01-05-2013, 01:20 AM
I wonder too!
In any group, one will tend to exert power over the rest. In a modern army, this potentially divisive and unstable situation is held in check by a strict command hierarchy, but perhaps the Romans found this spirit of competition useful?
In a situation needing decision and authority, the strongest, most aggressive and perhaps most tactically able of the cohort centurions would take charge, unofficially. The wider structure of the legion and the demands of training would prevent this exertion of power getting out of control altogether.
We might remember the story of Pullo and Vorenus from Caesar's Gallic Wars - two centurions in direct competition for promotion, trying to outdo each other. In this case they went too far and got into trouble, but it suggests that this kind of sparring between equals was not unknown, and that no immediate superior was available to stop it...
In any group, one will tend to exert power over the rest. In a modern army, this potentially divisive and unstable situation is held in check by a strict command hierarchy, but perhaps the Romans found this spirit of competition useful?
In a situation needing decision and authority, the strongest, most aggressive and perhaps most tactically able of the cohort centurions would take charge, unofficially. The wider structure of the legion and the demands of training would prevent this exertion of power getting out of control altogether.
We might remember the story of Pullo and Vorenus from Caesar's Gallic Wars - two centurions in direct competition for promotion, trying to outdo each other. In this case they went too far and got into trouble, but it suggests that this kind of sparring between equals was not unknown, and that no immediate superior was available to stop it...
Nathan Ross