AshenTao t1_iuyi1qz wrote
Reply to comment by AudibleNod in TIL that the Persian King Xerxes was so enraged after a storm destroyed his bridges that he ordered the sea be given 300 whiplashes, and branded it with red-hot irons as the soldiers shouted at the water by LethalPoopstain
Wasnt there a story about a roman(?) army being ordered to attack and stab the sea as an hostile act against Poseidon as well? Been a while since I read it. In our latin classes we translated both fictive stories and real stories.
Far_Sided t1_iuymd0s wrote
Not really. Seutonius notes that when his soldiers threatened to mutiny, Caligula ordered his men to pick up the musculi. This can transalate to seashells/mussels, but was also the word for the huts they were living in.
The whole war with Poseidon (who is a GREEK god) and collecting the seashells as trophies probably comes from misunderstanding and specifically the Excellent (though wildly inaccurate) TV series I, Claudius or the book that inspired it.
r4pt0r_SPQR t1_iuzg86o wrote
Seutonius was the Roman TMZ. Dude was 90% gossip and rumor.
Far_Sided t1_iv2ro3o wrote
LOL, SO true. But at least he's A source. Sadly, we don't have Claudius' history of the Julii but we think maybe Seutonius drew from it? Some modicum of truth is better than a vacuum.
r4pt0r_SPQR t1_iv2svsu wrote
I continue to hold out hope that some of the Herculaneum scrolls can be read with future tech, and that some of them may have more lost history.
Frenk_preseren t1_iv0piel wrote
Yes, Caligula sent them to do it. He was mad and did many other mad things.
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