Preparing for Triumph. Graecae Artes as Roman Booty in L. Mummius’ Campaign (146 BC)

This paper focuses on how Roman commanders, while still overseas and in the field, managed the capitulation of the defeated enemy in preparation for triumph. Lucius Mummius’ deeds in Greece as consul and proconsul after the sack of Corinth offer some of the best evidence concerning the delicate questions that faced Roman commanders when assembling the booty: what artworks should be removed and shipped to Rome (and Italy) as evidence of victory, and what should be left in situ in order to avert the ongoing resentment of the Greek communities. Several documents and anecdotes describe Mummius’ activity and convey different attitudes towards him. The role of these artworks in his political plans, both in Italy and overseas, reveal a complex pattern from which we can identify their key-role in the aftermath of the Achaean war (146 BC). First, he razed Corinth and punished a great number of Achaean and Beotian towns by removing some of their artworks. Then, he not only offered many artifacts as ornamenta to the temples in the urbs or to the local communities in Italy, but he also relocated some statues in Greece to benefit sanctuaries and cities which had supported Rome during the war. Moreover, Mummius usually abstained from removing the anathemata, although some he rededicated in his name to the gods. At the end of the article Mummius’ conduct is compared to Scipio Aemilianus’ policy of repatriation of anathemata stolen by the Carthaginians and to the use of Greek artworks by Octavian after Actium.