STOICISM AND WAR WOUNDS: MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, SERGIUS SILUS AND QUINTUS SERTORIUS
<p>Soldiers sustaining battle wounds was both an historical reality as a popular literary theme in the Late Republic and the Early Empire. Battle scars were often instrumentalised as tokens of bravery on the battlefield and equated with military honours, symbolising true <em>virtus</e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Mega Publishing House
2019-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology |
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| Online Access: | https://jaha.org.ro/index.php/JAHA/article/view/388 |
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| author | Korneel Van Lommel |
| author_facet | Korneel Van Lommel |
| author_sort | Korneel Van Lommel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Soldiers sustaining battle wounds was both an historical reality as a popular literary theme in the Late Republic and the Early Empire. Battle scars were often instrumentalised as tokens of bravery on the battlefield and equated with military honours, symbolising true <em>virtus</em>. In this paper we analyse how some ancient authors constructed the behaviour of injured soldiers in their writing based on stoic ideals such as an indifferent attitude towards damaged body parts. We further argue that these literary depictions served as powerful metaphorical exempla that had educative and moral purposes not restricted to a military context but in a broader sense, relevant for all aspects of life. The targeted readership was encouraged for introspection and to discern popular from philosophical views in their own frame of mind on achieving <em>virtus</em>. In addition, a stoic framework was cleverly selectively deployed against boasting soldiers and their ideological allies which proved to be very efficient.</p> |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-214652aec0ee461fb7de20435b6a3d1d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2360-266X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-07-01 |
| publisher | Mega Publishing House |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj-art-214652aec0ee461fb7de20435b6a3d1d2025-08-20T02:17:53ZengMega Publishing HouseJournal of Ancient History and Archaeology2360-266X2019-07-016210.14795/j.v6i2.388240STOICISM AND WAR WOUNDS: MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, SERGIUS SILUS AND QUINTUS SERTORIUSKorneel Van Lommel0University of Antwerp<p>Soldiers sustaining battle wounds was both an historical reality as a popular literary theme in the Late Republic and the Early Empire. Battle scars were often instrumentalised as tokens of bravery on the battlefield and equated with military honours, symbolising true <em>virtus</em>. In this paper we analyse how some ancient authors constructed the behaviour of injured soldiers in their writing based on stoic ideals such as an indifferent attitude towards damaged body parts. We further argue that these literary depictions served as powerful metaphorical exempla that had educative and moral purposes not restricted to a military context but in a broader sense, relevant for all aspects of life. The targeted readership was encouraged for introspection and to discern popular from philosophical views in their own frame of mind on achieving <em>virtus</em>. In addition, a stoic framework was cleverly selectively deployed against boasting soldiers and their ideological allies which proved to be very efficient.</p>https://jaha.org.ro/index.php/JAHA/article/view/388roman soldierswar woundsstoicismindifferenceexemplamucius scaevolasergius silusquintus sertorius |
| spellingShingle | Korneel Van Lommel STOICISM AND WAR WOUNDS: MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, SERGIUS SILUS AND QUINTUS SERTORIUS Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology roman soldiers war wounds stoicism indifference exempla mucius scaevola sergius silus quintus sertorius |
| title | STOICISM AND WAR WOUNDS: MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, SERGIUS SILUS AND QUINTUS SERTORIUS |
| title_full | STOICISM AND WAR WOUNDS: MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, SERGIUS SILUS AND QUINTUS SERTORIUS |
| title_fullStr | STOICISM AND WAR WOUNDS: MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, SERGIUS SILUS AND QUINTUS SERTORIUS |
| title_full_unstemmed | STOICISM AND WAR WOUNDS: MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, SERGIUS SILUS AND QUINTUS SERTORIUS |
| title_short | STOICISM AND WAR WOUNDS: MUCIUS SCAEVOLA, SERGIUS SILUS AND QUINTUS SERTORIUS |
| title_sort | stoicism and war wounds mucius scaevola sergius silus and quintus sertorius |
| topic | roman soldiers war wounds stoicism indifference exempla mucius scaevola sergius silus quintus sertorius |
| url | https://jaha.org.ro/index.php/JAHA/article/view/388 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT korneelvanlommel stoicismandwarwoundsmuciusscaevolasergiussilusandquintussertorius |