08-30-2016, 03:33 PM
Christopher, you simply cannot compare what fighting was like in ancient times to fighting now. The Romans were brought up in a society which valued life quite cheaply. For example, if a father did not want his new born child it could be strangled or left on a rubbish heap for someone else to take. When you read Ammianus he almost takes a sickening delight in telling how entire towns were slaughtered, men, women, children and even the animals. A Roman soldier was inured to a way of life we could not possibly even dream of and we have no idea how the ordinary Roman soldier viewed life or death, especially if it was someone else's who was pointing a sharp object at them.
As to the fallen wounded posing a threat, most people felled by a spear thrust or from a slash of a sword are highly unlikely to do anything other than be in a great deal of pain and wont have anything other than survival on their minds.
As to the fallen wounded posing a threat, most people felled by a spear thrust or from a slash of a sword are highly unlikely to do anything other than be in a great deal of pain and wont have anything other than survival on their minds.
Adrian Coombs-Hoar
