Palm Trees and Palm Branches in Graeco-Roman Iconography

Abstract

When Vespasian captured Jerusalem in 70 AD, he put a palm tree on some of his victory coins. Is this palm tree a symbol for victory or rather for the subdued Jews? This controversial question can be clearly answered by making an iconographical distinction between palm trees and palm branches. This article discusses especially numismatic, but also philological, literary, pictorial, and botanical evidence, to defend that only the branches and wreaths of palms were used as symbols for victory, whereas the entire palm tree stood for Phoenicia or Judaea.