05-24-2013, 06:32 PM
The Greek text I gave below says the following :
"ἐκ δὲ τούτων λαμβάνουσι τῶν μὲν ἱππέων εἰς τοὺς ἐπιλέκτους ἐπιεικῶς τὸ τρίτον μέρος, τῶν δὲ πεζῶν τὸ πέμπτον. τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς διεῖλον εἰς δύο μέρη, καὶ καλοῦσι
τὸ μὲν δεξιόν, τὸ δ’ εὐώνυμον κέρας. " (6.26.8 )
From them they take from the horsemen to the picked (corpse) (already defined as the extraordinarii in the preceding sentence) about the third part and of the footmen the fifth. The rest they divided in two parts and called the one right and the other left Wing (Ala).
The bolded parts in the Greek text are the exact translations of the bolded parts in the translation. The first is a definite "about" and the other is definitely excluding the extraordinarii from the Alae.
This is what the text says exactly. The extraordinarii are, according to Polybius, taken out from the allied forces before they are divided into the left and right Wing. There is no hint though as to how these would have been used... Would they form some kind of reserve? Would they anyways be used as regular troops in the lines? Maybe as camp guards? No hint. This is what I meant with the "extraordinarii puzzle" which I personally have no real answer yet.
"ἐκ δὲ τούτων λαμβάνουσι τῶν μὲν ἱππέων εἰς τοὺς ἐπιλέκτους ἐπιεικῶς τὸ τρίτον μέρος, τῶν δὲ πεζῶν τὸ πέμπτον. τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς διεῖλον εἰς δύο μέρη, καὶ καλοῦσι
τὸ μὲν δεξιόν, τὸ δ’ εὐώνυμον κέρας. " (6.26.8 )
From them they take from the horsemen to the picked (corpse) (already defined as the extraordinarii in the preceding sentence) about the third part and of the footmen the fifth. The rest they divided in two parts and called the one right and the other left Wing (Ala).
The bolded parts in the Greek text are the exact translations of the bolded parts in the translation. The first is a definite "about" and the other is definitely excluding the extraordinarii from the Alae.
This is what the text says exactly. The extraordinarii are, according to Polybius, taken out from the allied forces before they are divided into the left and right Wing. There is no hint though as to how these would have been used... Would they form some kind of reserve? Would they anyways be used as regular troops in the lines? Maybe as camp guards? No hint. This is what I meant with the "extraordinarii puzzle" which I personally have no real answer yet.
