestingly, Cossus is the only one of the trio who was not the head of the Roman army led into battle. Instead, that role fell to then dictator Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus, who was ultimately awarded a triumph by the Roman Senate. Cossus' achievement served as the centerpiece during the triumphal procession, with the procession even halted to showcase Cossus and his dedication of the spolia opima at the temple of Jupiter Feretrius, placing him above even the dictator during his own triumph.
By far the finest sight in the procession was Cossus bearing the spolia opima of the king he had slain. The soldiers sang rude songs in his honour and placed him on a level with Romulus. He solemnly dedicated the spoils to Jupiter Feretrius, and hung them in his temple near those of Romulus, which were the only ones which at that time were called spolia opima prima. All eyes were turned from the chariot of the Dictator to him; he almost monopolised the honours of the day. - Livy
Many subsequent generals, consuls, dictator’s and emperor’s undoubtedly would aspire to emulate these heroes of the past, yet none would ever succeed.
Augustus Caesar would eventually completely rebuild the temple of Jupiter, and may have even done so before the battle of Actium (although the exact timeline is unknown). If he had, it does beg the question if he sought the spolia opima himself, considering that Plutarch states that before the battle of Actium, Marc Antony reportedly challenged Augustus to single combat to settle the war, although Augustus refused the duel.
As we now know, this decision proved to be wise, as Augustus would defeat Marc Antony and the rest of his rivals before continuing to cement his authority over Rome.
It is this series of events which call into question a fourth man, who in perhaps any other time during the Republic would have been able to dedicate spolia opima.
Crassus’ Controversial Case and Augustus’ Interference
That fourth man was Marcus Licinius Crassus, grandson of the ill-fated triumvir of the same name, raises questions about the tradition. Crassus, during Antony’s civil war, fought with Pompey and Marc Antony before defecting to Octavian’s side. Octavian later elevated Crassus to consul and later to proconsul of Macedonia. During Crassus’ tenure in Macedonia, he slew the Bastarnae king, Deldo, in single combat. Unfortunately, specifics about this event are unknown, only being briefly mentioned in passing by Livy and Cassius Dio.
“Crassus himself killed their king, Deldo, and would have dedicated to Jupiter Feretrius the king’s armour as spolia opima, if he had been in supreme command.” - Cassius Dio
The controversy surrounding Crassus is mired in political intrigue. In 30 BC, during Augustus’ rebuilding of the temple of Jupiter, he claimed that he had discovered Cossus’ linen corselet which stated that only a consul with imperium could dedicate spolia opima at the temple of Jupiter. It is only after this discovery that history is somewhat rewritten by Livy, as his chapters regarding Cossus no longer mention him as a military tribune, but as an acting consul.
There is some debate over this matter, as Crassus was a proconsul and would later celebrate a triumph in 27 BC for his deeds in his campaign against the Bastarnae, which would necessitate that he held imperium. And secondly that a linen corselet left in a then dilapidated temple would at best be in dubious condition by the time Augustus happened upon it (conveniently never to be seen or heard from again).
We do know, however, that Crassus would never dedicate spolia opima at the temple of Jupiter, and soon after his triumph, would fade mysteriously from history.
Some argue that Augustus used this (probably manufactured) inscription to deny Crassus’ right to dedicate spolia opima, while others say that considering that ancient sources are relatively mum on the issue, it’s most likely that Crassus understood the political situation he was in and did not request to do so.
After all, any who dedicate spolia opima at the temple of Jupiter were directly elevating themselves to peers of Romulus, the founder of Rome. As Augustus fashioned himself a new type of rulership and a new Rome, any challengers with such a monumental connection to Rome’s past could be dangerous to his position and his popular support.
While Augustus would never dedicate spolia opima, he would in many ways allude to it after negotiating the return of the Roman standards which Crassus’ grandfather (also named Crassus), and Marc Antony had lost in their campaigns against the Parthians.
“Augustus received them as if he had conquered the Parthians in a war […] in honour of this success he commanded that sacrifices be decreed and likewise a temple to Mars Ultor on the Capitol, in imitation of that of Jupiter Feretrius, in which to dedicate the standards.” - Cassius Dio