Symbols of Ancient Rome: What Eagles, Laurel Wreaths, and Inscriptions Revealed About Roman Life

A Roman coin could carry an emperor’s portrait across the Mediterranean. A military standard could identify a legion in the confusion of battle. A few letters carved into a tombstone could preserve a person’s name and the affection of a family that mourned them.

Ancient Roman symbols appeared on coins, monuments, household objects, military equipment, and graves. They communicated ideas about power, victory, religion, citizenship, and personal identity. Yet their meanings were rarely fixed. An eagle on a military standard belonged to a different setting from an eagle associated with Jupiter, just as a wreath awarded for saving citizens’ lives differed from a laurel wreath associated with victory.

To understand a Roman symbol, we must examine the entire object: where it was found, when it was made, what other images or words accompany it, and who may have used it. This article explores some of Rome’s most recognizable signs through surviving archaeological objects and inscriptions.

Roman coins and inscribed stone monuments displaying symbols and lettering from ancient Rome

Why Did Symbols Matter in Ancient Rome?

Rome governed a vast and culturally diverse world. Its inhabitants spoke different languages, worshipped different gods, and belonged to communities with distinct traditions. Images helped communicate across that diversity. They appeared on portable objects such as coins and lamps, as well as on public buildings and monuments.

Some images expressed official political claims. Others served religious, funerary, decorative, or personal purposes. A single object could perform several roles at once. A coin was money, for example, but its portrait, imagery, and inscription could also announce who ruled and which achievements that ruler wished to emphasize.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s guide to Roman art explains how imperial portraits and coins presented carefully constructed public images of Roman rulers. These images tell us what authorities wanted viewers to see; they do not necessarily tell us how every person in the empire understood or accepted that message.

The Roman Eagle: Jupiter, the Army, and Imperial Authority

The eagle is one of the most recognizable images associated with ancient Rome. Its importance came partly from its connection with Jupiter, a central deity in Roman public religion. Eagles also appeared in military imagery and, most famously, on the standards of Roman legions.

The legionary eagle, or aquila

A legion’s aquila was an eagle standard carried with the unit. Its loss could become a political and military humiliation. This is clear from the way Augustus publicized the recovery of Roman standards previously captured by the Parthians. A coin in the British Museum depicts an aquila alongside another standard; the museum connects its imagery to that diplomatic recovery.

On this coin, the eagle is part of a specific story about military honor and Augustan rule. An eagle appearing elsewhere might have a different emphasis. Its meaning depends on the object and the symbols around it.

The aquila, or eagle standard, was closely tied to a Roman legion’s identity and honor

Does every eagle represent a Roman legion?

No. An eagle might belong to a religious image, an imperial composition, or a military scene. Before identifying it as a legionary standard, researchers look for features such as the supporting pole, accompanying standards, inscriptions, or a recognizable historical context.

The eagle is a powerful example of a broader rule: recognizing a figure is easier than establishing why it appears on a particular object.

Laurel Wreaths, Oak Wreaths, and the Language of Honor

Wreaths appear frequently in Roman visual culture. They may surround inscriptions, appear beside military emblems, or rest on the head of a ruler. Their leaves and setting matter.

Laurel and victory

The laurel wreath had strong associations with victory and public honor. Imperial portraits often used wreaths to present a ruler in an elevated role. A wreath shown alongside a military scene could reinforce a claim of success.

Yet it would be misleading to call every Roman wreath “a laurel crown.” Roman artists represented different plants, and those distinctions could carry different meanings.

The civic crown of oak leaves

The corona civica, or civic crown, was made of oak leaves and was traditionally associated with saving the life of a Roman citizen. In Augustan imagery, the oak wreath could also become part of a wider presentation of the emperor’s status.

A British Museum coin of Augustus brings several images together: an eagle stands on an oak wreath, with laurel branches behind it. Reading the design requires distinguishing the oak wreath from the laurel branches, then considering why they were combined.

Color, leaf shape, placement, accompanying text, and date all help archaeologists interpret a wreath. A worn carving on its own may not allow a confident identification.

Roman imagery used different kinds of wreaths, including laurel and oak, whose meanings depended on their context.

Victory as a Figure: The Winged Goddess Victoria

Roman art did not express victory only through wreaths. It could represent Victory herself as a winged female figure, known in Latin as Victoria. She often appears holding a wreath, a palm branch, a shield, or another object suited to the message of the image.

One Roman coin catalogued by the British Museum depicts winged Victory holding up a wreath and carrying a palm branch. Another shows Victory holding a shield inscribed SPQR.

Such designs could celebrate military success, present a ruler as favored by victory, or connect an achievement to the Roman state. The precise interpretation depends on the coin’s date, issuing authority, inscriptions, and historical circumstances.

SPQR: Four Letters with a Political Meaning

SPQR abbreviates Senatus Populusque Romanus: “The Senate and the Roman People.” The formula expressed the political community of Rome and appeared in a range of official settings.

These four letters should be read as text, not as an unexplained geometric sign. When they appear on an object, the next question is what that object was meant to communicate. On a coin, SPQR might appear within a larger composition involving Victory, a shield, or a ruler’s honors.

For example, the British Museum’s description of an Augustan coin showing an inscribed shield relates the shield to honors granted by the Senate and Roman people. The inscription and imagery work together: neither should be interpreted in isolation.

SPQR also reminds us that Roman symbols were often words and abbreviations as well as pictures. Their letters may preserve political formulas, names, offices, and claims that an image alone cannot convey.

Roman Coins: Small Objects with Carefully Chosen Messages

Coins offer an especially useful way to study Roman symbols because they combine images, inscriptions, and identifiable historical settings. A portrait on one side may name a ruler; the other side may show a deity, personification, monument, military standard, or celebrated event.

Consider a Roman coin depicting a crocodile associated with Egypt. A British Museum catalogue entry explains how its imagery relates to Roman victory over Egypt. The crocodile has meaning in this particular political composition. It does not follow that every crocodile image found in a Roman-period setting communicates exactly the same event.

Coins also changed over time. Different rulers selected different portraits, titles, and reverse images. The Metropolitan Museum describes official portraits of Augustus as instruments used to present qualities he wished to communicate across the empire.

When reading a coin, archaeologists ask:

• Who issued it, and when?
• Where was it minted?
• Whose portrait appears on it?
• What does its inscription actually say?
• Which figures or objects appear on the reverse?
• Was it found alone, in a hoard, or in a documented archaeological layer?

These details turn an attractive image into historical evidence.

Roman coins combined portraits, images, and inscriptions to communicate messages across the empire.

Symbols on Roman Tombstones: Names, Grief, and Memory

Public monuments presented the power of the Roman state. Funerary inscriptions bring us closer to families and individuals. They may record a person’s name, age, relationships, occupation, origin, or military service. Even a brief inscription can preserve a personal story.

What does DM mean on a Roman grave?

The letters DM commonly abbreviate Dis Manibus, a dedication to the spirits of the dead. They are a funerary formula, not directions to an underground chamber.

A Roman epitaph plaque in the British Museum begins with DM and goes on to name Claudia Tyche and describe her relationship to the person who set up the memorial. Another inscription commemorates a child. Such texts reveal affection, loss, and family ties that would otherwise be difficult to recover.

The meaning of DM is well established in funerary contexts. Its presence does not, by itself, reveal the size of a grave, the wealth of the deceased, or whether any grave goods were deposited.

Why do inscriptions matter as much as images?

An image may suggest a role or belief, but a surviving inscription can identify a named person and sometimes the person who commissioned the monument. Images and text should therefore be studied together, along with the monument’s location and archaeological history.

Some tombstones were moved and reused in later buildings. In such cases, the place where a stone is found may differ from the location where it originally stood. The British Museum records a Roman tombstone reused in the defenses of Roman London, illustrating why an artifact’s later history matters.

Roman funerary inscriptions preserved names, family relationships, and memories of the deceased.

Religious Images and Symbols of a Changing Empire

Roman religious imagery was diverse. Deities, sacred animals, ritual objects, and local traditions appeared across an empire stretching far beyond the city of Rome. A figure familiar in one province might be shown differently in another.

Over time, Christian images also became increasingly visible on Roman objects. One example is the Chi-Rho, a monogram formed from Greek letters associated with the name of Christ. The Metropolitan Museum identifies a Chi-Rho on a late Roman terracotta oil lamp.

This lamp demonstrates two points. First, symbols appeared on ordinary objects used in daily life. Second, dating is essential: an explicitly Christian monogram on a late Roman lamp belongs to a different religious and historical setting from an earlier Roman military eagle or an imperial coin.

The presence of a cross or Christian monogram at a site cannot automatically date every nearby wall, grave, or carved stone to the same period. Archaeologists establish those relationships through excavation, construction sequence, inscriptions, and associated finds.

Did Romans Carve Symbols to Mark Hidden Treasure?

Claims about “Roman treasure signs” often assign one fixed instruction to an image: a bird points toward gold, an animal indicates a burial chamber, or the size of a carving gives the number of steps to a hidden deposit.

The objects discussed above show why this approach is unreliable. An eagle could belong to military or religious imagery. A wreath could refer to a particular honor. DM is a funerary abbreviation. Victory on a coin forms part of a political message. None of these interpretations provides a universal set of directions to buried valuables.

Roman coins and other valuable objects have certainly been found in archaeological excavations and hoards. But an isolated symbol does not establish that a hoard lies nearby. The relationship between a mark and anything beneath the ground must be demonstrated through documented archaeological evidence.

Questions about a carved sign should begin with the object itself:

1. Is the mark human-made, and is it genuinely ancient?
2. What material carries it: stone, coin, pottery, lamp, or another object?
3. Where was the object originally used?
4. Can an accompanying inscription be read?
5. Are there securely dated parallels?
6. What does the excavation or find record actually establish?

Without this information, a confident claim about a hidden deposit would go beyond the evidence.

How Archaeologists Interpret Roman Symbols

Researchers rarely interpret a Roman sign from its outline alone. They bring several types of evidence together:

1. Identify the object

A design on a coin, grave marker, household lamp, or military standard begins with a different probable function. The object’s material and construction can also help establish when and where it was made.

2. Read the entire composition

An eagle standing above an oak wreath and flanked by laurel branches presents more information than the eagle alone. Text, neighboring figures, borders, and the placement of an image all matter.

3. Establish a date

Roman visual language changed across centuries. A design associated with Augustus cannot simply be transferred to an object made in late antiquity.

4. Compare documented examples

Museum catalogues, published inscriptions, and excavated objects provide examples whose date and context can be evaluated. A resemblance becomes useful when the objects also share relevant historical features.

5. Consider the find context

A symbol discovered in a grave, sanctuary, house, military site, or later building may have different implications. Researchers also check whether the object has been moved or reused.

This method does not guarantee an answer in every case. Worn surfaces, missing text, uncertain origins, and later alterations can leave a symbol open to several interpretations. Acknowledging that uncertainty is part of accurate historical writing.

Archaeologists study an object’s inscription, imagery, date, and find context together.

What Roman Symbols Reveal About Roman Life

Symbols provide evidence of the people who selected, displayed, used, and encountered them. An imperial coin can show how a ruler wished to be seen. A military eagle reflects the identity and honor of a legion. A funerary inscription records the effort of someone who wanted a loved one remembered. A decorated lamp offers a glimpse of beliefs expressed through an everyday possession.

Together, these objects also reveal a changing empire. Roman imagery was shaped by politics, war, family relationships, religious practices, and regional traditions. Its meanings evolved as people reused older forms and created new ones.

The most revealing question is therefore not simply “What does this symbol mean?” It is “What did this particular symbol communicate on this particular object, at this particular time?”

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the eagle symbolize in ancient Rome?

The eagle had associations with Jupiter and appeared in Roman military imagery, especially as the aquila of a legion. Its precise meaning on an artifact depends on the full design and historical context.

Did every Roman emperor wear a laurel wreath?

Wreaths were common in imperial imagery, but portraits varied by period, medium, and intended message. An oak civic crown and a laurel wreath also had distinct associations and should not be confused.

What does SPQR stand for?

SPQR stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus, meaning “The Senate and the Roman People.” It is a political formula found in Roman public imagery and inscriptions.

What does DM mean on a Roman tombstone?

DM usually stands for Dis Manibus, a funerary dedication to the spirits of the dead. The rest of the inscription may identify the deceased and the person who commemorated them.

Did Roman symbols point to buried treasure?

There is no reliable universal code by which Roman animal images, wreaths, or carved letters indicate the direction or distance to hidden valuables. Archaeologists interpret finds through their documented context.

Why do Roman coins have different images on their two sides?

Coin designs combined portraits, inscriptions, deities, personifications, honors, and references to events. Reading both sides together helps identify the ruler and the message of a particular issue.

Conclusion

Roman symbols were part of a rich visual and written language. Eagles, wreaths, Victory figures, political abbreviations, and funerary formulas helped people communicate ideas about authority, achievement, belief, and remembrance.

They become most meaningful when connected to the objects and people that carried them. The surviving coins, tombstones, lamps, and monuments do more than preserve familiar images: they give us evidence of how Romans presented power, honored the dead, and expressed their place in a changing world.

Sources and Further Reading

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Roman Art: A Resource for Educators. Background on Roman portraits, coins, and visual communication.
• The British Museum — Coin depicting an aquila and standard. Object evidence for Augustan military imagery.
• The British Museum — Coin of Augustus with eagle, oak wreath, and laurel branches. A documented combination of distinct symbols.
• The British Museum — Roman coin depicting Victory. Example of the winged figure with wreath and palm.
• The British Museum — Augustan coin with inscribed shield. Evidence for political honors and the role of inscriptions.
• The British Museum — Roman funerary inscription for Claudia Tyche. Example of the DM formula and family commemoration.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Late Roman lamp with Chi-Rho. An example of Christian imagery on an everyday object.