Ab urbe condita

After this success the consul summoned an Assembly, and in the presence of his fellow-soldiers pronounced a eulogy on Decius not only for his former services but also for this crowning proof of his soldierly qualities. In addition to the other military rewards he presented him with a golden chaplet and a hundred oxen, and one white oxen of especial beauty, the horns of which had been gilded.

The men who had been with him on the height were rewarded with a standing order for double rations and also with one ox and two tunics apiece. After the consul had made the presentation, the legionaries, amidst loud cheers, placed on Decius' head an “obsidial” wreath of grass.[*](The “wreath of the blockade.” —This was regarded as the highest of all military distinctions, and was always the gift of the whole army or particular body of troops who had been delivered, or rescued from a position in which they had been completely shut in by the enemy. The grass was taken, according to Festus, from the place which the force had occupied while it was invested.) Another similar wreath was bestowed upon him by his own

men. With these decorations upon him he sacrificed the beautiful ox to Mars and presented the hundred oxen which had been given him to the men who had accompanied him on his expedition. The legionaries also contributed a pound of meal and a pint of wine for each of them. During all these proceedings enthusiastic cheering went on through the whole camp.