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Our fellow-member Publius Cordvs raised an interesting question in a discussion of late, about enemies of Rome being described as having just one eye. We found Hannibal, Civilis, Arminius' brother Flauus,
We could not decide whether these men were described like that due to political ridicule or because they really had lost an eye in battle, like Horatius. The stab at the face would be a really effective way to take an opponent out, of course.
Thoughts, anyone? Can you name more one-eyed enemies?
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Quote:Arminius' brother Flauus,
He stayed loyal and fought for Rome against his brother, didn't he? They even had a shouting match across a river, IIRC.
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Opthalmia and other eye infections were very common in those days, so loss of an eye need not only be caused by an accident/wound........IIRC, Hannibal lost his to infection......
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Sertorius lost an eye in battle (Plut. Sertorius 4), and could be classed as an enemy of Rome.
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Phillip of Macedon, Alexander's father?
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Quote:Phillip of Macedon, Alexander's father?
Ahhh-ha!  But was he an Enemy of Rome?
He probably would have become one if he had not been focused on Persia and Greece, but can he be counted...?
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Maybe something to do with the abilitant injuries concept, very common in the mythic thinking, losing an eye will enhance foresee and prevision.
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No, probably not, Julius. I wasn't reading the original post with my good eye, evidently. :wink: Hey! Look there! A one-eyed smiley!
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Quote:Opthalmia and other eye infections were very common in those days, so loss of an eye need not only be caused by an accident/wound........IIRC, Hannibal lost his to infection......
Yes, that's exactly how it was. People's diets were insufficient; they lacked carotene. I also remember having read somewhere that river blindness was still common (although that disease is now only endemic in western Africa).
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Excuse me! Sertorius was an enemy of Sulla and a true Republican,
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I was watching a really cheezy documentary on the Punic Wars and Hannibal did indeed lose his eye. I'm not sure quite where in the timeline of the Punic wars that it happened, but I do remember it was in Africa before he had travelled to Rome with his army thru the alps.
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Quote:I was watching a really cheezy documentary on the Punic Wars and Hannibal did indeed lose his eye. I'm not sure quite where in the timeline of the Punic wars that it happened, but I do remember it was in Africa before he had travelled to Rome with his army thru the alps.
He lost it in Italy, from an infection he got in a marsh somewhere, didn't he?
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Well I guess we can never be too sure, thats what I remembered from the video. But either way, he was still a cyclops.
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I found this on the web:
In March 217(bc), Hannibal left his winter quarter at Bologna, traversed the Apennines and ravaged Etruria (modern Tuscany).
During a minor engagement, he lost an eye (although some historians claim that he suffered from opthalmia, while others claim the eye loss was due to conjunctivitus).
I have also read a couple of times that it was an eye infection that did for his eye!
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while others claim the eye loss was due to Conjunctivitus).
I believe that Conjunctivitus lived somewhere near modern Venice....
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