A victory column is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a victorious war or battle. The column stands on a base and is crowned with a victory symbol in the form of a statue. The statue may represent the goddess Victoria; in Germany, the female embodiment of the nation, Germania; in the United States either female embodiment of the nation Liberty or Columbia; in the United Kingdom, the female embodiment Britannia; an eagle; or a war hero.
Famous victory columns include:
- Trajan's Column, Rome, Italy
- Column of Antoninus Pius, Rome, Italy
- Column of Marcus Aurelius, Rome, Italy
- Column of Justinian, Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey)
- Alexander Column, Palace Square, Saint Petersburg
- Berlin victory column, Berlin, Germany
- Blenheim Column of Victory, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, U.K..
- Boston Soldiers and Sailors Column, Boston, Massachusetts
- Columna de la Independencia, Mexico City, Mexico
- Hakenberg Victory Column, Hakenberg near Fehrbellin, Germany
- Nelson's Column, London, United Kingdom
- Rotonda de Hombres Ilustres, Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico
- Victory column, Altona, Hamburg, Germany
- Victory column, Nürnberg, Germany
- Victory column, Place Vendôme, Paris, France
- War of Independence Victory Column: (Estonian: Vabadussõja Võidusammas), Tallinn, Estonia
Famous quotes containing the words victory and/or column:
“One point in my public life: I did all I could for the reform of the civil service, for the building up of the South, for a sound currency, etc., etc., but I never forgot my party.... I knew that all good measures would suffer if my Administration was followed by the defeat of my party. Result, a great victory in 1880. Executive and legislature both completely Republican.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“I stand on top
of our back steps and breathe the rich air—
a mother skunk with her column of kittens swills the garbage pail.
She jabs her wedge-head in a cup
of sour cream, drops her ostrich tail,
and will not scare.”
—Robert Lowell (1917–1977)