05-09-2006, 02:23 PM
Quote:On gladiator every soldier looked really ''epic'' but these renactements kind of looked stupid, and didnt really feel like they represented the soldiers that conquered the world.
I don't know exactly what you mean by "epic", but some of the equipment and tactics used in Gladiator were certainly not what the Romans used to conquer the world. If you are thinking of the age and fitness level of some of the reenactors in the pictures, then remember that Roman legionaries served for something like 25 years. Not every legionary was a young, fit superman.
Some examples of inaccuracies in Gladiator:
- The helmets are wrong. They are 16th (?) century "lobstertails".
- The tactics are wrong, or at least weird. The Roman infantry advances to contact but then doesn't charge or throw their spears. Afterwards everyone breaks formation and the battle degenerates into a series of one-on-one fights, which is not how the Romans fought (see e.g. Goldsworthy).
- The catapults have something like three times their actual range, plus they were not used in field battles and certainly did not shoot flaming projectiles!
- The Roman cavalry charges at the gallop and their horses are too big. In reality they would probably ride something similar to ponies, and cavalry generally charged at the trot until the 1700s.
I'm sure others will add more.
Regards, Nicholas.
