02-24-2013, 06:51 PM
Longovicium wrote:
However, the opposite might also be argued – that indeed the decriptions of the cataphracts as 'living statues' was now a literary topos and one that was quite common; such that not only were imperial panegyricists using it along with historians, so, too, were romance writers! Therefore Heliodorus is merely adapting a commonplace to terrify his readers . . .
Considering my scepticism about cavalry as bulldozer, and the therefore in my view rather fruity description of how a cataphract operated, I am inclined to agree with your second explanation. But could it be that parts of this topos, such as the masked helmets, had existed in literature for much longer, unknown to us, dating back to the centuries for which the existence of such helmets is an established fact?
However, the opposite might also be argued – that indeed the decriptions of the cataphracts as 'living statues' was now a literary topos and one that was quite common; such that not only were imperial panegyricists using it along with historians, so, too, were romance writers! Therefore Heliodorus is merely adapting a commonplace to terrify his readers . . .
Considering my scepticism about cavalry as bulldozer, and the therefore in my view rather fruity description of how a cataphract operated, I am inclined to agree with your second explanation. But could it be that parts of this topos, such as the masked helmets, had existed in literature for much longer, unknown to us, dating back to the centuries for which the existence of such helmets is an established fact?
