07-02-2007, 01:51 AM
.......and at the risk of incurring the wrath of the Batavians, the rather boastful record of Soranus is not as impressive as it appears.
Soranus almost certainly"swam" the Danube in full battle kit by clinging to the mane of his horse, who actually did most of the swimming.
...and surely, hitting one arrow in the air with another was a pure fluke ??
Still, it took a brave man (if not a particularly fit one !) to venture into the river in full kit, knowing that to slip off or lose hold of the horse meant instant drowning.
Soranus almost certainly"swam" the Danube in full battle kit by clinging to the mane of his horse, who actually did most of the swimming.
...and surely, hitting one arrow in the air with another was a pure fluke ??
Still, it took a brave man (if not a particularly fit one !) to venture into the river in full kit, knowing that to slip off or lose hold of the horse meant instant drowning.
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
