Did you know that animals have CHANGED THE FATE OF THE WESTERN WORLD AS WE KNOW IT? And I mean that in the historical sense, not the ecological sense. Obviously, megafauna or any fauna, in the dark annals of human past might have indeliably altered us. But we're not talking about evolution here, so back off biologists!
Croesus and the Camels
Croesus was king of Lydia, a Greek kingdom in Asia Minor, and his capital was Sardis. See the map below:
Unfortunately for him, he lived relatively close to the Persian Empire, which was rapidly expanding in this direction. He's the same Croesus you might remember from the SMBC comic. It was the end of the campaigning season, and he had just lost a close battle to Cyrus the Great, king of Persia. He decided to retreat to Sardis and send out envoys to request military aid for the following year. Little did he suspect, however, that Cyrus would ignore the rules of battle and march straight on Sardis! The Persians advanced so quickly and so suddenly that Cyrus himself (supposedly) could have announced their coming to Croesus. Croesus knew things looked bad, but he led his warriors out onto the plain. Herodotus says:
"In all Asia there was not at that
time a braver or more warlike people. Their manner of fighting was on
horseback; they carried long lances, and were clever in the management of their
steeds"- 1.79
But Cyrus, or at least one of his advisors, Harpagus, was ready for him. He took the camels that were in his baggage train, and had their supplies removed. He mounted his own warriors on them as a kind of makeshift-cavelry and placed them in front of his other foot soldiers. Herodotus explains:
But Cyrus, or at least one of his advisors, Harpagus, was ready for him. He took the camels that were in his baggage train, and had their supplies removed. He mounted his own warriors on them as a kind of makeshift-cavelry and placed them in front of his other foot soldiers. Herodotus explains:
"The reason why Cyrus opposed his
camels to the enemy's horse was because the horse has a natural dread of the
camel, and cannot abide either the sight or the smell of that animal."- 1.80
This image is attributed to Harvey Dunn, 1928
This worked out perfectly for Cyrus. The Lydians' horses were terrified, and they were forced to fight on foot. However, they subsequently lost the battle, and the Persians were able to seige Sardis. Some more stuff happens, a couple of battles, a few letters to allies, but ultimately, the Persians won, Croesus lost, and his kingdom was subsumed into the Persian Empire.
The Elephants and the...Pigs?
We all know elephants are afraid of mice, right? Wrong! In Roman times, elephants were said to be afraid of pigs, following this excellent anecdote.
Pyrrhus is one of the early threats to Rome. (He's also the origin of the term "Pyrrhic Victory" as in some of his battles he was victorious but at great cost to his own side.) He invaded the Italian peninsula and caused havoc in 280BC. His army consisted of thousands of soldiers and 20 war elephants. Pyrrhus defeated Rome at the Battle of Heraclia in what was basically a bloodbath. Estimates vary, but Hieronymous of Cardia says the Romans lost 7,000 while Pyrrhus lost 3,000; Dionysus claims the figures are 15,000 and 13,000. Since there are no ancient statistics (and anyone who says otherwise is lying or selling something), we can only assume that these represented big losses at the time, as the numbers were later so inflated. The Romans rejected his peace treaty, so he wintered in Campania, Italy, and defeated the Romans in the Battle of Asculum. For a miniature burn, Pyrrhus remarked of his own victory: "If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined" (Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus 21.9).
The Romans were saved by a request from the Greeks in Sicily who wanted his help in driving out the Carthaginians. During his time on campaign there, the Romans were able to muster a new army, and in 275BC Pyrrhus found himself outnumbered at the Battle of Beneventum. It is at this battle we get the anecdote from Claudius Aelianus. Pyrrhus' war elephants were still the most formidable of his forces, but "the beasts were halted at the gates when a flock of pigs were loosed upon them... as this was happening a bolt struck a calf, and it's mother panicked and ran to its aid, the other elephants pulled around her in cover, as this was happening the triarii debouched from a side gate and charged the elephants, setting the beasts once again into panic where they got stuck in the wooded hollow...."- Aelian, On the Characteristics of Animals
We aren't certain that this anecdote relates to this battle and not to another in the various campaigns. Indeed, we aren't certain it happened at all. Aelian wrote in the late second or early third century AD- about four hundred years later. Easily enough time for this myth to have done the rounds.
In
all Asia there was not at that time a braver or more warlike people.
Their manner of fighting was on horseback; they carried long lances, and
were clever in the management of their steeds. - See more at:
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/herodotus/herodotus_history_book1.php#sthash.H4GubTXD.dpuf
In
all Asia there was not at that time a braver or more warlike people.
Their manner of fighting was on horseback; they carried long lances, and
were clever in the management of their steeds. - See more at:
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/herodotus/herodotus_history_book1.php#sthash.H4GubTXD.dpuf
In
all Asia there was not at that time a braver or more warlike people.
Their manner of fighting was on horseback; they carried long lances, and
were clever in the management of their steeds. - See more at:
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/herodotus/herodotus_history_book1.php#sthash.H4GubTXD.dpuf
In
all Asia there was not at that time a braver or more warlike people.
Their manner of fighting was on horseback; they carried long lances, and
were clever in the management of their steeds. - See more at:
http://www.iranchamber.com/history/herodotus/herodotus_history_book1.php#sthash.H4GubTXD.dpuf
Okay, you say, but these stories are highly allegorical. They were written about long after they supposedly happened, and have all the hall marks of a folk myth. There's no proof of any of this!
Oh yeah?* Check out these monetary bronze bars from Rome:
Yes, these were early Roman money from the 3rd century BC. It weighs five Roman pounds. We'll be hearing more about crazy Roman currency in a later blog.
*Okay, you're right. It's very tempting to link these with the story, but it's still not proof. In fact, it's not impossible that these bars were made after the myth had sprung up. The more I think about it, the more likely it seems.
Pyrrhus' self-burn most amusing :D
ReplyDeletePolyaenus 4.6.3: At the siege of Megara, Antigonus brought his elephants into the attack; but the Megarians daubed some swine with pitch, set fire to it, and let them loose among the elephants. The pigs grunted and shrieked under the torture of the fire, and sprang forwards as hard as they could among the elephants, who broke their ranks in confusion and fright, and ran off in different directions. From this time onwards, Antigonus ordered the Indians, when they trained up their elephants, to bring up swine among them; so that the elephants might thus become accustomed to the sight of them, and to their noise.
ReplyDelete