Literary notes about Trophy (AI summary)
In literature, the term trophy goes beyond a mere physical object—it embodies the triumph of its bearer and the memory of conflict, conquest, and sometimes sacrifice. In historical and epic narratives, it is often portrayed as a monument erected to celebrate a military victory, serving as a tangible symbol of supremacy and honor ([1], [2], [3]). Authors also use the trophy to highlight personal achievement or as an admonitory reminder of the cost of conflict, where even a single captured enemy weapon or a salvaged relic becomes a storied trophy of valor and loss ([4], [5], [6]). In some contemplative contexts, the trophy takes on an almost sacred quality, representing both the glory of victory and the solemnity of defeat, as when it is imbued with spiritual or redemptive overtones ([7]).
- His western trophy was erected, not on the walls of Carthage, 62
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - He killed Antiochus, captured many ships and men, and set up a trophy.
— from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1 (of 4) by Plutarch - In the end the Athenians took thirty ships, recovered those of their own which had been captured, and erected a trophy, as victors.
— from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1 (of 4) by Plutarch - (The trophy that you set up for that victory was far more brilliant than your father's.
— from The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1 by Emperor of Rome Julian - Over the fireplace was a magnificent trophy of weapons, one of which had been used on that tragic night.
— from The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - “It is to him that this trophy belongs.”
— from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - What is this but the trophy of the cross?
— from The City of God, Volume II by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine
