Phalera (military decoration)

The phalerae (Latin survives only in the plural; Greek plural τὰ φάλαρα tà phálara " the metal hump", singular phálaron ) are in the Greco -Roman antiquity round plates of gold, silver or other metal with raised ornaments or engravings. According to Suetonius, it was originally a custom of foreign nations, but the Romans took from the Etruscans, in which the phalerae served as a military award for bravery and proven front were worn on the chest.

They have been documented on numerous monuments and also often get in the original. Be shown in addition to simple ornaments gods, images of a king or an emperor. The nobles wore these phalerae as decoration on the chest, the soldiers were given as military decorations, they also served as a jewelry dish of horses. The odd number is held together on the body by means of a belt drive, wide belts, the running to the upper body. Were they worn as a necklace, the metal bumps were still other trinkets, such as crescents or bells hang. The support of the phalerae is called Phaleratus.