sylla Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 (edited) Some figures are administratively determined; eg, the size of a Legion. Non- determined figures are essentially either guesses (eg, the casualties reports from most battles) or measurements (eg, censuses); guesses are far more common in our Classical sources. Typically (although not necessarily), guesses tend to be rounded numbers. Even if he was not especially meaningful for the Roman History, the saga of Spartacus was narrated by several Roman historians, beginning from his very own generation and often depicting him as a virtuous adversary among the vilest villains (long before any Marxist influence), quite analogous to the case of Hannibal. Some of the original details (eg, the names Edited August 8, 2009 by sylla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion-Macro Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 I just have to say...74 gladiators to start off with, thats not a lot when you think about what he did, I mean he gathered an army of over 100,000 in a few years, and it all started off with those gladiators... Anyway, I heard that the figure was 72 from one book, but I can't remember what the name was. But it is true that most round the numbers to something like 70. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornelius_sulla Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 Take away at least 10 gladiators to account for Sallust's arse licking. Believe Vallieus who had no reason to fear for his neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sylla Posted September 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 (edited) Take away at least 10 gladiators to account for Sallust's arse licking. Believe Vallieus who had no reason to fear for his neck. Both authors scored quite high in the arse-licking scale, even by the standards of the Roman historians. Sallust wrote under the II triumvirate high proscriptions period and Velleius at the end of the Sejanus' rule under Tiberius; the both had very good reasons to fear for their necks (and not particularly related with Spartacus for any of them). The spectacular career of Sallus's nephew (and adopted son) under Augustus suggests his uncle actually succeded in pleasing the first Emperor. On the other hand, it's hard not to link Velleius' abrupt dissapearance with the coincident purge of his idol Sejanus and friends. In any case, Sallust was the closer we can get to a primary source for Servile War III. Besides, Sallust is regularly considered one of the main sources used by the sometimes careless Velleius. I see no reason to doubt that regarding the 74 gladiators figure, Velleius simply misquoted Sallust. Edited September 6, 2009 by sylla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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