Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Plural of
spolium .
Etymologies
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Examples
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Called the spolia opima splendid spoils, this distinction went only to one historically attested Roman in the entire history of the republic.
The Spartacus War Barry Strauss 2009
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Called the spolia opima splendid spoils, this distinction went only to one historically attested Roman in the entire history of the republic.
The Spartacus War Barry Strauss 2009
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Called the spolia opima splendid spoils, this distinction went only to one historically attested Roman in the entire history of the republic.
The Spartacus War Barry Strauss 2009
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Called the spolia opima splendid spoils, this distinction went only to one historically attested Roman in the entire history of the republic.
The Spartacus War Barry Strauss 2009
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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.
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Charles the Bald is known for having used such forms as the equestrian statue, Roman and classical spolia, and richly detailed metalwork to reference both classical power and the esteem of Charlemagne's reign.
Archive 2009-01-01 2009
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Although this area was already excavated in 1994, 1995 and 1997 some new observations could be made, such as the discovery of a new water channel made from bricks and a mortared top of rubble and spolia, with an opening of 40 by 45 cm.
Upper Agora: Report 1 « Interactive Dig Sagalassos – City in the Clouds 2009
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Charles the Bald is known for having used such forms as the equestrian statue, Roman and classical spolia, and richly detailed metalwork to reference both classical power and the esteem of Charlemagne's reign.
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All these great men were so completely highway robbers, that from the time of Romulus down to the buccaneers, the only question and concern were about the “spolia opima,” the pillage and plunder, the cows and oxen carried off by the hand of violence.
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[5177] Fallere credentem res est operosa puellam, 'tis soon done, no such great mastery, Egregiam vero laudem, et spolia ampla, — and nothing so frequent as to belie their estates, to prefer their suits, and to advance themselves.
ruzuzu commented on the word spolia
"So what to make of the current state of these medieval buildings-as-museums? Certainly, good preservation practices will ensure a long life for the aged stones. But there is also a sense in which the medieval buildings have been deadened by their modern lives as display pieces. Old material given life through new use, called spolia, is, after all, very medieval. The altar at Sant-Miquel-de-Cuixà, the very heart of the religious life of the monastery, was itself made of part of a Roman column. Reuse did not erase the old meaning, it augmented the new one, though of course that column did not mean the same thing to a medieval person as to a Roman, nor the library wall the same thing as a medieval one. Even now, many San Franciscans shared memories of crawling over the medieval stones in their park as children, of the blocks as meeting places and landmarks. On the other hand, maybe the distinction between the museumified version of these places and their "freer" state is not so different, since New Yorkers were equally eager to share memories of their childhood trips to The Cloisters."
-- http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/in-the-early-1900s-dozens-of-centuriesold-european-buildings-came-to-america-where-is-medieval-america-now
November 10, 2015