Note 68 — LIFE OF CAIUS MARIUS.
George Long translation
The Latin word which Plutarch has translated is Imagines. These Imagines were busts of wax, marble, or metal, which the Romans of family placed in the entrance of their houses. They corresponded to a set of family portraits, but they were the portraits of men who had enjoyed the high offices of the State. These Imagines were carried in procession at funerals. Polybius (vi. 53) has a discourse on this subject, which is worth reading. Marius, who was a Novus Homo, a new man, had no family busts to show.