Triumphal Procession

During the time of the Roman republic, the Senate honored a conquering general by allowing him to celebrate the victory with a formal procession. The procession usually included musicians, followed by men leading cattle that would be slaughtered. The spoils of war came next. Then came the captive kings, princes, generals, and their families. They were followed by more of the defeated enemy, bound in fetters. Walking behind them were the men who would execute them. Then came the general in a grand chariot. Triumphal processions were portrayed in sculptures and on paintings and coins as well as illustrated in literary and theatrical works. The apostle Paul referred to “a triumphal procession” in two different illustrations. (2Co 2:14; Col 2:15) These are the only two Biblical occurrences of the Greek verb thri·am·beuʹo, which is rendered “to lead in a triumphal procession.”