“Ownage” is a modern slang term for the act of overwhelmingly defeating or dominating somebody, often leavened with connotations of superiority, arrogance, and plain rubbing it in. The term is modern, but it perfectly describes some of history’s greatest displays of dominance by folk who, as the kids say today, “had no chill”. Below are twenty one fascinating facts about historic ownages, from the ancient world to the modern era.
21. Ownage, Ancient Roman Style
Passing beneath the yoke was a ritual of humiliation and subjugation practiced in ancient Rome, primarily in the early Republican period. Known in Latin as sub iugum mittere, it was used on defeated enemies, individual soldiers or entire armies. They were forced to pass under a literal ox yoke, or an improvised yoke made of three spears: two stuck upright in the ground, with a third laid horizontally across them.
That symbolized surrender, disgrace, and the loss of honor. The yoke (iugum in Latin) was a powerful metaphor in Roman culture. It alluded to slavery and submission, as oxen were yoked to plows in the same way defeated soldiers were symbolically yoked to Rome’s dominance. The act of passing under it publicly emphasized that the defeated, although spared, had been dishonored.
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