Adlocutio

In ancient Rome the Latin word adlocutio means an address given by a general, usually the emperor, to his massed army and legions.

The convention is regularly shown in individual figures like the famous Augustus of Prima Porta or can be put into a narrative context as seen in the Aurelian panel.

[1] Characteristic of the formula is the outstretched hand of speech as well as the contrapposto pose with the weight clearly shifted to one leg.

The term "ADLOCVT COH" refers to adlocutio cohortium, which means the address given by the emperor towards the cohorts[3] as the AE coin is presenting.

Among the straight arms, one palm is open but held vertically; on the others, both thumb and index fingers are extended with others bent back.

[6] In the Hall of Constantine at the Vatican, we can view the fresco of The Vision of the Cross completed by assistants to Raphael after his death in 1520.

For example, in Miguel de Cervantes play, Numancia Scipio, the Roman general addresses his troops in like manner [7] The gestures of adlocutio as a sign of power is found in a number of statues of leaders and thinkers of the ancient past and in modernity.

These include: Saddam Hussein, Kim Il Sung, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Captain James Cook, Marcus Aurelius and Augustus to name a few.