05-23-2005, 03:43 PM
Quote:CLXXXVI. This then is the number of soldiers. As for the service-train which followed them and the crews of the light corn-bearing vessels and all the other vessels besides which came by sea with the force, these I believe to have been not fewer but more than the fighting men.
This statement by Herodotus I disagree with. Under the circumstances, I do not see how one could afford to have that many men stand by and watch the battles and eat food. In modern armies, even the supply guys are riflemen first, clerks second. It makes alot of sense to me that the men employed in grain transport were full fighting soldiers, already counted by means mentioned previously. By making this statement H. is casually doubling the number of troops in a single stroke of the pen.
Rich Marinaccio
