Note 9 — LIFE OF ROMULUS.

The habit of erecting trophies on a field of battle in token of victory appears to have been originally confined to the Greeks, who usually, as in the text, lopped the branches off a tree, placed it in the ground in some conspicuous place, and hung upon it the shields and other spoils taken from the enemy. In later times the Romans adopted the habit of commemorating a victory by erecting some building on the field of battle. Under the emperors, victory was commemorated by a triumphal arch at Rome, many of which now exist. The Greek trophies were always formed of perishable materials, and it was contrary to their custom to repair them, that they might not perpetuate national enmities.