Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor), 44.9

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[1]

Before Popilius brought his men against the walls, he sent envoys to persuade the magistrates and chief citizens to prefer making trial of the good faith and mildness of the Romans rather than of their force.

[2] This advice availed nothing, because the fires of the king's camp at the Elpeüs were in sight. Then the siege began, both with assaults and with field-works and engines, both from land and sea, for the fleet, too, had arrived and occupied the shore side.

[3] The younger Romans even captured the lowest part of the wall by turning to military use a performance of the arena.

[4] It was the custom then, before there had been introduced the present extravagance ¹ of cramming the arena with animals from all over the earth, to hunt out various sorts of spectacles, for one race with four-horse chariots and one with bareback riders hardly occupied the space of an hour for the two events.

[5] As one of these performances, groups of about sixty ² youths (occasionally more at more elaborate games) entered under arms. Their entrance ³ was in some respects an imitation of military manoeuvres, but in other respects was of a style more showy than the military and more akin to the fashion of gladiatorial combats.

[6] After passing through various evolutions in this manoeuvre, they would form in ranks, with shields close-set over their heads, the front rank erect, the second somewhat stooped, the third and fourth more so, and the rear rank down on their knees, so that they would form a

tortoise

sloped like the roof of a house.

[7] Next two armed men, separated by an interval of some fifty feet, would rush out, feint at each other, and mount from bottom to top of the

tortoise

over the close-set shields. They would then act as if skirmishing at the outer edges of the

tortoise,

now clash with each other in the centre, and leap about just as if they were on solid ground.

tortoise

like this was brought up to the lowest part of the wall.

[8] When soldiers on top came up to the wall, they were at their highest elevation level with the defenders of the wall; the defenders were routed and the soldiers of two maniples ⁴ crossed into the city.

[9] The only difference from the show was that the front rank and those exposed on the flanks did not raise their shields over their heads, but held them out in the usual position for battle in order not to expose their bodies. In this way the missiles hurled from the wall did not injure the men as they approached and those cast on the

tortoise

slid harmlessly like rain down to the bottom of the ⁵ slippery slope.

[10] On capturing Heracleum, the consul advanced his camp there, as if he were going to advance to Dium and thence, after dislodging the king, into Pieria as well.

[11] But as he was already making ready for wintering, he ordered the roads from Thessaly to be repaired for the transport of provisions and suitable sites for granaries to be chosen and houses built where those transporting the provisions could lodge.

Ab urbe condita. Titus Livius (Livy). Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor). Medford, MA. .

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

History of Rome (English) (Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Sage, Evan T.; Schlesinger, Alfred C., translators. Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959. (Loeb Classical Library))

Editions (3)

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.) — 44.9 focus

[1] Popilius priusquam armatos muris admoveret, misit, qui magistratibus principibusque suaderent, fidem clementiamque Romanorum quam vim experiri mallent.

[2] nihil ea consilia moverunt, quia ignes ad Elpeum ex regiis castris apparebant. tum terra marique — et classis adpulsa ab litore stabat — simul armis, simul operibus machinisque oppugnari coepti.

[3] iuvenes etiam quidam Romani ludicro circensi ad usum belli verso partem humillimam muri ceperunt.

[4] mos erat tum, nondum hac effusione inducta bestiis omnium gentium circum conplendi, varia spectaculorum conquirere genera; nam semel quadrigis, semel desultore misso vix unius horae tempus utrumque curriculum conplebat.

[5] inter cetera sexageni ferme iuvenes, interdum plures apparatioribus ludis, armati inducebantur. horum inductio ex parte simulacrum decurrentis exercitus erat, ex parte elegantioris exercitus quam militaris artis propiorque gladiatorium armorum usum.

[6] cum alios decursu edidissent motus, quadrato agmine facto, scutis super capita densatis, stantibus primis, secundis summissioribus, tertiis magis et quartis, postremis etiam genu nixis, fastigatam, sicut tecta aedificiorum sunt, testudinem faciebant.

[7] hinc quinquaginta ferme pedum spatio distantes duo armati procurrebant comminatique inter se, ab ima in summam testudinem per densata scuta cum evasissent, nunc velut propugnantes per oras extremae testudinis, nunc in media inter se concurrentes, haud secus quam stabili solo persultabant.

[8] huic testudo similis humillimae parti muri admota. cum armati superstantes subissent, propugnatoribus muri fastigio altitudinis aequabantur; depulsisque iis in urbem duorum signorum milites transcenderunt.

[9] id tantum dissimile fuit, quod et in fronte extremi et ex lateribus soli non habebant super capita elata scuta, ne nudarent corpora, sed proiecta pugnantium more. ita nec ipsos tela ex muro missa subeuntis laeserunt et testudini iniecta imbris in modum lubrico fastigio innoxia ad imum labebantur.

[10] et consul capto iam Heracleo castra eo promovit, tamquam Dium atque inde summoto rege in Pieriam etiam progressurus.

[11] sed hiberna iam praeparans vias commeatibus subvehundis ex Thessalia muniri iubet et eligi horreis opportuna loca tectaque aedificari, ubi deversari portantes commeatus possent.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Livy in Fourteen Volumes. Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Schlesinger, Alfred C., editors. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959 (printing).) — 44.9 focus

[1]

Popilius priusquam armatos muris admoveret, misit qui magistratibus principibusque suaderent, fidem clementiamque Romanorum quam vim experiri mallent.

[2] nihil ea consilia moverunt, quia ignes ad Elpeum ¹ ex regiis castris apparebant. tum terra marique—et classis adpulsa ab litore stabat—simul armis, simul operibus machinisque oppugnari coepti.

[3] iuvenes etiam quidam Romani ludicro circensi ad usum belli verso partem humillimam muri ceperunt.

[4] mos erat tum, nondum hac effusione inducta bestiis omnium gentium circum complendi, varia spectaculorum conquirere genera; nam semel quadrigis, semel desultore misso vix unius horae tempus utrumque curriculum complebat.

[5] inter cetera sexageni ferme iuvenes, interdum plures apparatioribus ludis, ² armati inducebantur. horum inductio ³ ex parte simulacrum decurrentis exercitus erat, ex parte elegantioris quam ⁴ militaris artis propiorque gladiatorium armorum usum.

[7] hinc quinquaginta ferme pedum spatio distantes duo armati procurrebant comminatique inter se, ad ima in summam testudinem per densata scuta cum evasissent, nunc velut propugnantes per oras extremae testudinis, nunc in media inter se concurrentes, haud secus quam stabili solo persultabant.

[8] huic testudo similis humillimae parti ⁵ muri admota. cum armati superstantes subissent, propugnatoribus muri fastigio altitudinis aequabantur; depulsisque iis in urbem duorum signorum milites transcenderunt.

[9] id tantum dissimile fuit, quod et in fronte extremi et ex lateribus soli non habebant super capita elata scuta, ne nudarent corpora, sed praetenta ⁶ pugnantium more. ita nec ipsos tela ex muro missa subeuntis laeserunt et testudini iniecta imbris in modum lubrico fastigio innoxia ad imum labebantur. ⁷

[10] et consul capto iam Heracleo castra eo promovit, tamquam ⁸ Dium atque inde summoto rege in Pieriam etiam progressurus.

[11] sed hiberna iam praeparans vias commeatibus subvehendis ex Thessalia muniri iubet et eligi horreis opportuna loca tectaque aedificari, ubi deversari portantes commeatus possent.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 44.9 focus

[1]

Popilius priusquam armatos muris admoveret, misit, qui magistratibus principibusque suaderent, fidem clementiamque Romanorum quam vim experiri mallent.

[2] nihil ea ¹ consilia moverunt, quia ignes ad Elpeum ex regis castris apparebant. tum terra marique — et classis adpulsa ab litore stabat — simul armis, simul operibus machinisque oppugnari coepti.

[3] iuvenes etiam quidam Romani ludicro circensi ad usum belli verso partem humillimam muri ceperunt.

[5] inter cetera sexageni ferme iuvenes, interdum ² plures apparatioribus ludis, armati inducebantur. horum inductio ex parte simulacrum decurrentis exercitus erat, ex parte elegantioris [exercitus] quam militaris artis propiorque gladiatorium armorum usum.

[8] huic ³ testudo similis humillimae parti muri admota. cum armati superstantes subissent, propugnatoribus muri fastigio altitudinis aequabantur; depulsisque iis in urbem duorum signorum milites transcenderunt.

[9] id tantum dissimile fuit, quod et in fronte extremi et ex lateribus soli non habebant super capita elata scuta, ne nudarent corpora, sed praetenta pugnantium more. ita nec ipsos tela ex muro missa subeuntis laeserunt et testudini iniecta imbris in modum lubrico fastigio innoxia ad imum labebantur.

[10] et consul capto iam Heracleo castra eo protulit tamquam ⁴ Dium atque inde summoto rege in Pieriam etiam progressurus.

[11] sed hiberna iam praeparans vias commeatibus subvehendis ex Thessalia muniri iubet et eligi horreis opportuna loca tectaque aedificari, ubi deversari portantes commeatus possent.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 44.9 focus

[1]

Popilius, before he brought his troops up to the walls, sent to recommend to the magistrates and principal men, rather to try the honour and clemency of the Romans than their power;

[2] but this advice produced no effect, the fires in the king's camp on the Enipeus being now within their sight The attack was then commenced by assaults, and with works and machines, as well on the side facing the sea, (for the ships had been brought up close to the shore,) as on land.

[3] A party of Roman youths actually gained possession of the lowest part of the wall, by turning to the purposes of war a kind of sport which they were accustomed to practise in the circus.

[4] In those times, when the present extravagant fashion of filling the area with beasts of every kind was yet unknown, it was customary to contrive various kinds of amusements; for when one chariot race and one equestrian performer were exhibited, both the performances scarcely filled up the space of an hour.

[5] Among other diversions, in the more elaborate games, about sixty young men in arms, sometimes more, used to be introduced, whose performances were partly a representation of troops going through the military exercise, and partly a display of more accurate skill than appeared in the practice of soldiers, and which approached nearer to the mode of fighting used by gladiators.

[6] After performing various evolutions, they formed in a square body with their shields raised over their heads, and closed together, the foremost standing upright, the next stooping a little, the third and fourth lines more and more, and so on, until the hindmost rested on their knees, thus composing a covering in the shape of a tortoise-shell, and sloping, like the roof of a house.

[7] Then two armed men, who stood at the distance of about fifty feet, ran forward, and after some menacing flourishes of their arms, mounted over the closed shields, from the bottom to the top of this roof; and, treading as steadily as if on solid ground, sometimes paraded along the extreme edges of it, as if repelling an enemy, and sometimes encountered each other on the middle of it.

[8] A body similar to this was brought up against the lowest part of the wall, and the soldiers, standing thereon, mounted until they were as high as the defendants on the battlements; and these having been beaten off, the soldiers of two companies climbed over into the town.

[9] The only difference was, that here the outside men in the front and in the two flanks alone did not raise their shields over their heads, lest they should expose their bodies, but held them before them, as in battle; so that the weapons thrown at them from the walls, as they advanced, did them no injury, while those that were poured like a shower on the roof glided down the smooth slope to the bottom, without doing any mischief.

[10] When Heracleum was taken, the consul removed his quarters thither, as if he intended to besiege Dium; and, after driving the king thence, to advance to Pieria. But as he was now preparing his quarters for the winter, he ordered roads to be made for the conveyance of provisions from Thessaly, and proper places to be chosen for store-houses;

[11] also huts to be built, where the people employed in bringing the provisions might lodge.

History of Rome Perseus (Volumes 1-2. Roberts, Canon, Rev, translator. London, New York: J. M. Dent and Sons; E. P. Dutton and Co., 1912.) — 44.9 focus

[1]

Before Popilius commenced the assault he tried to induce the magistrates and chief men to test the good faith and clemency of the Romans rather than their strength.

[2] His appeal made no impression on them, for they saw the fires in the distance of the king's camp by the Elpeus. Then the attack began in earnest, by land and also by sea-for the fleet was moored off the shore-by direct assault as well as by the employment of siege engines and artillery.

[3] Some young Romans turned their training in the Circus games to purposes of war and in this way seized the lowest portion of the wall.

[4] Before the extravagant habit came in of filling the Circus with animals from all parts of the world, it was the practice to devise various forms of amusement, as the chariot and horse races were over within the hour.

[5] Amongst other exhibitions, bodies of youths, numbering generally about sixty, but larger in the more elaborate games, were introduced fully armed. To some extent they represented the maneuvers of an army, but their movements were more skilful and resembled more nearly the combat of gladiators.

[6] After going through various evolutions, they formed a solid square with their shields held over their heads, touching one another; those in the front rank standing erect; those in the second slightly stooping; those in the third and fourth bending lower and lower; whilst those in the rear rank rested on their knees. In this way they formed a testudo, which sloped like the roof of a house.

[7] From a distance of fifty feet two fully armed men ran forward and, pretending to threaten one another, went from the lowest to the highest part of the testudo over the closely locked shields; at one moment assuming an attitude of defiance on the very edge, and then rushing at one another in the middle of it just as though they were jumping about on solid ground.

A testudo formed in this way was brought up against the lowest part of the wall.

[8] When the soldiers who were mounted on it came close up to the wall they were at the same height as the defenders, and when these were driven off, the soldiers of two companies climbed over into the city.

[9] The only difference was that the front rank and the files did not raise their shields above their heads for fear of exposing themselves; they held them in front as in battle. Thus they were not hit by the missiles from the walls, and those which were hurled on the testudo rolled off harmlessly to the ground like a shower of rain from the roof of a house.

[10] Now that Heracleum was taken, the consul encamped there, apparently with the intention of marching to Dium and, after driving the king from there, on to Pieria. But he was already making his preparations for wintering, and ordered roads to be constructed for the transport of supplies

[11] from Thessaly, suitable places for storing corn to be selected and houses to be built where those who brought up the supplies could be lodged.

Notes on the current edition

Ab Urbe Condita With An English Translation, books 1-10, 21-45, with periochae 11-20

1. Livy notes the beginnings of lavishness in shows as early as 186 B.C. , see XXXIX. xxii. 2, XLI. xxvii. 6, and below, xviii. 8.

2. Sixty was the usual number of soldiers in the so-called

century.

3. B.C. 169

4. Polybius (XXVIII. 11 (12)) says that a third maniple formed the

tortoise.

Cf. Ammianus Marcellinus XXVI. 8. 9 for a similar formation.

5. B.C. 169

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 44.9

Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor)

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