what is the symbolic significance of a roman horse?

Answer 1

There are probably several ways of looking at the symbolism of the horse in the context of Rome, but the most appropriate one would probably take into account how the Romans actually viewed themselves. The war horse, for Romans, symbolized the god Mars, and since the Romans claimed to be descended from Mars originally, the war horse also ended up symbolizing the Romans themselves. A common method of honoring Mars in ancient Rome was through the ritual sacrifice of a war horse at his temple. Romans also were absolutely wild about horse racing, which was probably the most popular sport of the day, and it was not unusual for the Romans to throw horse races in honor of Mars, who could be said to represent the Romans, in fact some might argue that the Roman horse races evolved out of a ceremony meant to honor Mars, but that’s a whole other kettle of fish. Also, I believe there is some Biblical reference to the Roman war-horse, most likely used as a symbol for the Romans themselves.