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corona civica

Latin Phrases
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The civic crown; a Roman honor awarded for saving the life of a fellow citizen, made of oak leaves.

Detailed Definition
The corona civica was the second-highest military honor in Rome, given to a soldier who saved the life of a fellow Roman. In poetry, it appears as a symbol of civic virtue, selflessness, and heroic action in service of the community rather than individual glory. Poets invoke it in odes to civic heroes and in explorations of what constitutes genuine honor. Its association with oak leaves also gives it a natural, earthy dignity distinct from the gold of royal crowns.
Example
Example in poetry:
Horace was awarded the corona civica — metaphorically — by Augustus, who valued his poetry as a form of civic service; the connection between poetry and civic honor is central to the Latin lyric tradition; Ben Jonson's laureate ambitions were shaped by the idea of corona civica — the poet as civic servant whose verse performs a public function equivalent to political or military service; A student might debate whether contemporary poets can claim any equivalent of corona civica — whether poetry still performs a civic function that deserves public recognition and honor; Pindar's odes were explicitly written to celebrate the equivalent of corona civica — the garlands and honors won at the great games, which reflected glory on the city as well as the individual; A poet writing about civic courage — a whistleblower, a rescuer, a public servant who chose honor over safety — might invoke corona civica as the appropriate recognition for selfless public virtue
Additional Notes
Corona civica was the second-highest military decoration in Rome, superseded only by the corona obsidionalis (the siege crown). The oak wreath was awarded to a soldier who saved the life of a fellow Roman citizen in battle and held the ground where the rescue occurred until the battle's end. Augustus Caesar received the corona civica from the Senate in 27 BCE, and it appears on his portraits, associating the emperor with the ultimate act of civic selflessness. Students should note the political symbolism: the oak (quercus) was sacred to Jupiter, giving the crown a divine as well as civic authority. In poetry, the corona civica represents the intersection of the military, the civic, and the natural (oak leaves rather than gold or silver), making it a more complex symbol than purely martial decorations. Related terms include the laurel crown (associated with Apollo and poetic honor), the myrtle crown (associated with Venus and love poetry), and the olive crown (associated with peace and wisdom).
Also Known As
civic crown oak crown civic wreath corona graminea
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