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:
“Hearing, seeing and understanding each other, humanity from one end of the earth to the other now lives simultaneously, omnipresent like a god thanks to its own creative ability. And, thanks to its victory over space and time, it would now be splendidly united for all time, if it were not confused again and again by that fatal delusion which causes humankind to keep on destroying this grandiose unity and to destroy itself with the same resources which gave it power over the elements.”
—Stefan Zweig (18811942)
“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)