ZAMA again

[Gunthamund Hasding]

Hey guys I have problem in understanding the battle ot Zama:

Polybius (from Lacus curtius: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Ro...s/15*.html) in 15.9.6:
Scipio drew up his army in the following fashion. 7 In front he placed the hastati with certain intervals between the maniples and behind them the principes, not placing their maniples, as is the usual Roman custom, opposite to the intervals separating those of the first line, but directly behind these latter at a certain distance owing to the large number of the enemy's elephants. 8 Last of all he placed the triarii. On his left wing he posted Gaius Laelius with the Italian horse, and on the right wing Massanissa with the whole of his Numidians. 9 The intervals of the first maniples he filled up with the cohorts of velites, ordering them to open the action, 10 and if they were forced back by the charge of the elephants to retire, those who had time to do so by the straight passages as far as the rear of the whole army, and those who were overtaken to right or left along the intervals between the lines.

well my question is: how can he place cohorts (500 men strong???) between two maniples (120 each)? I am really puzzeled here by the use of cohort of velites is this 500 men strong or is something else? and if so what else?

[Jona Lendering]

I think that a cohort of velites was smaller than a cohort of other legionaries. Perhaps "unit" would have been a better translation.

[M. Demetrius]

Also, if I recall, the velites didn't line up in strict formation, as they would rush forward, throw javelins, then fall back through the lines of legionaries if the enemy advanced. While the maniple was a smaller unit, there would be many maniples deployed in a large battle.

So, the light infantry could be anywhere needed during a pitched battle, even near the front line, throwing javelins over the heads of their comrades, then melting back through their own men, or have I missed the whole point here?

[Macedon]

To answer this you have to look at the Greek text

τιθεὶς τὰς σπείρας οὐ κατὰ τὸ τῶν πρώτων σημαιῶν διάστημα

Polybius does not mention maniples or cohorts. This is why I so often advocate that no serious analysis can be made on translations made by scholars whose interest lies in producing a good reading, probably most if not all translators that is...

To Polybius, a semaea (simea) is a unit and a speira (spira) a detached unit. In his work he calls maniples speirae but also simaeae and what is even more interesting is that the Roman word he gives for them is not something that has to do with maniples but actually "coorteis". Anyway... The thing is that Polybius only says that the units of the velites were deployed in the intervals between the units of the hastati. Nothing more.

Even the translatin is not exactly wrong in that cohorts is not supposed to mean "cohorts" in the meaning we use the word here but just units as more loosely used in normal life. In any case the two words in question (maniple and cohort) are not part of the original text.

[Gunthamund Hasding]

Thanks I thought is just a matter of tramslation