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Significance of the monument
The creation of this monument signified Roman intervention which was already occurring at this time, but the monument physically indicated this with the permanence of it. It symbolized the fusion of Greek artistic tradition with Roman patronage and Roman-perspective storytelling. While Greek carvers had been hired to erect the monument, it lacked any Greek parallels, highlighting this shift. With much of trade and cultural exchange occurring in Delphi and the Temple of Apollo as a major spiritual hub, the location the monument was situated in simultaneously aided in promoting the notion of Roman superiority.

Given the fact that the monument was carved out of one originally meant to honor the King Perseus of Macedon and transformed into a monument celebrating the Roman general and statesmen, Aemilius Paullus, a few ideas can be interpreted. Firstly, the Romans were effectively attempting to erase Greek history in this. This may have served to imply that it was unimportant, or at the very least, less important than Roman history. To do this would have also implied that the figures both versions of the monument intended to honor were of equal importance. Thus, equating a Roman general to a Greek king, and therefore the consequential notion that any Roman king to exist was far superior to a Greek king.