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The Altar of Victory was located in the Roman Senate
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
 House (the Curia
Curia

A curia in early Ancient Rome times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs....
) bearing a gold statue of the goddess Victory
Nike (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nike , was a goddess who personified triumph throughout the ages of the ancient Greek culture. The Roman equivalent was Victoria ....
. The altar was established by Octavian in 29 BC in honor of the defeat of Antony
Antony

Antony is an English language variant of Anthony . It can refer to:People* Mark Antony, Roman politician and general* Antony Hegarty, the singer and frontman of Antony and the Johnsons...
 and Cleopatra at Actium
Actium

Actium was the ancient name of a promontory of western Greece in northwestern Acarnania, at the mouth of the Sinus Ambracius opposite Nicopolis, built by Caesar Augustus on the north side of the strait....
. The statue depicted a winged woman, holding a palm and descending to present a laurel
Bay Laurel

The Bay Laurel , also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10?18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region....
 wreath
Wreath

A wreath is a circle made of flowers, leaf and sometimes fruits that can be used as an ornament, hanging on a wall or door, or resting on a table....
 to the victorious. The statue was captured by the Romans
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 in 272 BC from Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus of Epirus

Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greeks general of the Hellenistic civilization. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became King of Epirus and Macedon ....
.

The altar was removed from the curia by Emperor Constantius II
Constantius II

Flavius Iulius Constantius, known in English as Constantius II was a Roman Emperor of the Constantinian dynasty....
 in 357, restored by Julian the Apostate
Julian the Apostate

Flavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian or Julian the Apostate , was Roman Emperor of the Constantinian dynasty. He was the last non-Christian Roman Emperor, and expended much energy during his reign attempting to supplant the growing power of Christianity within the empire with officially revived Religion in ancient Rom...
 and again removed by Gratian
Gratian

Flavius Gratianus , known usually by the anglicised name Gratian, was a Western Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.He favoured the Christian religion against Roman polytheism, refusing the traditional polytheistic attributes of the emperors and removing the Altar of Victory from the Roman Senate....
 in 382.






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The Altar of Victory was located in the Roman Senate
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
 House (the Curia
Curia

A curia in early Ancient Rome times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs....
) bearing a gold statue of the goddess Victory
Nike (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nike , was a goddess who personified triumph throughout the ages of the ancient Greek culture. The Roman equivalent was Victoria ....
. The altar was established by Octavian in 29 BC in honor of the defeat of Antony
Antony

Antony is an English language variant of Anthony . It can refer to:People* Mark Antony, Roman politician and general* Antony Hegarty, the singer and frontman of Antony and the Johnsons...
 and Cleopatra at Actium
Actium

Actium was the ancient name of a promontory of western Greece in northwestern Acarnania, at the mouth of the Sinus Ambracius opposite Nicopolis, built by Caesar Augustus on the north side of the strait....
. The statue depicted a winged woman, holding a palm and descending to present a laurel
Bay Laurel

The Bay Laurel , also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10?18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region....
 wreath
Wreath

A wreath is a circle made of flowers, leaf and sometimes fruits that can be used as an ornament, hanging on a wall or door, or resting on a table....
 to the victorious. The statue was captured by the Romans
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 in 272 BC from Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus of Epirus

Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greeks general of the Hellenistic civilization. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became King of Epirus and Macedon ....
.

The altar was removed from the curia by Emperor Constantius II
Constantius II

Flavius Iulius Constantius, known in English as Constantius II was a Roman Emperor of the Constantinian dynasty....
 in 357, restored by Julian the Apostate
Julian the Apostate

Flavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian or Julian the Apostate , was Roman Emperor of the Constantinian dynasty. He was the last non-Christian Roman Emperor, and expended much energy during his reign attempting to supplant the growing power of Christianity within the empire with officially revived Religion in ancient Rom...
 and again removed by Gratian
Gratian

Flavius Gratianus , known usually by the anglicised name Gratian, was a Western Roman Emperor from 375 to 383.He favoured the Christian religion against Roman polytheism, refusing the traditional polytheistic attributes of the emperors and removing the Altar of Victory from the Roman Senate....
 in 382. After Gratian's death, Quintus Aurelius Symmachus
Quintus Aurelius Symmachus

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus , the cultured and prominent son of a prominent father, Lucius Aurelius Avianius Symmachus, in the patrician gens Aurelia, held the offices of proconsul of Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391....
, the Prefect of Rome and a Pagan, wrote to the new Emperor Valentinian II
Valentinian II

Flavius Valentinianus Iunior , known usually by his anglicised name, Valentinian II, was a Roman Emperor from 375 to 392....
 in 384 requesting the replacement of the Altar. His request was met with strong resistance from Ambrose
Ambrose

Saint Ambrose was a Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the fourth century. He is counted as one of the four original doctors of the Church....
, Bishop of Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
, who held a great deal of power over the young Emperor, in part due to the Imperial Court's residence in Milan.

Further petitions to restore the statue were deflected in 391 by an edict of the Christian Emperor Theodosius I
Theodosius I

Flavius Theodosius , also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great , was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire....
 as part of his suppression of the old pagan religions.

The altar was restored by usurper Eugenius
Eugenius

Flavius Eugenius was a Roman usurper against Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Though himself a Christian, he was the last Emperor to support Roman polytheism....
, during his short lived (392-394) rule (Paulinus of Milan, Vita Ambrosii). After this it is not recorded what happened to it. It is probable that Theodosius removed the altar, but it is not clear whether he hid it or caused its destruction.