CVLTVS HONOR VIRTVS Tee — Griffins, Faun Mask & Winged Victories

THROUGH VIRTUE TO HONOUR

CVLTVS is not "cult". It is the Latin cultus, from colere: to till, to tend, to train. The Romans spoke of cultus agri, the working of the land, and cultus corporis, the training of the body. It is culture: what you tend every day.

VIRTVS comes from vir, man, and first meant courage proven in battle. Cicero called fortitude the quality most proper to it. HONOR is what that courage earns in front of others, under pressure. Rome gave both a home: the temples of Honos and Virtus outside the Porta Capena, dedicated in 205 BC after Marcellus was refused a single shrine for the two. Culture comes first, virtue is built on it, honour is earned through it. The order of the words is the order of the work.

THE GUARDIANS: FRONT

The two griffins. Lion's body, eagle's head and wings: the king of beasts and the king of birds in one creature. Herodotus places them in the far north, guarding gold. The Greeks gave them to Apollo and to Nemesis, goddess of retribution, and Rome carried Nemesis into the arena. She was the patron of gladiators, her shrines were built into the amphitheatres beneath the stands, and the crest of the Thraex gladiator's helmet ended in a griffin's head.

The faun mask. Faunus was one of Rome's oldest gods, spirit of the wild woods beyond the farmed field, later merged with the horned Greek Pan. Pan's gift was terror: the sudden, blind fear that breaks a line, and the word panic carries his name. Herodotus records that before Marathon, Pan called the Athenian runner Philippides by name on the mountain road and declared himself a friend of Athens. Here the face is not festive. It is the god angered.

THE STANDARDS: BACK

IRON IMPERIVM runs the length of the spine, cut in the V-for-U lettering of Roman inscriptions.

The winged Victories. Nike to the Greeks, Victoria to Rome: the goddess who crowns the victor. Rome set her in pairs on its triumphal arches, and after Actium Augustus placed her statue in the Senate house, where the senators made offerings to her for four centuries. Both figures take the pose of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the marble Nike alighting on a ship's prow that stands headless in the Louvre. Raf The Might gives each Victory the head of a Roman standard.

The eagle. The aquila, bird of Jupiter. Pliny records that Gaius Marius made the eagle the sole standard of every legion. To lose it in battle was the deepest disgrace a legion could suffer.

The wolf. Sacred to Mars, the animal that nursed Romulus and Remus in the Lupercal, the cave at the foot of the Palatine. Before Marius, the wolf marched beside the eagle as one of the legion's five standards. On this tee they rise again side by side: two standards, two Victories.

THE MARK: RIGHT SLEEVE

The Iron Imperium logo sits on the right sleeve, the maker's mark on the shoulder that carries the weight.

What is carried on the garment:

• IRON IMPERIVM: front, above the mask
• Horned faun mask: front, the angered face of Faunus and Pan
• Two griffins: front, guardians of Apollo and Nemesis
• CVLTVS HONOR VIRTVS: front, on the banner beneath the mask
• IRON IMPERIVM: vertical down the back
• Eagle-headed winged Victory: back, the aquila of Jupiter
• Wolf-headed winged Victory: back, the wolf of Mars
• Iron Imperium logo: right sleeve

Designed by Raf The Might, working out of the heavy metal underground rather than a stock graphics library.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• 100% organic ring-spun cotton, single jersey
• Fabric weight: 180 g/m² (5.3 oz/yd²)
• Regular fit, unisex
• Set-in sleeves, 1×1 rib at the collar
• Wide double-needle topstitch on the sleeves and bottom hem
• Self-fabric neck tape inside the back of the neck
• Organic cotton certified under GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and OCS (Organic Content Standard)
• Fabric certified to OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 (Certificate No. 1112055, Centexbel)
• PETA-Approved Vegan
• Printed with OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT certified inks: DTG inks ECO PASSPORT No. E1SM1KNF9 (AITEX); DTF inks ECO PASSPORT No. 18.0.47571 (Hohenstein Laboratories GmbH & Co. KG)
  
• Garment colours: Black, Pompeian Red, White (White carries the design printed in black)
• Sizes: Black XS–5XL, Pompeian Red S–2XL, White XS–2XL
• Artwork by Raf The Might

WORN

The gig, the pit, the Fest, the city, the long road home. Organic cotton with a structured rib collar and double-needle hems, built to hold its line wash after wash.

TACTICAL SIZING NOTE

Regular fit, cut to European sizing. In the UK and Europe take your usual size; size up for a looser, relaxed drop. US sizing runs one size larger, so US customers should order one size up. Pompeian Red runs S–2XL and White XS–2XL; for 3XL–5XL, choose Black.

PRODUCT CARE

Machine wash cold, inside out, with similar colours. Do not bleach. Hang-dry for the longest life. Iron inside out if needed; never iron directly on the print. Do not dry clean.

FAQ

What does CVLTVS HONOR VIRTVS mean?
Culture, honour, virtue. CVLTVS is the Latin cultus, what you tend and train every day; it is the root of "culture", not "cult". VIRTVS is courage, from vir, man. HONOR is what virtue earns. The V replaces U as it did on Roman inscriptions.

What is on the design?
Front: IRON IMPERIVM above a horned faun mask between two griffins, with a CVLTVS HONOR VIRTVS banner beneath. Back: IRON IMPERIVM vertically down the spine, between two winged Victories, one eagle-headed and one wolf-headed. Right sleeve: the Iron Imperium logo.

Who designed it?
Raf The Might, the artist behind work for Slayer, Behemoth, Ozzy Osbourne and Lamb of God.

What is it made of?
100% organic ring-spun cotton at 180 g/m², certified to GOTS, OCS and OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, PETA-Approved Vegan, and printed with OEKO-TEX® ECO PASSPORT certified inks.

How should I size it?
Take your usual UK or EU size for a regular fit, or one size up for a relaxed fit. US customers should order one size up. Full measurements are in the size guide beside the size selector.

How long until it arrives?
Every piece is made to order. Allow 3–10 business days depending on region.

MADE TO ORDER. NEVER IN BULK.

Your tee is produced the moment you order it. Nothing sits in a warehouse, nothing is overproduced, nothing is destroyed unsold. That is why it takes a little longer to reach you, and why we would rather it did. Thank you for making a thoughtful purchasing decision.

TACTICAL PAIRING

Layer it under the Mars The Vengeful Strength and Honour Hoodie: the god whose wolf stands on your back.

READ THE CODE

The three words, one at a time: CVLTVS: Not a Cult, a Culture · VIRTVS: What Roman Virtue Really Meant · HONOR: How Honour Was Earned in Battle