Larry F. Ball/Sopraintendenza Archeologica di Roma

This detail from a relief panel on the Arch of Titus depicts the emperor’s troops returning to Rome after suppressing the First Jewish Revolt in Palestine, which lasted from 66 to 70 A.D. (with a Jewish contingent holding out at Masada until 73/74 A.D.). The triumphant soldiers are shown carrying highly symbolic war booty: the menorah and offering table from the Temple in Jerusalem. Another relief on the arch depicts Titus’s ultimate apotheosis, with the emperor ascending to heaven on the back of Jupiter’s eagle.