Explanation: When a Roman general was granted a Triumph, the highest honor bestowed upon successful generals (possibly excluding the Grass Crown) the general was given the opportunity to make a massive parade through Rome, riding in a chariot in the most prestigious apparel allowed, while all the citizens cheered and the Senate honored him. However, as the Republican traditions of Rome demanded, a slave would be along in the chariot to hold a laurel crown just over the general’s head and say in his ear, repeatedly, throughout the whole Triumph, “Remember, thou art only a man”. One expects that there was some temptation for the slave to carry out this duty VERY thoroughly!
I knew my memory was a bit washed about wether it was a laurel, an olive, or an oak leaf crown.
After my one-website-deep search, I found, that the triumphant was wearing a laurel wreath and the slave was holding an oak leaf crown made of gold.
