The Theban Legion

[Germanicus]

What do people think about this story and the subsequent "Saints"? I hadn't heard the story until today when doing some reading about Decimation. If you need a run down on the myth, type "Theban Legion" into google and take your pick.

[FLavius Valerius Constantinus]

I support the fact that the Legion recruited from Thebias, Egypt did exist. I suppose that finding the bodies of the saints is evidence the Legion existed but I'm having a hard time believing that the Burgundians were Christians. Maximiam overusing the decimation theory works because who the heck knows how even to decimate a legion anymore in the late empire. The 6660 men legion could work since they were probably the first legion recruited from Egypt(correct me if I'm wrong) But the spear of Longinus is probably the biggest mystery, who knows, St. Maurice could have gotten it...

 

What about the story of the Thundering Legion too : When Marcus Aurelius led an expedition against the Quadi in 174, his army, they got exhausted by thirst, and was at the point of weakness. Then the guys from Legio XII, which was composed of Christians, prayed to God for help. Then a huge thunderstorm arose, bringing the desired relief to the Romans, but terrifying and dispersing the barbarians. In act of good will M. Aurelius issued a decree forbidding the persecution of the Christians and to the Twelfth Legion he gave the surname of fulminata, or fulminea, that is, "thundering."

 

So do you believe these two legions existed and their stories?

[Primus Pilus]

Dio Cassius wrote:

The Romans, accordingly, were in a terrible plight from fatigue, wounds, the heat of the sun, and thirst, and so could neither fight nor retreat, but were standing and the line and at their several posts, scorched by the heat, when suddenly many clouds gathered and a mighty rain, not without divine interposition, burst upon them. Indeed, there is a story to the effect that Arnuphis, an Egyptian magician, who was a companion of Marcus, had invoked by means of enchantments various deities and in particular Mercury, the god of the air, and by this means attracted the rain.

 

when the rain poured down, at first all turned their faces upwards and received the water in their mouths; then some held out their shields and some their helmets to catch it, and they not only took deep draughts themselves but also gave their horses to drink. And when the barbarians now charged upon them, they drank and fought at the same time; and some, becoming wounded, actually gulped down the blood that flowed into their helmets, along with the water. So intent, indeed, were most of them on drinking that they would have suffered severely from the enemy's onset, had not a violent hail-storm and numerous thunderbolts fallen upon the ranks of the foe. Thus in one and the same place one might have beheld water and fire descending from the sky simultaneously; so that while those on the one side were being consumed by fire and dying; and while the fire, on the one hand, did not touch the Romans, but, if it fell anywhere among them, was immediately extinguished, the shower, on the other hand, did the barbarians no good, but, like so much oil, actually fed the flames that were consuming them, and they had to search for water even while being drenched with rain. Some wounded themselves in order to quench the fire with their blood, and others rushed over to the side of the Romans, convinced that they alone had the saving water...

 

 

 

Dio Cassius obviously accredits the entire thing to Arnuphis and certainly not the Christians. Not much is known about this Arnuphis outside of this passage however. Some Christian scholars believe that the stoic Marcus would never have associated with a 'magician' and that he couldn't have been his companion and discredit his involvement simply based on this. They would have us believe that the thunderstorm which took place during the battle was attributed to the legion being made up purely of Christians and that it was their prayers which brought the lightning upon the barbarians. Later Christian writers (Eusebius) are largely responsible for having this event altered from one of Pagan descent (like many others) into a Christian one. A legion of christian soldiers in the reign of Aurelius seems entirely implausible, and according to the 'Antonine Column, the thundering legion was already accredited to Jupiter.

 

Yet others report that the story of the creation of the "Thundering Legion" is wrong on both counts and that there is evidence of a Legion with that title since the time of Augustus... and that this particular legion used a lightning bolt as its scutum symbol.

 

I believe there is some research that indicates that a contingent of 'Christian legionaries' were present in Aurelius' wars against the Marcomanni and the Quadi, but I don't have any ready access to that information off hand, and would doubt that it was an entire legion of 5,000 men at this point in history.