04-06-2007, 05:12 PM
Tarbicus is correct.
What needs to be remembered is that the social pressure in ancient warfare was a lot more intense than anything we can use for comparison. Soldiers throughout history have fought primarily for their comrades, both recently and in the past. Tacitus describes the organization of the Germanic tribesmen in combat for similar reasons.
But in ancient warfare, your buddies are also your peacetime kin and neighbors and tribesmen. They are the guarantee that you have a place in the world. If you are outcast from your city, you are outside of the law everywhere - so if you fail your comrades in battle, you fail the city, and the whole city knows it. A man without a city was an outlaw. Nowadays, if you are a coward in battle and discharged from the army in disgrace, it may affect the kind of job you get, and hurt your chances for a political career (
hock: ) but it is by no means the end of your life as a citizen.
What needs to be remembered is that the social pressure in ancient warfare was a lot more intense than anything we can use for comparison. Soldiers throughout history have fought primarily for their comrades, both recently and in the past. Tacitus describes the organization of the Germanic tribesmen in combat for similar reasons.
But in ancient warfare, your buddies are also your peacetime kin and neighbors and tribesmen. They are the guarantee that you have a place in the world. If you are outcast from your city, you are outside of the law everywhere - so if you fail your comrades in battle, you fail the city, and the whole city knows it. A man without a city was an outlaw. Nowadays, if you are a coward in battle and discharged from the army in disgrace, it may affect the kind of job you get, and hurt your chances for a political career (
hock: ) but it is by no means the end of your life as a citizen.
Felix Wang
