by various authors

“ Poets also were crowned both among the Greeks and Romans, and are so represented in works of art.
Crowns as rewards for public services are first mentioned in the time of the Persian wars. The Lacedaemonians gave to Eurybiades an olive crown as the prize of valour, and also to Themistocles a crown of the same material as the prize of wisdom and dexterity, when he had failed to obtain the prize at Athens (Hdt. 8.124) . The Athenians also refused the crown as a prize to Miltiades and Aristides (Plut. Cim. 8; Aeschin. c. Ctesiph. § 45) . They first granted it to Pericles (V. Max. 2.6.5) ”

“ Neither could any person holding an office receive a crown whilst he was ὑπεύθυνος, that is, before he had passed his accounts. But crowns were sometimes presented by foreign cities to particular citizens, which were termed στέφανοι ξενικοί, coronae hospitales. This, however, could not be done until the ambassadors from those cities had obtained permission from the people, and the party for whom the honour was intended had undergone public investigation in which the whole course of his life was submitted to a strict inquiry. ”

“ Religious Crowns Crowns in general probably owed their origin to religious rites. Certain trees were from the most ancient times regarded as sacred, and it is probable that those who presented offerings to the gods carried in their hands branches of such trees, which in course of time were woven into garlands and worn upon the head. However this may be, the use of the sacrificial crown, though later than the Homeric poems, was established at least as early as the times of Sappho, who says that “the gods turn away from those who are uncrowned” (Athen. 15.674 e) . ”

“ The crowning of the dead was not so common among the Romans as among the Greeks. But a law of the Twelve Tables enacted that a person who had obtained an honorary crown in his lifetime might have it placed upon him in the funeral procession. (Cic. de Ley. 2.2. 4, 60; Plin. Nat. 21.7.) Garlands of flowers were also placed upon the bier and the funeral pyre (Plin. Nat. 21.10; Dionys. A. R. 11.39) . Pliny (ib. § 11) says that crowns were used in honour of sepulchres and the manes. ”

“ Among the Romans the verbena and other plants, of which the bridal crown was composed, were plucked by the bride herself. (Fest. p. 63, M.; cf. Catull. 61.7.)
Corona natalicia the chaplet suspended over the door of the vestibule of the house in which a child was born (Juv. 9.85) . At Athens, when the infant was male, the chaplet was made of olive; when female, of wool (Hesych. s. v. στέφανος) . ”

“ In ancient works of art we find frequent representations of the making of crowns and garlands, as in the preceding drawing from a picture at Pompeii. The flowers used for making crowns and garlands were named στεφανώματα (Theophr. l.c.; Athen. 15.672a, f; Hesych.) and coronamenta (Cat. Agr. 8; Plin. Nat. 21.53, 22.53) . The foliage and flowers were sometimes fastened together by the inner bark of the linden-tree, whence such garlands were called by the Romans coronae sutiles. ”

“ Those who had received the laurel crown had the right of wearing it at the public games (D. C. 46.40, 48.16) . It was. conferred upon Julius Caesar and Augustus, and appears on the coins of subsequent emperors as a mark of sovereignty, and was therefore not worn by any one but the reigning emperor (Eckhel, vi. p. 361) . The triumphal Etruscan crown, made of gold and often enriched with jewels, was held over the head of the general during his triumph, by a public officer. (See above, p. 546 a.) This crown, as well as the former one, was presented to the victorious general by his army. ”

“ In ancient paintings females are frequently represented with crowns of flowers.
Crowns as rewards Judging from Homer's silence, crowns do not appear to have been adopted amongst the Greeks of the heroic ages as rewards of merit, or as festive decorations ”

“ Such chaplets or fillets were frequently deposited on tombs, not only at the time of the funeral, but also at subsequent periods. The Greeks entwined with garlands the cinerary urn of their friends (Plut. Demetr. 53) ”

“ Thus it was conferred upon Varro by Pompeius in the war against the pirates, and upon Agrippa by Augustus on his conquest of Sex. Pompeius in B.C. 36. (Vell. Pat. 1. c.; Liv. Epit. 129; D. C. 49.14; Ov. A. A. iii. 392; Sen. de Ben. 3.32; Plin. Nat. 7.115, 16.7; Suet. Cl. 17; Orelli, Inscr. 3454.) It occurs on the coins of Agrippa, the crowns being decorated with the beaks of ships, like the rostra in the forum (Plin. Nat. 16.7; Eckhel, vi. p. 164) .
The Athenians likewise bestowed golden crowns for naval services ”

“ Plin. Nat. 22.8; Fest. l.c.; Serv. ad Verg. A. 8.128) A list of the few Romans who gained this honour is given by Pliny (22. § § 9-13) , who tells us that though it was properly given by the army, yet Q. Fabius Maximus received it from the senate and people, and Augustus from the senate.
Corona civica the second in honour and importance (Plin. Nat. 16. § § 7-14) , was presented to the soldier who had preserved the life of a [p. 1.548] Roman citizen in battle (Gel. 5.6; Fest. p. 42, M.) , and therefore accompanied with the inscription Ob civem servatum (Sen. Clem. 1.26, 5) . ”

“ Mart. 10.19, 20) , and sometimes, as a special honour, crowns were dedicated with lemnisci or pendent ribbons, like the triumphal crowns already mentioned (p. 546) . (plaut. Pseud. 5.1, 21; Capitol. Ver. 5.) In ancient times each guest brought his own crown (Ov. Fast. 1.403) , but subsequently the crowns were provided by the host. The guests not only wore crowns upon their heads, but also garlands round their necks, called ὑποθυμίδες (Athen. 15.674) , so that they might enjoy the scent. ”