Monument of Aemilius Paullus

(2nd c. BC) The Monument of Aemilius Paullus was erected in the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi shortly after 167 BCE to commemorate Rome's victory over King Perseus of Macedon at the Battle of Pydna [1]. It repurposed an incomplete pillar originally intended as a base for a portrait of King Perseus, which would have established Macedonian presence at Delphi [1]. Aemilius Paullus transformed the monument to celebrate Roman triumph, declaring "it was only proper that the conquered should give way to the victors" [1]. The completed monument featured a bronze equestrian statue on a rectangular pillar over 9 meters high, dominating two other commemorative pillars to allied kings [1]. An inscription at the base reads, "Lucius Aemelius, son of Lucius, Imperator, took it from King Perseus and the Macedonians" [1].